ORLANDO, Fla. – The busiest airport in Florida is about to get even busier.
More than 60 million passengers are expected to pass through the gates at Orlando International Airport in 2024 – a 10% jump from last year’s record 57.7 million passengers, according to Greater Orlando Aviation Authority CEO Kevin Thibault.
“Just to give you an example, between 2022 and 2023, we grew 15%,” Thibault said during an I-Drive Chamber of Commerce luncheon last week. “In planning purposes, we usually plan for 2-3%, so we basically grew five years in one year.”
Passenger volume isn’t the only growth story, though. As the nation’s fourth largest airport in terms of size, MCO is also expanding on its 12,000-acre property.
“I can fit JFK, MIA, and LAX in my footprint,” Thibault explained. “That’s how we were able to do Terminal C, and that’s how we’re able to do a lot of these expansions. I have the room to be able to build it without impacting current operations.”
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Thibault said the South Terminal Complex is the future. Another 24 gates will eventually open at Terminal C, and plans for another terminal – Terminal D – are in the works.
“Terminal C, when it’s fully done, will have 60 million passengers,” Thibault said. “Terminal D will have 60 million passengers. Terminals A and B, 25 million passengers. That’s what it really was designed for. We’ve eked out more capacity on that thing than we really should have.”
Other upgrades on the way for Terminal C include a pedestrian bridge – set to open Oct. 1 – that will connect Brightline passengers directly to the terminal. Crews are working to install moving sidewalks and finalizing a location for a new hotel as well.
A consolidated rental car facility is also in MCO’s long-term plans. Thibault said the goal is to build it on the south side of the airport near the 417.
“So it’s one way to pick up, one place to drop off, and it will not be where A and B are,” he said. “It’ll smooth out that whole A and B operation, take those cars out of there, and put them in their own dedicated space. By doing so, I’m going to free up 5,000 parking spaces in the garages.”
Another type of air travel is on the airport’s radar, too.
Thibault said he wants MCO to be a hub for advanced air mobility and plans to build a vertiport near Terminal C for electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles (eVTOL) – air taxis, essentially – that will zip passengers around the region.
“If you arrive by Brightline or international carrier, and you want to take that last jump to downtown or the theme parks, it’s right there waiting for you,” he said.
News 6 recently spoke with Matt Broffman who is head of public affairs for Lilium, an eVTOL manufacturer based in Germany. He said the futuristic aircraft will take passengers from Orlando International Airport to Tampa in about 30 to 40 minutes at speeds of 175 mph.
“It feels so far off sometimes when you talk about technology like this, but the reality is that we’re certifying this aircraft in Europe in 2025, and shortly thereafter here in the U.S.,” Broffman said. “So, you could see aircraft flying here in Orlando as early as 2026.”
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