INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT REFLECTS PANDEMIC IMPACT
ORLANDO, FL. – The books are closed on fiscal year 2020 ending in September for Orlando International Airport (MCO). Despite the relentless specter of COVID-19, MCO fared a little better than original passenger projections. At the onset of the pandemic, Orlando International was projecting approximately 25-26 million FY passengers. After months of slowly rebounding air service, from a number of carriers, MCO is reporting more than 29 million travelers, a reduction of 41 percent from last year.
“The reality is, our fiscal year end numbers show we have a long way to go to get back to where we were pre-pandemic”, says Phil Brown, Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority. “While we have made some progress, we must continue to look for ways to build upon our traffic and instill customer confidence in the safety of air travel at Orlando International.”
Current Thanksgiving holiday travel data reflects continued growth and confidence in the market with a handful of the 12 travel days estimated to reach 40,000 departing passengers. The busiest day will be this coming Sunday, the 29th . MCO has frequently ranked in the top 5 busiest airports in the nation in number of departing passengers.
Fiscal Year 2020 Statistical Data:
- For the 2020 fiscal year, domestic passenger traffic declined 39.04 percent to 25,959,044 travelers at MCO
- International traffic was down 56.96 percent with 3,108,943 total passengers
- Combined, overall traffic was off 41.64 percent for FY20 with 29,067,987 travelers moving throughMCO
- Postal service activity increased 61.96 percent for FY20September 2020 Statistical Data:
- In September domestic traffic was down 57.6 percent with 1,152,137 passengers at Orlando International
- International passenger volume was off 97.13 percent with only 13,813 international arrivals and departures at MCO
- Overall, September travel volume dropped 63.54 percent with a combined 1,165,950 passengers at Orlando International
- Month over month improvement was notable, as the average rate of decline improved from 72.76 percent in August to 63.54 percent in September
