FYI Miami: June 26, 2025

AIR TRAVEL DIPS: Air passenger traffic at Miami International Airport slipped behind last year’s record levels for the first four months of 2025, the latest data from the county’s Aviation Department reveal. The slip comes after multiple years of record-breaking passenger gains at the airport. Total passengers for the first four months of 2025 were down 1.34%, a decline of about 261,000 passengers arriving and departing combined. Total passenger movements were 19,303,331 for the period. Domestic passengers slipped 1.94% and international passengers fell 0.56%. For April alone, international passengers fell 0.81% while domestic passengers gained 0.13%.

AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES AT MIA: Miami International Airport will move forward plans to integrate autonomous work vehicles, following a successful pilot program as part of a partnership with Honda, with a meeting due in early July. An airport press representative confirmed that while there are no significant updates since a successful demonstration the airport held in February, the Aviation Department and Honda are moving forward with implementing AMVs throughout airport property. The AMVs would handle tasks such as mowing grass, spraying pesticides and securing the perimeter of the property, freeing airport workers to handle more important work. 

ATLANTIC CITY LINK: Spirit Airlines says it will launch new seasonal non-stop flights between Miami International Airport and Atlantic City International Airport four days a week beginning Aug. 13. The route will fly Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. “We’re always looking for new ways to expand service in this important region,” John Kirby, vice president of network planning for the airline, said in a written statement.

JOBLESS RATE STEADY: Miami-Dade County’s jobless rate held steady at 2.7% last month while unemployment for the Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach metropolitan area rose from 3% to 3.1%, data from the Florida Department of Commerce show. That tri-county 3.1% rate was still lowest in the state among metropolitan areas, as Florida’s unemployment rate held at 3.7%. Jimmy Heckman, the Department of Commerce’s chief of workforce statistics and economic research, said the state economy doesn’t show “signs of concern,” adding that “we’re continuing to see, at least in Florida, an environment where there’s a lot of demand for workers, businesses are having a lot of reasons to hire or expand, and that the labor force that’s looking for work is able to find work relatively easily.”

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