Florida to Become 2nd in Airline Passengers, Surpassing Texas
Source：http://www.floridatrend.com/
From：Taiwan Trade Center, Miami
Update Time：2017/07/25
During a press release held on July 2017, Florida’s Governor Rick Scott announced that Florida’s airports ranked second in the nation for airline passage volume according to the preliminary data from the Federal Aviation Administration and Bureau of Transportation Statistic. Governor Scott highly praised President Trump and the U.S. Department of Transportation for granting $10.6 million in Airport Improvement Program (AIP) to eight Florida airports.
The Florida airports that received federal AIP grants are as follow, Daytona Beach International Airport, DeFuniak Springs Airport, Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, Wauchula Municipal Airport, St Pete-Clearwater International, Jacksonville International, New Smyrna Beach Municipal, and the Space Coast Regional.
Governor Scott stated in the press release “I am proud to announce that Florida’s airports have surpassed Texas and are now second in the nation for the most amount of airline passengers. Florida’s airports help welcome millions of visitors, business leaders and families to our state each year, and have a significant impact on supporting job creation and growing our economy. That is why I am proud that we have invested more than $1 billion in state funding in our airports over the past six years.”
“I would also like to thank the Trump Administration for awarding federal funding to eight Florida airports so we can continue to grow. I was proud to join President Trump last month at the White House to discuss the future of infrastructure, and it is clear that we have a partner in D.C. that understands the importance of supporting transportation projects in Florida. We will continue to make important investments in our airports so Florida can be first for airline passengers.”
According to the 2016 preliminary statistics available from the Federal Aviation Administration and the data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Florida’s airports can now handle more enplanements than Texas, only second to California.
In June 2016, Governor Scott signed the ‘Fighting for Florida’s Future’ budget that included more than $263 million just for aviation improvements. Since 2011, Florida has invested in more than $1 billion in Florida airports, jobs in airport account for 1.3 million Florida jobs with an annual payroll of $44 billion; they also support more than $144 billion in annual economic movement.
Lastly, Mike Dew, Florida Department of Transportation Secretary, stated, “Florida’s airports are critical to the economy of our state and Governor Scott has demonstrated that by investing over $1 billion in our airport system.” Currently, Florida has four large core airports, more than any other state.