MIAMI.- Miami International Airport (MIA) adds another international airline with Spanish air carrier LEVEL and an attractive offer of flights to Europe.
“We receive 913,000 passengers in 2023 from Spain and we expect that number to grow after these new flights,” said director of Miami-Dade County Aviation and MIA airport, Ralph Cutié, during the inauguration of the air service Wednesday night.
Cutié noted that “Level is a new achievement for Miami airport to expand flight service to and from Europe.”
In fact, Barcelona airport, located in the Spanish city, is the second most important air terminal in the Iberian country and has connections to a hundred destinations.
Let´s mention the significant train network that connects the Spanish city with national and European destinations.
The new route between Miami and Barcelona is operated by a modern Airbus A330-202 aircraft, with capacity for 314 people, which includes 21 seats in executive business class and 293 seats in economy class.
“This incredible city of Miami is the new addition to our flight service from Barcelona,” said LEVEL 's chief operating officer, Ricard Falomir.
And he stressed: “For now, we will fly three days a week, but we will soon add a fourth flight. So, LEVEL will fly Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to Barcelona. And this is our commitment to the city of Miami.”
Founded in 2017 and owned by International Airlines Group, LEVEL is a low-cost airliner based at Barcelona Airport (BCN) and Paris Orly (ORY). It offers long-haul flights to Europe, the United States, Canada, Argentina, and Chile.
Miami-Dade County and Level officials hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Miami International Airport and celebrated the airline’s launch of Barcelona-Miami service with the unveil of a large-scale painting by Miami graffiti artist Quake that commemorates the airline’s newest route.
Quake’s 6.5-foot-by-13-foot painting pays tribute to Barcelona and Miami-Dade County – two global hotspots for graffiti art.
The piece will temporarily be displayed inside Concourse F of MIA and the artist hopes it will remain there forever.
“I hope it stays here at MIA forever and ever,” he told DIARIO LAS AMÉRICAS.
“This work of art is inspired by the colors, vitality, energy, movement, nature and architecture of both cities,” he noted.
“So, I took elements from both cities and cultures, and merged them into one piece,” he added.
Last year, MIA airport achieved another historic mark, after reaching 52.3 million passengers during 2023, one and a half million more than the previous year and almost three million above the mark established before the coronavirus pandemic.
Besides LEVEL, MIA reports the addition of international airlines such as Condor, Volaris El Salvador, Norse Atlantic Airways and Porter Airlines, expanding its airline inventory to 99, the highest among US airports.
Looking to 2024, MIA anticipates further increase in passengers and cargo with the addition of more American Airlines flights to the Bahamas and Jamaica, as well as the addition of foreign airlines LEVEL and Viva Aerobus and China Cargo Airlines, among others that local authorities hold talks with, such as Japan Airlines and Taiwan's China Airlines.
