MIA passenger traffic up midway through 2019
Route launches by American Airlines and four new carriers drive steady growth
Through June, Miami International Airport served 688,000 more passengers than last year, for an increase of three percent and a mid-year total of 23.4 million travelers. International travelers rose by 516,000 for a 4.7-percent jump to 11.4 million, while domestic traffic grew by 172,000 for a 1.4-percent increase to 12 million passengers, according to recently released traffic statistics.
The continued growth of business and leisure travel at MIA means additional tourism revenue and jobs within our local economy. After another record-setting year in 2018, it is encouraging to see our global gateway climb to new heights in passenger traffic.
The first half of 2019 featured MIA hub carrier American Airlines’ launch of Cordoba, Argentina service on June 7, as well as four international passenger airlines that entered the Miami market with new routes: Low-cost carrier Norwegian launched daily nonstop service between MIA and London Gatwick Airport on March 31; Moroccan national carrier Royal Air Maroc launched the first-ever Miami-Casablanca route on April 3, giving MIA its first passenger flights to Africa since the year 2000 and Florida’s only nonstop service to the continent; LOT Polish Airlines began the airport’s first-ever route to Poland with Warsaw service on June 1; and French airline Corsair started weekly flights to Paris Orly Airport at MIA on June 10.
We have had an outstanding year so far in terms of expanding and diversifying our route network. We look forward to the second half of 2019 bringing additional growth and more exciting route development announcements.