MIAMI NAMED BEST AIRPORT IN NORTH AMERICA IN CARGO AWARDS

Miami Intermational Airport has been named the best airport in North America in the 2018 Asian Freight, Logistics and Supply Chain (AFLAS) awards.

The awards programme, hosted and organised annually by industry publication Asia Cargo News, recognised leading cargo logistics service providers including air and shipping lines, air and sea ports, and other associated industry professionals.

The nomination and voting process, according to Asia Cargo News, allowed more than 10,000 readers and e-news subscribers of the publication to determine the leading organizations in the market and then select the winners – making the award results the opinion of service users rather than a panel of judges.

MIA was chosen from a group of four finalists that also included Chicago O’Hare, Seattle-Tacoma and Vancouver international airports.

“Congratulations to MIA for receiving more well-deserved recognition because of its world-class cargo operations,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez. 

Read also - All news of the day

“Miami-Dade County is incredibly fortunate to have America’s busiest international freight airport – and one of the world’s top 10 - within our community.”

MIA achieved its best year ever for freight tonnage in 2017, with 2.24 million total tons – a 3% increase over 2016.

The airport benefitted from four new international cargo carriers launching service last year, which included Etihad Cargo commencing weekly freighter flights between Miami, Amsterdam and Abu Dhabi in November; and Qatar Airways launching two weekly cargo flights from Doha, with stops inLuxembourg, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Quito and Liege.

“It is an honour to be named Best Airport in North America by the readers of Asia Cargo News, especially given the calibre of the other airports shortlisted for this award,” said Miami-Dade's aviation director, Lester Sola.

“We are proud to be an example of excellence in the air cargo sector, and we look forward to strengthening trade and commerce even more within our world region.”