Miami International Airport sees record growth as long-haul flights expand

The longest scheduled nonstop passenger flight from Miami this winter is operated by Emirates between Dubai and Miami, with a maximum block time of up to 16 hours and 35 minutes. The route covers approximately 6,817 nautical miles (12,625 kilometers) each way and has been in operation since 2021. Previously, Emirates served Fort Lauderdale but shifted operations due to low seat occupancy rates and operational considerations.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), only 74% of seats were filled on the Fort Lauderdale route before it was discontinued. The Miami service has seen an even lower seat occupancy rate at 65%, with no month exceeding an 81% load factor. As a result, Emirates extended the route to Bogotá in 2024.

In the twelve months ending July 2025, Emirates carried about 170,000 passengers between Miami and Dubai (excluding onward connections to Colombia). Data shows that roughly two-thirds of these passengers connected through Dubai to other destinations, with Manila being the most popular final destination due in part to Miami’s cruise industry. Other top connecting destinations included Mumbai, Denpasar/Bali, Hyderabad, Dhaka, Delhi, Bangkok, Jakarta, Bengaluru, and Singapore.

Qatar Airways operates the second-longest route between Doha and Miami at up to 16 hours and 30 minutes using A350-1000 aircraft ten times weekly.

Other notable long-haul routes include El Al’s Tel Aviv-Miami service (up to 13 hours and 50 minutes), Turkish Airlines’ Istanbul-Miami flights (up to 13 hours), ITA Airways’ Rome-Miami link (up to 11 hours and 55 minutes), LOT Polish’s Warsaw-Miami service (up to 11 hours and 40 minutes), Lufthansa’s Munich-Miami route (up to 11 hours and five minutes), Finnair’s Helsinki-Miami connection (up to 11 hours and five minutes), SAS’s Copenhagen-Miami flights (up to eleven hours), and American Airlines’ Barcelona-Miami operation (just under eleven hours).

Turkish Airlines offers the highest frequency among these long-haul services with eleven weekly flights between Istanbul and Miami this winter season. The airline has served Miami for ten years and carried approximately 330,000 passengers between August 2024 and July 2025 with an average seat load factor of 84%. The majority of Turkish Airlines passengers transferred through Istanbul onto other destinations.

The most popular connecting markets for Turkish Airlines passengers included Athens, Moscow, Cairo, Bucharest, Bangkok, Belgrade, Sofia, Budapest, Beirut, and Dubai. Air Serbia has indicated interest in launching Miami flights in the future targeting some of these markets.