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(MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FL) – Miami International Airport (MIA) continued steady growth in passenger and cargo volumes in 2007, and also increased its economic impact, according to separate recent reports from the Miami-Dade Aviation Department (MDAD).
Passenger numbers grew to 33.7 million in 2007, increasing by 3.7 percent. International passengers jumped 5.5 percent to 15.5 million, while domestic passengers grew by 2.2 percent to 18.2 million. International traffic accounted for 46 percent of total passengers handled for the year, rising one percentage point over 2006 and maintaining MIA as one of only two U.S. airports with such high international traffic ratios.
Cargo volume reached an all-time high of 2.1 million tons, growing by five percent. International cargo increased by 5.8 percent to 1.8 million tons, and domestic cargo grew by 1.3 percent to 326,517 tons. The international freight ratio rose to 85 percent of the airport’s total figure, assuring MIA’s continued role as the nation’s leading airport in international tonnage.
MDAD Director José Abreu summed up 2007 traffic figures as being “higher than forecasted and highly appreciated. It was a great year for us, both in passenger and cargo growth, and despite industry conditions and fuel cost concerns, MIA has had nothing short of a banner year.”
According to a recent economic analysis conducted for MDAD, and based on 2006 figures and statistics, MIA and Miami-Dade County’s general aviation airports now provide more than 272,000 jobs – the equivalent of one out of every four jobs in Miami-Dade County. The figure is up from the last analysis conducted in 2002, which then recorded just over 241,000 jobs attributable to the Miami-Dade aviation industry.
Combined, the Miami-Dade County system of airports now provides more than $25 billion in business revenue (total economic impact), and almost $10 billion in wages and salaries to the County. These figures have also increased significantly from 2002, with total economic impact formerly at $18.6 billion and $7.8 billion in wages and salaries respectively.
With construction being front and center at MIA, the impact of this activity was also measured in an economic analysis report. The study revealed that MIA’s Capital Improvement Program, which includes the airport’s new South Terminal and construction of a new North Terminal, alone generates more than 8,000 jobs and more than $400 million in wages.
Of the eight million visitors arriving to Miami-Dade County through MIA during 2006, 45 percent were on business travel; more than half, or 55 percent, were here for pleasure; and 15 percent were cruise passengers. The study also provided comparisons on MIA’s impact on the visitor industry. Total jobs were reported at 187,690 during 2006, up from 161,688 during 2002; $4.8 billion in wages, up from $4 billion; and $13.7 billion in business revenue, up from $9 billion.
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