More than 1.28 million people moved through U.S. airports on March 11, according to data released by the Transportation Security Administration — the third largest number of people to pass through the country’s airports on any day since March of last year.
As some Americans are set to travel for spring break, some in destination cities are concerned about the volumes of people that could be coming. At the top of the list is Miami.
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“We’re seeing too much spring-break activity,” Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber told CNN on Sunday. “We’ve got a problem with too many people coming here. We’ve got a problem with too many people coming here to let loose.”
Gelber went on to say he doesn’t believe the Spring break activity is just young people flocking Florida beaches.
“I don’t see this is a sort of spring break thing, because I don’t think these are college kids,” Gelber said. “I think it changes the nature of what we’re in front of here. I think there are very few places that are open as we have been and as our state has been open. And there are even precious fewer places as beautiful as ours that is open.”
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer also urged that Florida travelers be cautious in the weeks ahead.
The comments from Florida elected officials comes as a recent over 1,000 arrests occurred in Miami Beach in recent weeks. An unruly spring break crowd gathering by the thousands, fighting in the streets, destroying restaurant property and refusing to wear masks has become a serious threat to public safety.
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During a last-minute meeting Sunday, city officials voted to extend a highly unusual 8 p.m. curfew for another week along famed South Beach, with the possibility of extending it well into April if needed, and stressed this isn’t the typical spring break crowd. They said it’s not college students, but adults looking to let loose in one of the few states fully open during the pandemic.
Law enforcement officers from at least four other agencies, along with SWAT teams, were added to help contain the raucous crowds, but it wasn’t enough. After days of partying, including several confrontations with police, Miami Beach officials enacted a highly unorthodox curfew Saturday from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m., forcing restaurants to stop outdoor seating entirely during the three-day emergency period, and encouraging local businesses to voluntarily shut down.
More than half of the more than 1,000 arrests were from out of state, said City Manager Raul Aguila, adding many are coming “to engage in lawlessness and an ‘anything goes’ party attitude.” He also noted that the crowds weren’t eating at restaurants or patronizing businesses generating badly needed tourism dollars, but merely congregating by the thousands in the street.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
