Miami International Airport
Airport serving Miami, Florida, United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Airport serving Miami, Florida, United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Miami International Airport (IATA: MIA, ICAO: KMIA, FAA LID: MIA) — also known as MIA and historically as Wilcox Field — is the primary international airport serving Miami and its surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of Florida. It hosts over 1,000 daily flights to 185 domestic and international destinations, including most countries in Latin America. The airport is in an unincorporated area in Miami-Dade County,[4] 8 miles (13 km) west-northwest of downtown Miami, in metropolitan Miami,[2] adjacent to the cities of Miami and Miami Springs, and the village of Virginia Gardens. Nearby cities include Hialeah, Doral, and the census-designated place of Fontainebleau.
Miami International Airport | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owner/Operator | Miami-Dade Aviation Department (MDAD) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Serves | Miami metropolitan area | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Miami-Dade County, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1928 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Time zone | EST (UTC−05:00) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC−04:00) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 3 m / 9 ft | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 25°47′36″N 080°17′26″W | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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In 2021, Miami International Airport became the busiest international cargo airport in the U.S.[5][6][7] and the busiest U.S. gateway for international passengers, surpassing John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.[8][9] As of 2021, it is the 10th busiest airport in the U.S. with 17,500,096 passengers for the year. It is Florida's busiest airport by total aircraft operations, total cargo traffic and total passenger traffic.[10] The airport is American Airlines' third-largest hub and serves as its primary gateway to Latin America and the Caribbean. Miami also serves as a focus city for Avianca, Frontier Airlines, and LATAM, both for passengers and cargo operations.
Miami International Airport covers 3,300 acres (1,300 ha).[2][11] It is South Florida's main airport for long-haul international flights and a hub for the Southeastern United States with passenger and cargo flights to cities throughout the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia. It is the largest gateway between the U.S. and Latin America and the Caribbean and one of the largest airline hubs in the nation.
Today's Miami International Airport has a fascinating history that dates back to the late 1920s and Miami's emergence as a national and international aviation superstar. In June of 1928 Pan American Airways acquired 116 acres of land on NW 36th Street for the purpose of building a privately owned and operated international airport in Miami, Florida. The establishment of a commercial airport and of regularly scheduled international passenger airline service by Pan Am was a transformative event for the City of Miami. By September of 1928, Pan Am had begun to operate regularly scheduled Air Mail service between Miami and Havana. On January 9, 1929, Pan American Airport, also known as Pan American Field, was officially dedicated at a ceremony attended by thousands of residents and celebrities such as Amelia Earhart, who saw in the new airport the promise of a bright new future in international aviation for Miami. It was the first mainland airport in the United States to have international port of entry facilities. The passenger terminal building, designed by Delano & Aldrich of NYC, was the most advanced and luxurious in the country. Three hangars, two on the east and one on the west, provided housing and maintenance facilities for Pan Am's fleet of Sikorsky amphibian and Fokker aircraft. During the first few years of its operation, from late 1928 until late 1930, it was from this busy airport that Pan American Airways historically pioneered U.S. international passenger aviation, inaugurating regularly scheduled Air Mail and passenger airline service from the U.S. to the West Indies, Caribbean, and Central and South America. In the 1930s Pan American leased space at its airport to Eastern Airlines. Eastern officially took up residence at the 36th Street Airport in August of 1935. In 1940, Intercontinent Corporation, owned by William Pawley, built an aircraft manufacturing plant on land acquired immediately east of Pan American Field. The City and County, eager to encourage the growth of an aircraft manufacturing industry in Miami, agreed to finance and build runways and ground facilities at the Intercontinent plant, including an east-west runway that extended from Le Jeune Road as far west as Pan American Field, where it intersected with Pan Am's east-west runway. National Airlines, which had been operating in Miami at Miami's city-owned Municipal Airport since 1937, moved to the 36th Street Airport in 1942. National used a terminal on LeJeune Road, across the street from the airport and would stop traffic on the road in order to taxi aircraft to and from its terminal. Miami Army Airfield opened in 1943 on 1400 acres of land acquired during World War II to the south of Pan American Field. The two airfields were listed in some directories as a single facility.[12]
Following World War II, the Dade County Port Authority embarked on a long-planned airport expansion in order to meet Miami's increasing commercial aviation needs. In December 1945, the County acquired Pan Am’s N.W. 36th Street airport which thus ended any distinct identity of Pan American Field. It also acquired Intercontinent's former holdings, which were leased to Eastern Airlines, and changed the name of the newly expanded airport to Miami International Airport. Pan American's former NW 36th Street terminal building continued to serve as the hub for the new Miami International Airport. Between 1945 and 1950, the Port Authority cobbled together thousands more acres adjacent to and south of the airport, including the Army’s former air base; the Seaboard Air Line Railroad property; and additional parcels, with the intention of meeting Miami’s future aviation needs. The result was a County-owned, Miami International Airport based at NW 36th Street that by 1948 had grown to 2500 acres. The former domed-roofed Pan Am terminal building was extensively remodeled and enlarged, the words “Miami International Airport” now curving across its façade. The new airport was officially dedicated January 4, 1950. United States Air Force Reserve troop carrier and rescue squadrons also operated from the airport from 1949 through 1959, when the last unit relocated to nearby Homestead Air Force Base (now Homestead Air Reserve Base). In the late 1940s, Pan Am and Eastern also expanded their bases at MIA on NW 36th Street, which made the airport the world's largest commercial aircraft maintenance and overhaul facility at the time.[13]
In the 1950s, a continuing boom in postwar passenger aviation soon stretched even the County’s expanded airport to capacity. Scheduled airlines had outstripped ships, trains and buses to become the state’s as well as the nation’s largest carriers of interstate and international traffic. Delta had joined Pan Am, Eastern and National to become MIA's "Big Four" carriers and the airport also served a host of smaller scheduled and non-scheduled airlines. A new jet age loomed. Plans for an entirely new airport, to be built from scratch on land south and east of the existing facility were set in motion. On February 1, 1959, after years of planning and construction, Miami's brand-new Miami International Airport was formally inaugurated at 20th Street, on what was dubbed Wilcox Field in honor of the Port Authority attorney who had been instrumental in bringing the project to completion. No longer needed, the former domed-roofed terminal building on NW 36th Street was torn down in November 1962. This part of MIA along NW 36th Street is known today as MIA's north field.
