Photo: Virgin Voyages
PortMiami is home to Virgin Voyages' Scarlet Lady cruise ship.
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Economic Backbone: Transportation
Virgin Voyages' new palm tree design cruise terminal is open at PortMiami
PortMiami: Terminal Activity
Virgin Voyages’ new cruise terminal is open at PortMiami. The terminal, part of a county project aimed at reducing emissions from vessels at berth, is home to the 2,770-passenger Scarlet Lady.
There are two other terminals under construction at PortMiami. MSC Cruises’ terminal will be able to accommodate two ships, making it one of the largest cruise terminals in the world when it opens in 2024. Carnival Cruises’ terminal is closer to completion. It is renovating terminal F, built in December 2010, to accommodate its newer ships joining the fleet.
MIA: Record Cargo, ITA Airways, Biometric Update
Miami International Airport is coming off a second record year for air cargo in 2021, with 2.7 million tons, 17% above the 2.3 million tons handled in 2020. International freight grew 17% to 2.2 million tons, while domestic freight rose 15% to 500,000 tons. Late last year, both DHL Express and FedEx Express completed major renovations and expansions of their cargo hubs. For international freight, MIA continues to rank as the busiest airport in the U.S. and ninth busiest in the world.
In other MIA news, Italy’s new national airline, ITA Airways, launched service and plans to offer daily flights in June. Italy was one of MIA’s top 20 international markets before the pandemic, generating nearly 400,000 passengers in 2019. Italy is not currently served by any other airline at MIA.
Installation of biometric boarding at all of MIA departure gates, which will replace manual boarding pass scanning with facial comparison screening, is expected to be complete by the end of the year.
