Travel Up At Miami Int'l Airport Despite Drop In Brazil Travelers
Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- The amount of passengers traveling from Miami International Airport (MIA) is up within the first six months of 2016.
That's despite losing some major foot traffic from the airport's biggest international market - Brazil - due to their struggling economy.
On Monday, airport officials said passenger traffic is up by 3 percent meaning, so far, $22.6 million travelers have gone through MIA.
"To grow by three percent overall despite a major decrease in travel from our top international market is significant," said Miami-Dade Aviation Director Emilio T. González.
Domestic travelers went up by 5 percent while international travelers rose by only 1 percent so far.
With their peak winter season traffic coming up, more growth is expected.
"After a record year of eight-percent growth in 2015, and with a busy third and fourth quarter ahead, we expect a strong finish at the end of the year," said González.
The airport will also get another boost in airlines between September and October.
Eurowings will launch weekly flights to Cologne, Germany. Silver Airways will start flights to Bimini, Bahamas. Scandinavian Airlines will start daily service, with three weekly flights to Copenhagen, Denmark and four weekly flights to Oslo, Norway; and Dominican Wings will begin a weekly flight to both Punta Cana and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
In October, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will return to MIA with weekly flights to Amsterdam.