In the first quarter of 2022, Orlando International Airport (MCO) moved 11.6 million passengers, representing a 65% increase over the same period last year.
The largest spike in traffic came from international travelers, which experienced a dramatic 421% increase during the first three months of 2022.
«Renewed confidence in international travel is certainly good news,» says Kevin Thibault, CEO of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority.
«International visitors are staying longer, sharing their resources with the community and many times are an indicator of the overall economic health of our region,» Thibault added.
The increase in international passengers is attributed to multiple factors including the reopening of borders, the return of eighteen airlines including Lufthansa, Azul Linhas Aéreas and Icelandair, and the introduction of new service to Colombia, Dominican Republic, Belize, Panama, Scotland, and Canada. Orlando International Airport has regained 148 destinations from the 150 it operated prior to the pandemic.
First Quarter 2022 Statistical Data
- Domestic passenger traffic increased 55.3% during the first quarter of 2022 with a total of 10,680,945 travelers during this period.
- International passenger traffic increased by 421% during the first three months of this year compared to 2021. Overall MCO moved a total of 989,181 international travelers from January through March.
- Overall combined passenger volume increased 62.12% during the first quarter of 2022 with a total of 11,670,126 travelers on MCO.
- A total of 56,855.08 tons of cargo was moved in the first three months of 2022, representing an increase of 10.49% over the same period last year.
- MCO recorded a total of 87,156 operations during the first quarter of 2022, indicating an increase of 40.52 over the same period in 2021.
March 2022 statistical data.
- Domestic passenger traffic grew by 35.5% with a total of 4,143,063 travelers at MCO.
- International passenger volume increased by 482.53% with the arrival and departure of 411,627 passengers.
- Overall, traffic increased by 45.6% with a total of 4,554,690 passengers per month. Making March 2022 the third busiest month at MCO, behind only March and December 2019.
Summary of increases, restarts and new services at MCO.
- On March 27, Lufthansa increased capacity on its Frankfurt (FRA)-Orlando (MCO) route with the introduction of the 371-passenger Boeing 747-400.
- Virgin Atlantic offered multiple flights with the high-density version of its 397-passenger Airbus A350-1000 aircraft for its nonstop services from London Heathrow (LHR) and Manchester (MAN).
- On March 31, Virgin Atlantic launched a new nonstop service from Edinburgh, Scotland (EDI) operated on Airbus A330s.
- Avianca introduced a new non-stop operation from Medellín (MDE) and the route to Cali (CLO) is maintained throughout the year; the company will operate from Colombia’s three main hubs to MCO.
- British Airways increased capacity on its route to London Heathrow (LHR) with the introduction of the 331-passenger Airbus A350-1000, and on March 27 resumed operations from London Gatwick (LGW) on high-density Boeing 777-200ERs.
- WestJet began operations from Halifax (YHZ) on March 5, and on March 13 began operations to Ottawa (YOW). It complements its MCO offering with existing services to Edmonton (YEG), Calgary (YYC) and Toronto (YYZ).
- On March 27, Frontier Airlines began service to Aguadilla (BQN), the company’s second destination in Puerto Rico.
