Traffic boost

Governor credits $1B in funding

Florida’s airport passenger volume at No. 2.

Gov. Rick Scott, citing a fresh round of federal statistics that place Florida’s airport passenger volume at No. 2 in the nation, is crediting $1billion in state funding for boosting traffic over the last six years.

The new ranking, which shows the state surpassedTexas, is based on preliminary data from the Federal Aviation Administration for 2016, the governor’s office said late last week. California tops the list compiled by the FAA.

“Florida’s airports help welcome millions of visitors, business leaders and families to our state each year, and have a significant impact on supporting job creation and growing our economy,” Scott said.

Last year, Florida welcomed a record112.8 million tourists, up 5.9 percent from 2015, and its sixth consecutive year of visitor growth, according to Visit Florida, Florida’s official tourism marketer. Tourists spent $109 billion in the state in 2016 and supported a record1.4 million Florida jobs.

More than 81.1 million travelers boarded planes at Florida airports in 2016, the FAA data showed.

For Scott, the higher ranking justifies the state’s efforts to seek more dollars to improve its transportation infrastructure.

Citing a recent discussion with President Trump about the future of infrastructure, Scott said: “... it is clear thatwe have a partner inD.C. that understands the importance of supporting transportation projects in Florida. We will continue to make important investments in our airports so Florida can be first for airline passengers.”

The governor noted the federal government recently awarded the state $10.6 million in grants to eight Florida airports for improvement projects.

South Florida’s three international airportswereamongthe top 10 of Florida’s 21 commercial airports that generated that passenger volume milestone last year, FAA data showed.

Miami International Airport was first with 20.8 million passenger boardings, while Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport placed third with 14.3 million and Palm Beach International, sixth, with 3.1million.

Orlando International Airport was No. 2 in the state with 20.3 million boardings, the FAA data showed. Tampa, FortMyers, Jacksonville, Sanford, Clearwater and Pensacola rounded out the state’s top 10 producing airports.

The addition of new foreign and domestic routes helped to generate passenger traffic overall