ORLANDO, Fla. — December 27 is typically one of the busiest travel days of the year for the Orlando International Airport.

This year, MCO officials projected that it would be the second busiest day of travel during the holiday season as they were expecting about 44,500 people to be coming through the airport on Sunday. That is about half of last year’s total on this day. 

Sheresa Dekker, from Independence, Kentucky, is a frequent flier. She was one of the first to notice the quieter concourse, and shorter lines.

“We were actually here last year for Christmas in 2019, and the security lines were crazy," said Dekker.

Colorado Springs resident Tyler Fluke flew for the first time since the pandemic started.

“It does feel kind of strange to see this many people," he said. "This is not as packed as Denver was when I flew out, but it’s kind of strange to see this many people out in the airport at this time.”

During this holiday season, MCO officials put safety precautions at sky high priority.

They’re even testing a crowd density monitor that lets travelers know about which areas of the airport are crowded.

The coronavirus pandemic canceled many peoples’ travel plans throughout the year, so Fluke is glad his weren’t affected.

“I’ve been planning this since the beginning of the year, before this pandemic happened," said Fluke.

"When the pandemic happened and everything went up in the air, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to come out here at all and see my family. But it ended up working out, and I feel very happy that I was able to come out here and see my family for Christmas,” he added.

There are more busy travel days ahead.

In fact, the busiest travel day expected for this holiday season is January 3, 2021, with an expected 46,000 people departing MCO.