USA. Miami International Airport posted a record-breaking year for passenger traffic in 2016. The Florida gateway handled nearly 44.6 million travellers, a rise of +0.5% on 2015, noted the Miami-Dade Aviation Department.
Domestic passenger numbers rose by +0.26% to 23.2 million, while international traffic grew by +0.82% to nearly 21.4 million passengers.
The overall increase came despite a sharp downturn in travel between Miami and South America, with Brazil, the airport’s largest international market, hardest hit.
Brazilian traffic slumped by -30% or 600,000 travellers, with Miami Airport blaming the struggling economy and fears over over the Zika virus in South Florida. These falls were offset by increases from other countries.
“Miami’s continued growth in 2016, especially in the face of severe challenges to tourism locally and throughout our world region, is very encouraging,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez.
