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Orlando International Airport sees highest passenger traffic since early March over Labor Day weekend

ORLANDO, Fla. — While the pandemic continues to hit hard, Orlando International Airport is seeing a steady improvement in passenger numbers.

At its lowest point in April, airport traffic was down about 97% compared to the same time last year.

The latest numbers released from July show about 330,000 more passengers came through the airport in July compared to June.

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Last July, OIA had around 4.5 million passengers. This July, that number is around 1.2 million, which is about a 73% drop.

“We hit a high-water mark on Sunday with 28,000 passengers.  We hadn’t seen that level since early March,” said Phil Brown, CEO of Orlando International Airport.

The airport isn’t expecting things to get back to pre-pandemic numbers until 2026, but economists say that could change quickly if we get a COVID-19 vaccine.

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Jeff Deal

Jeff Deal, WFTV.com

I joined the Eyewitness News team as a reporter in 2006.

Sarah Wilson

Sarah Wilson, WFTV.com

Sarah Wilson joined WFTV Channel 9 in 2018 as a digital producer after working as an award-winning newspaper reporter for nearly a decade in various communities across Central Florida.