With service to 11 destinations in Brazil, including 10 of the 12 World Cup host cities, MIA offered more flights to Brazil than any other U.S. airport and served as one of the primary connection hubs for the global soccer tournament.
MIAMI – At the midpoint of 2014, passenger traffic at Miami International Airport was up 1.74 percent, with domestic travelers increasing 3.4 percent to provide the greatest boost. While overall international traffic did not increase year over year through June, passengers traveling between MIA and Brazil jumped 16 percent in the month of June, largely because of the FIFA 2014 World Cup.
With service to 11 destinations in Brazil, including 10 of the 12 World Cup host cities, MIA offered more flights to Brazil than any other U.S. airport and served as one of the primary connection hubs for the global soccer tournament. In June, MIA welcomed more than 178,000 passengers who traveled to and from its top international market – up from nearly 153,000 last June. Leading up to the World Cup, Brazilian carrier TAM launched service from MIA to Belem in February and Fortaleza in May, and American Airlines increased service and capacity on some of its eight Brazil routes. More than 600,000 visitors were expected to attend the world’s largest sporting event between June 12 and July 13.
MIA has continued to add new international carriers at a rapid pace in 2014, with five new carriers launching service within the first six months of the year: Air Europa (Madrid); Jetairfly (Brussels); InselAir Aruba (Aruba); Boliviana de Aviación (Santa Cruz); and Qatar Airways (Doha). American Airlines’ fall schedule at MIA will include new daily service to Cap-Haitien, which will join Port-au-Prince as the hub carrier’s second route between MIA and Haiti beginning October 2. In December, Finnair will launch service to Helsinki for MIA’s first route to Scandinavia, and Lufthansa will begin service to Munich for MIA’s fourth destination in Germany.
Total freight tonnage at MIA through June was up 1.42 percent, with international freight up 2.1 percent and domestic freight down 3.27 percent. In 2013, MIA set new annual traffic records with 40.5 million passengers and 2.1 million tons of freight.
“With domestic travel up and international traffic keeping pace with our record-breaking numbers last year, I am encouraged by our performance midway through 2014,” said Miami-Dade Aviation Director Emilio T. González. “We continue to attract new airlines and expand service in untapped world regions, and we expect a robust fall and winter schedule by hub carrier American Airlines and other carriers to deliver another record-breaking year at MIA.”
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