Meet The Winners: Orlando International Airport

Orlando International Airport (MCO) spoke to Routes about its record success and what it meant to be crowned the winner of the Over 20 Million Passengers category at the Routes Americas 2024 Awards in Bogota.

MCO achieved record passenger numbers in 2023, welcoming more than 57.7 million passengers. This compares to 50.1 million in 2022 and 50.6 million in 2019. In March 2024, driven by Spring Break demand, MCO reached another milestone with over 204,000 passengers traveling to and from the Florida airport in a single day.

The airport now has more than 100 domestic connections and 50 international destinations. Recent international successes include the launch of Avianca’s service to Quito, Ecuador, which began last October, and LATAM Airlines Group’s plans to commence seasonal service from Santiago, Chile, in June as part of its joint venture with Delta Air Lines.

Elsewhere, Southwest Airlines has this summer expanded its international network from Orlando this summer with new routes to points in the Bahamas, Costa Rica and Mexico among others, while Canadian carrier Flair Airlines is preparing to open four routes to MCO during winter 2024-25 from London International, Region of Waterloo, Saint John and Toronto Pearson. MCO has also experienced success in Europe, with Iberojet launching nonstop seasonal service from Madrid.

Speaking at Routes Americas 2024, MCO representatives Vicki Jaramillo, senior director of air service development and marketing, and Juliana Peña, assistant vice president of air service, said that securing additional services across South America are key aims for the airport. Additionally, European destinations such as Paris are targets.

In the U.S. domestic market, May 2024 saw MCO welcome new services from Allegiant Air—including flights to Asheville, Allentown, and Knoxville—while Breeze Airways will soon launch operations to Bangor, Lancaster, and Lansing in October 2024.

Receiving the Over 20 Million Passengers award during Routes Americas 2024 in Bogota, Jaramillo said: “It’s been 10 years since we won this award so we’re very honored to have won it.”