To celebrate World Trade Month and its improved rankings among cargo airports globally, Miami International Airport (MIA) partnered today with UPS and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to host a media tour of the UPS Latin America International Air Hub at MIA during the Mother’s Day flower import season – the busiest peak time for flower shipments.
Thanks in part to the strength of MIA’s flower trade – its largest group of imports at 327,000 tons valued at nearly $1.6 billion annually – the airport improved in every major air cargo category in 2022, according to recently released rankings by Airports Council International (ACI).
According to the ACI report, MIA remained the busiest airport in the U.S. for international freight but now ranks as the 7th busiest in the world in that category, up from 9th in 2021. MIA is also now the 3rd busiest U.S. airport in total freight and total cargo (freight plus mail), up from 4th and 5th busiest, respectively. Excluding Anchorage International Airport, which includes transit freight, only the global hubs for FedEx in Memphis and UPS in Louisville now rank higher than MIA among U.S. airports for total freight and cargo. Worldwide, MIA ranked 7th in both categories in 2022, jumping from its 10th and 11thplace rankings in the previous year.
MIA handled a total of 2.75 million tons of cargo in 2022, which included 2.24 million tons of international cargo and 510,000 tons of domestic cargo. UPS was one of MIA’s 10 busiest cargo carriers last year, handling more than 293,000 tons.