Miami Airport’s cargo flying high into 2022 after record-breaking year

Credit: Miami International Airport (MIA)

Miami International Airport (MIA) handled 2.7 million tonnes of freight in 2021, shattering its previous record of 2.3 million tonnes in 2020 by 17 per cent, for its second consecutive year of growth. International freight grew by 17 per cent to 2.2 million tonnes, while domestic freight rose 15 per cent to 500,000 tonnes. MIA continues to rank as the busiest airport in the U.S. and ninth busiest in the world for international freight. 

MIA’s sustained and robust upward trend in cargo volume spurred two major facility expansions that were completed in 2021. In November 2021, DHL Express completed a $78-million renovation and expansion of its MIA hub. The investment, which includes a state-of-the-art, fully automated package sorting system, nearly doubled the facility’s sorting capacity and warehouse space to 206,000ft². To accommodate its growth, DHL Express also expanded its workforce by 70 per cent in 2021 to 731 employees at the new facility.

In December 2021, FedEx Express completed a $72.2-million, 138,000 square-foot expansion of its hub at MIA, doubling its total facility size to more than 282,000ft². The enhancements include a new customs clearance area and a new 70,000ft² cold chain facility, the largest in the FedEx global network. The expansion created hundreds of new jobs at the hub for the busy winter holiday shipping season.