DATA SPOTLIGHT: Orlando International Airport

10 June, 2020

This year The Blue Swan Daily will feature some of the leading airlines, airports and country markets for air travel. Here, using the extensive profile insights available to CAPA – Centre for Aviation members, we deliver a data snapshot on Orlando International Airport, which is gearing up for a rise in arrivals as major local attractions start to open their doors following the Covid-19 pandemic.

The main gateway to the Florida city, a popular destination for domestic and international travellers, plus a developing business travel market saw traffic levels grow by just under 50% during the last decade, but it – like the majority of the world’s major airports – has been hit hard by the coronavirus global spread.

Its domestic connectivity is showing positive growth, albeit still markedly down on last year and international recovery is set to follow. Last weekend it reported its highest level of daily enplaned passengers in around ten weeks, but that was still down 79% on last year’s level.

Development work continues at the airport and at the end of May-2020 a key milestone was reached in its new South Terminal construction with the raising of “The Prow,” a distinct architectural feature of the new facility. With the crowning , the South Terminal construction is now 60% complete. The all-new South Terminal is currently scheduled to open in Feb-2022 and will bring an additional two million square feet of space to the Orlando International Airport footprint.

The airport has also enjoyed a major route success, which in other circumstances would have been wildly celebrated. For a couple years and following major success building connectivity London Heathrow has been the number one target on the airport’s “long haul wish list” even though the airport has had up to five nonstops a day to London Gatwick, “Heathrow is what the business traveller and the people are wanting, so Heathrow would be the top of the list,” the airport’s senior director of marketing and air service development Vicki Jaramillo, confirmed back in 2018.

Out of every crisis there comes an opportunity and in less than six weeks that wish will be fulfilled when Virgin Atlantic launches a 14 times weekly London Heathrow-Orlando service with Boeing 787-9 equipment from 20-Jul-2020 moving its current Gatwick services to London’s main gateway. The transfer has been brought forward from late Oct-2020, but Virgin Atlantic will reduce frequency on the route to seven times weekly from 01-Sep-2020.

NETWORK MAP (as at 08-Jun-2020)

GLOBAL RANKING (as at 08-Jun-2020)

DESTINATIONS (as at 08-Jun-2020)

ANNUAL PASSENGER TRAFFIC (2010-2020YTD)

ANNUAL CAPACITY (2012-2020*)(NOTE:The values for this year are at least partly predictive up to 6 months and may be subject to change)

WEEKLY DOMESTIC CAPACITY (2017 - 2020*)NOTE:*the values for this year are at least partly predictive up to six months and may be subject to change.

WEEKLY INTERNATIONAL CAPACITY (2017-2020*)NOTE:*the values for this year are at least partly predictive up to six months and may be subject to change.