State airport passenger volume rises

Governor credits $1B in funding

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 $1 billion in state funding for boosting traffic over the last six years.

The new ranking, which shows the state surpassed Texas, 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 record 112.8 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 record 1.4 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 that we have a partner in D.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 airports were among the 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 3.1 million.

Orlando International Airport was No. 2 in the state with 20.3 million boardings, the FAA data showed. Tampa, Fort Myers, 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

at the Fort Lauderdale and Miami airports in 2016.

Last year, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood added 31 new routes or additional flights to 26 domestic and international destinations, airport have officials said. That resulted in a 8.4 percent increase in total traffic to 29.2 million travelers, with domestic visitors growing 8 percent and international, 10 percent.

This year is also showing growth across the board, with domestic passenger traffic up nearly 10 percent through May and international up 17.6 percent, airport data show.

“FLL ranked 10th in international traffic for the month of April 2017 [nationwide],” said Greg Meyer, airport spokesman, citing data from Airports Council International during Thursday’s launch of British Airways’ nonstop service to London’s Gatwick Airport.

In June, Miami International was recognized along with Los Angeles International for adding the most international routes — 10 — between May 2016 and May 2017 of all U.S. airports, according to Airline Network News and Analysis.

“We are proud to be recognized for our international route growth, and particularly for our expansion into new markets throughout Europe and the Middle East,” said MiamiDade Aviation Director Emilio T. González, in acknowledging the honor.

In 2016, MIA welcomed 44.6 million passengers, an increase of 234,000 travelers over 2015, airport records show.

Meanwhile, some 6.3 million passengers travelers passed through Palm Beach International Airport last year, roughly the same number as the previous year. Of that amount, roughly 6.2 million were domestic travelers, and 154,000 international.