ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando International Airport is flying past its competition and landing in the 7th busiest U.S. airport spot, according to data released by the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority Monday.
OIA ended 2021 as the busiest airport in Florida and the 7th busiest in the U.S., airport officials announced.
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About 40.3 million passengers total traveled through OIA, up by around 86% from the 2020 total. The number of OIA passengers was also only about 10.3 million less than 2019.
“With over 40 million annual passengers, we are pleased to remain the busiest airport in the state of Florida,” Carson Good, Chairman of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, said in a news release. “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.”
This comes after OIA resumed international travel to and from destinations like Brazil and England at the end of last year, which brought nearly two million passengers and brought international traffic up about 20.5% since 2020.
Statistics show domestic traffic also jumped by 92% since 2020 with OIA welcoming a total of 38,400,636 passengers in 2021.
In December 2021 alone, domestic and international traffic combined at OIA was up 97.8% since 2020, with the city welcoming 4,174,605 total passengers.