Miami International Airport (MIA) has broken its record for cargo volumes handled for the second year in a row.
The Florida hub handled 2.7m tons of freight in 2021, “shattering” its previous record of 2.3m tons achieved in 2020.
International freight grew by 17% to 2.2m tons, while domestic freight rose 15% to 500,000 tons.
MIA ranks as the busiest airport in the US and ninth busiest in the world for international freight. Los Angeles International is the busiest overall – domestic and international – cargo airport in the US. Last year it handled 3m tons of cargo – a 20.6% increase.
The increases come as reduced passenger operations have resulted in cargo volumes consolidating at fewer airports – typically those with a larger cargo community and plenty of freighter operations.
Consumer demand in the US also continues to boom.
MIA said the growth experienced over the few years has two major facility expansions that were completed in 2021.
In November, DHL Express completed a $78m renovation and expansion. The investment includes a fully automated package sorting system and has nearly doubled the facility’s sorting capacity and warehouse space to 206,000 sq ft.
In December, FedEx completed a $72.2m, 138,000 sq ft expansion, doubling its total facility size to more than 282,000 sq ft.
The enhancements include a new customs clearance area and a new 70,000 sq ft cold chain facility.
Credit Air Cargo News by Damian Brett