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Miami-Dade County, FL – Despite industry projections of the first decline in passengers at U.S. airports during Thanksgiving travel week since 2001, Miami International Airport (MIA) saw passengers increase by 3.2 percent over last year and even surpassed estimates by the Miami-Dade Aviation Department (MDAD) of a one-percent decline.
From Monday, November 24 to Monday, December 1, MIA served 772,461 passengers - an average of 96,557 passengers per day and up from 748,157 passengers last year. The Air Transport Association of America (www.airlines.org) estimated that passenger traffic at airports nationwide would decrease 10 percent overall during Thanksgiving week because of the struggling U.S. economy and flight cutbacks by airlines and even the Aviation Department projected a decrease at MIA to only 738,600 passengers.
MIA has also defied projections this year in airline seat capacity growth. In a year that included record-high fuel prices and severe seat capacity reductions nationwide, MIA was one of only two U.S. airports in 2008 to increase capacity, with nearly four-percent growth in seats between November 2007 and November 2008 (see attached chart from the Official Airline Guide).
One reason for MIA’s continued growth has been the strength of the Latin American and Caribbean market, which has helped the airport’s number of international passengers increase by more than four percent through October. American Airlines, which uses MIA as its Latin American and Caribbean hub and handles more than 65 percent of the airport’s passengers, has added or increased service from MIA to 11 Latin American and Caribbean destinations in November and December while decreasing seat capacity at other airports. MIA this year became American Airlines’ second busiest hub, following Dallas-Ft. Worth.
In addition, the combination of increased demand for cruise ship trips as a cost-friendly vacation option during the economic downturn and MIA’s proximity to the Port of Miami and Port Everglades, two of the nation’s top seaports, has also drawn more passengers to MIA.
“We believe that the better-than-expected Thanksgiving travel week, the increase in service by American Airlines and other carriers for the winter travel season, and the thriving local cruise line industry all bode well for a successful end of the year at MIA,” said Aviation Director José Abreu.
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