The latest passenger numbers find the Orlando International Airport was the busiest in Florida in 2017.
The airport had a 6.41 percent annual growth, with 2.7 million new passengers. That beat its annual record with a total of 44.6 million passengers.
Phil Brown, Greater Orlando Aviation Authority CEO, said a strong central Florida economy, with theme park expansion and a growing University of Central Florida helped lure passengers to the airport.
“We’ve already started construction on 16 additional gates to accommodate this growth at the airport. But we’re concerned that when we open that up we may run out of capacity. Because the growth that we’re starting to plan ahead to be able to deliver some additional capacity if needed," Brown said.
Brown said the airport generates $31 billion annually in revenue for the regional economy.