Total passenger traffic at Miami International Airport grew three percent through the first six months of 2016 to 22.6 million travelers, despite a struggling economy in Brazil, the airport’s busiest international market. Domestic traffic at MIA increased five percent to 12.1 million passengers, while international travelers rose one percent to 10.5 million passengers. In total, the global hub served nearly 700,000 more passengers in the first half of 2016 than in the same time period last year.
“To grow by three percent overall despite a major decrease in travel from our top international market is significant,” said Miami-Dade Aviation Director Emilio T. González. “In fact, air travel throughout Latin America and the Caribbean was up only 1.7 percent through May. Higher gains in domestic travel and other regions show that MIA is evolving from a regional hub to a truly global gateway. After a record year of eight-percent growth in 2015, and with a busy third and fourth quarter ahead, we expect a strong finish at the end of the year.”
In addition to peak winter season traffic on existing airlines, MIA will receive an added boost from five new airlines starting Miami service this fall. In September, Eurowings will launch three weekly flights to Cologne, Germany; Ft. Lauderdale-based Silver Airways will start four weekly flights to Bimini, Bahamas; Scandinavian Airlines will launch daily service, with three weekly flights to Copenhagen, Denmark and four weekly flights to Oslo, Norway; and Dominican Wings will begin one weekly flight to both Punta Cana and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. In October, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will return to MIA with three weekly flights to Amsterdam. MIA is currently served by 102 passenger and cargo-only airlines – the most of any U.S. airport.
