Miami International Airport celebrates its busiest ever year

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava (far right) cuts MIA’s commemorative cake with, from left: County Commissioner Roberto J. Gonzalez, County Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez, and MIA Director and CEO Ralph Cutié.

In 2022, MIA served more than 50.6 million passengers, shattering its record of 45.9 million set in 2019 by nearly 10 percent and surpassing Orlando International Airport’s (MCO) 2022 total of 50.1 million travelers last year by half a million.

MIA welcomed a record 29.3 million domestic travelers last year compared to 23.5 million in 2019 while also serving 21.3 million international passengers in 2022, which was one million less than in 2019 but 8.3 million more than in 2021. Compared to the airport’s total of 37.3 million passengers in 2021, when the aviation industry was still recovering from the pandemic, MIA served 13.3 million more passengers in 2022 for a giant leap of 35 percent year over year. In 2022, MIA also matched its record of 2.7 million tons of freight set in 2021, by handling 2.2 million tons of international freight and 500,000 tons of domestic shipments.

“In addition to MIA leading our community’s successful economic recovery from the pandemic, it is again leading the way for the state of Florida as well!” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “Congratulations to the MIA team and partners on surpassing 50 million passengers for the first time in its history. Passenger growth represents tourism revenue, job creation, and expanded opportunities in Miami-Dade County – making all county residents proud.”

Contributing to MIA’s rebound from the pandemic were hub carrier American Airlines and its subsidiary Envoy, serving 31.5 million passengers at MIA in 2022, which was 63 percent of the airport’s total and an increase of nearly one million passengers over 2019 for the airline. Since 2019, MIA has also welcomed low-cost carriers Spirit Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and JetBlue Airways, which now rank as the airport’s second, fourth, and eighth-busiest passenger airlines in seat capacity, respectively. Additionally, MIA’s record-breaking year in 2022 included the addition of 15 international routes: six in the Caribbean (Camaguey, Holguin, Santa Clara, Santiago de Cuba, and Varadero, Cuba; and San Salvador, Bahamas); five in South America (Brasilia, Fortaleza and Manaus, Brazil; and Bucaramanga and Santa Marta, Colombia); three in Europe (Dublin, Ireland; Paris, France; and Rome, Italy); and Vancouver, Canada.

Lastly, MIA ended 2022 with its busiest winter holiday travel period from December 21 to January 6, when 2.6 million passengers traveled through the airport – a 2.4 percent increase over its previous record during the same 17-day period in 2021.

“We are honored to once again serve not only as Florida’s busiest airport for international visitors but as its busiest gateway overall,” said Ralph Cutié, MIA Director and CEO. “This renewed role and our new record of nearly 51 million annual passengers would not be possible without the hard work and dedication of the Miami-Dade Aviation Department and our partner airlines, federal agencies, concessionaires, and service companies. Thanks to their commitment to the Miami market, we expect continued success at MIA in 2023.”