Miami Int'l Airport, Port of Miami See Growth In Travel, Cargo

Feb. 16--Whether by air or sea, travel and cargo at Miami-Dade's two ports grew at a healthy clip last year despite ongoing economic malaise.

Miami International Airport drew more than 38 million passengers -- a new record and 7 percent increase from 2010 -- and matched its pre-recession, all-time record of moving 2 million tons of freight.

The Port of Miami, recently dubbed PortMiami, saw more than 4 million passengers for the fourth consecutive year -- more than any other port in the world -- and boosted its cargo operation by 7 percent, compared to 5 percent growth the previous year.

The directors of the two ports painted a rosy picture Wednesday at the 25th annual State of the Ports briefing, where they recapped 2011 successes and looked forward to 2012 plans.

"We need to anticipate change to stay ahead of the curve," PortMiami Director Bill Johnson told a crowd of more than 1,200 at the Miami Airport Convention Center.

Three additional cruise lines -- Regent Seven Seas, MSC Cruises and Disney -- will begin sailing from the port this year, Johnson noted. And three of four new cruise ships that will be introduced in the United States will come to Miami. The Celebrity Reflection, Carnival Breeze and Oceania Riviera are under construction in Europe.

Johnson struck a more urgent tone when discussing the $150 million "deep dredge" that would allow mega-size cargo ships to dock in Miami after a Panama Canal widening due to be completed in 2014. The dredging project faces potential delay after a Tallahassee administrative law judge last month ordered a hearing in August to address legal challenges raised by environmental groups and the wealthy community of Fisher Island.

The port director said he hopes mediation with the environmental groups will resolve some of their concerns, though last week, at a county committee meeting, Johnson called the challengers "lunatics'' who he said "don't really want to meet.'' He called their arguments against the dredge "malarkey.''

On Wednesday, he said: "We all are committed to protecting the most important natural asset, which is Biscayne Bay." Then, he added: "Time is money ... One thing we cannot do, which is delay the dredge."

For his part, Miami-Dade Aviation Director Jose Abreu touted that international travel grew by 9 percent at MIA, the second-busiest U.S. airport for international passengers, outpacing growth at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and Los Angeles International Airport.

"International traffic has grown more at MIA than at any other U.S. gateway in the last four years and counting," Abreu said.

Much of that increase was due to American Airlines, which handles about 70 percent of MIA traffic and increased its passengers traveling through Miami by nearly 6 percent last year, according to Abreu.

The airline filed for bankruptcy protection in November and expects to layoff thousands of employees, including a possible 700 of its nearly 9,000 workers in South Florida, a local Transport Workers Union leader has said. But American expects to increase its flights here in the near future.

"Despite filing for Chapter 11 protection to reorganize, American continues to rely on MIA as one of its most profitable hubs," Abreu said.

Miami Herald staff writer Andres Viglucci contributed to this report.

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