Orlando Airport reports 86% surge in 2021 passenger traffic

The performance was driven by the restart of international service to Brazil and England.

Orlando International Airport (MCO) has been elevated to the seventh from the ninth spot, among the nation’s busiest airports, after recording 40.3 million in passenger traffic last year.

This marks an 86% jump from the 2020 passenger volume. However, the figure was still below the 2019 level of 50.6 million.

Domestic passenger traffic was 38.4 million in 2021, a 92% surge from 2020, while international traffic increased 20.51% year-on-year (YOY) to 1.9 million.

In December 2021 alone, domestic traffic stood at 3.7 million. This was an 86.87% surge from December 2020 while international traffic soared 357.13% with 390,758 passengers.

Overall traffic during the period climbed 97.82% to 4,174,605 travellers.

The performance was driven by the restart of international service to Brazil and England. This includes the maiden service to London, Heathrow (LHR).

The airport, which is the busiest in Florida, also launched a new service to Hawaii.

Commenting on the performance, chairman of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority Carson Good said: “When the pandemic first hit, many predicted it would take several years to recover.

“By continuing airport operations and construction of the South terminal, our board demonstrated confidence in Central Florida’s amazing resilience and 2021 turned out much better than anyone expected. I expect 2022 to be another year of growth for Orlando and the region.”

Last year, MCO selected AERO BridgeWorks to deploy ADB SAFEGATE’s Safedock Advanced Visual Docking Guidance System (A-VDGS) and SafeControl Apron Management.