DALLAS — Miami International Airport (MIA) celebrated a record 50.6 million passengers in 2022, becoming the busiest airport in the state of Florida, surpassing Orlando International Airport (MCO).
Media outlets, including Airways, joined airport and county officials for a Feb. 6 celebration highlighting the record numbers along with the diligent work of MIA staff and partners. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava highlighted the role of MIA in leading the county in a "successful economic recovery from the pandemic."
Mayor Levine Cava added that "passenger growth represents tourism revenue, job creation, and expanded opportunities in Miami-Dade County" as enabled by MIA, which should make "all county residents proud."
Beyond the strong total passenger numbers, MIA Director Ralph Cutié highlighted the arrival of new airlines over the last three years, from JetBlue (B6) to Emirates (EK), and the fact that MIA in 2022 became "the fastest-growing large U.S. airport in the area of seat capacity."
Photo: Brent Foster/Airways
Beyond the Record-Breaking Numbers, MIA Remains Poised for Continued Growth
According to Director Cutié, MIA "welcomed more than 29 million domestic travelers" and, more impressively, "in a year where global international travel was down 40%, MIA has now made a 95% recovery in international passenger numbers."
Semcha Ledad, Air France (AF) MIA Station Manager and President of the MIA Airline Management Council, thanked airport officials for their efforts to bring more airlines to MIA.
Juan Carlos Liscano, American Airlines (AA) Vice President at the Miami Hub, said that 2022 was also a record-breaking year for the airline with the surpassing of "31.2 million passengers at MIA." Liscano further emphasized the role of MIA as the AA "gateway to Latin America and the Caribbean," along with the long-standing relationship between the airline and the airport dating back to 1989.
MIA also concluded 2022 with the busiest recorded winter holiday travel period with 2.6 million passengers passing through the airport between Dec. 21 and Jan. 6, according to an airport press release. The airport also matched the record 2.7 million tons of freight transported in 2021, shipping 2.2 million tons of international freight and 500,000 tons of domestic freight.
Director Cutié added that MIA had "the best January ever" in terms of passenger numbers and noted that with events from Formula One to Spring Break coming up "the future at MIA is very, very, very bright."
Featured image: Brent Foster/Airways
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