Flying to or from Miami or Fort Lauderdale for Thanksgiving? How to check your flight

Traveling by plane has been a bit chaotic this year, with crowds of passengers and not enough staff.

Sometimes the weather messes things up, too.

Miami International Airport, which is set to see a record number of passengers this week for Thanksgiving, is recommending people arrive at least three hours before a domestic flight and 3 1/2 hours before an international flight. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, which is also expecting large crowds, is recommending people arrive at least two hours before your domestic flight and three hours if flying internationally.

This is to make sure you have time to park, check-in and go through security.

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After a summer of flight delays and cancellations across the U.S., you might be worried if your flight will arrive on time. The good news is that the airline industry says it’s ready to meet demand. But sometimes things happen.

While we don’t have a crystal ball to see what your travel future holds, there are free online flight trackers you can use to check the status of arrivals and departures at the Miami and Fort Lauderdale airports.

How to check your flight’s status at MIA, FLL

▪ Miami International Airport has two online trackers you can use.

One of MIA’s flight trackers shows a list of all expected arrivals and departures with options to use a drop-down menu to narrow results. It shows the carrier, flight number and where the plane is going to or coming from. It also gives real-time updates on the flight’s arrival or departure status, which concourse the terminal is in, and the location of baggage claim.

The other online tool lets you track by flight or route. If you know the carrier, the date and the flight number, this tool might be easier to use because it will only pull the information for your flight.

▪ Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport’s flight tracker works by flight or route. You’ll need to know the date, along with the airline carrier and flight number, or the departure and arrival airport. The tool also gives people the option to see a list of all expected arrivals and departures and details on the flight’s terminal and baggage claim, too.

Check with airlines for flight status

Another way to check your flight status is with the airline directly. For some, this might be easier to do, especially if you’ve downloaded the airline’s app. You can also use the airline’s website. Here’s where to go for some of the popular airlines:

▪ American Airlines. You can also download the app from the App store for Apple users or the Google Play store for Android users.

▪ Delta. You can also download the app from the App store for Apple users or the Google Play store for Android users.

▪ United Airlines. You can also download the app from the App store for Apple users or the Google Play store for Android users.

▪ Southwest Airlines. You can also download the app from the App store for Apple users or the Google Play store for Android users.

▪ JetBlue. You can also download the app from the App store for Apple users or the Google Play store for Android users.

▪ Frontier Airlines. You can also download the app from the App store for Apple users or the Google Play store for Android users.

▪ Spirit Airlines. You can also download the app from the App store for Apple users or the Google Play store for Android users.