Walt Disney World Resort, Universal Orlando Resort, and other Orlando tourist destinations have increased capacity over the past year, leading to more visitors to the area since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The Orlando International Airport (MCO) has moved from the ninth busiest to the seventh busiest airport in the U.S.A. It remains the busiest airport in the state of Florida.

40.3 million passengers traveled through MCO in 2021, which is up 86% from 2020, though still not as high as pre-pandemic. 50.6 million passengers traveled through MCO in 2019.

Domestic travel jumped 92% from 2020 and international travel jumped 20.5%.

“When the pandemic first hit, many predicted it would take several years to recover,” Carson Good, chairman of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, said in a statement. “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.”

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