September wakes up

September is usually the sleepiest month for Florida tourism.

That's when children go back to school and long before northern resident “snowbirds” return to winter homes in Florida. The threat of hurricanes and stifling humidity keep many visitors away, too.

So it's notable that four of five Gulf Coast airports showed big jumps in passenger traffic in September compared with the same month one year ago. It's a sign airlines are boosting the size of airplanes to accommodate what many expect to be another record tourism season in Florida this winter.