When it was dedicated in 1959, MIA's new 20th Street Terminal was the largest central airport terminal in the world, with five concourses (Concourses C-G) and a 270-room hotel. In 1961, the terminal was expanded with the addition of a sixth concourse (Concourse H) on the south side, which was the first concourse at the airport to include jetways. By 1965, the original five concourses were renovated with jetways added to them.[14]
The 20th Street Terminal was expanded in the 1970s. Parking garages were added just east of the terminal and Concourse B opened on the north side of the terminal in 1973 to accommodate the expansion of Eastern Air Lines.[15] In 1977, Concourse E's satellite terminal opened. The satellite was originally connected with shuttle buses, though a people mover was built to connect the satellite in 1980.[14]
Nonstop flights to Chicago and Newark started in late 1946, but nonstops didn't reach west beyond St. Louis and New Orleans until January 1962. Nonstop transatlantic flights to Europe began in 1970. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Air Florida had a hub at MIA, with a nonstop flight to London, England which it acquired from National upon the latter's merger with Pan Am. Air Florida ceased operations in 1982 after the crash of Air Florida Flight 90.[16] British Airways flew a Concorde SST (supersonic transport) triweekly between Miami and London via Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., from 1984 to 1991.[17]
The terminal was further expanded in the 1980s. The original Concourses D and E were rebuilt early in the decade and Concourses B and F were expanded.[18] Pedestrian bridges with moving walkways were built in 1985 connecting the parking garages with the third level of the terminal. Within the next few years, the moving walkway system on the third level was expanded to run along the full length of the terminal.[19]
After former Apollo 8 astronaut Frank Borman became president of Eastern Air Lines in 1975, he moved Eastern's headquarters from Rockefeller Center in New York City to Building 16 in the northeast corner of MIA, Eastern's maintenance base. Eastern remained one of the largest employers in the Miami metropolitan area until ongoing labor union unrest, coupled with the airline's acquisition by Texas Air in 1986, ultimately forced the airline into bankruptcy in 1989.[16] Eastern operated out of Concourses B through D on the north side of the terminal, where American's Concourse D stands today.[20][21] Concourse E was the home for most international carriers, while Pan Am operated out of Concourses E and F.[20][22]
Amid Eastern's turmoil, American Airlines CEO Robert Crandall sought a new hub in order to utilize new aircraft which AA had on order. AA studies indicated that Delta Air Lines would provide strong competition on most routes from Eastern's hub at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, but that MIA had many key routes only served by Eastern. American Airlines announced that it would establish a base at MIA in August 1988. Lorenzo considered selling Eastern's profitable Latin America routes to AA as part of a Chapter 11 reorganization of Eastern in early 1989 but backed out in a last-ditch effort to rebuild the MIA hub. The effort quickly proved futile, and American Airlines purchased the routes (including the route authority between Miami and London then held by Eastern sister company Continental Airlines) in a liquidation of Eastern which was completed in 1990.[16] Later in the 1990s, American transferred more employees and equipment to MIA from its failed domestic hubs at Nashville, Tennessee, and Raleigh–Durham, North Carolina. The hub grew from 34 daily departures in 1989 to 157 in 1990, 190 in 1992, and a peak of 301 in 1995, including long-haul flights to Europe and South America.[23] Today Miami is American's largest air freight hub and is the main connecting point in the airline's north–south international route network.
In December 1992, South African Airways launched flights to Johannesburg via Cape Town using a Boeing 747.[24][25] The company's codeshare agreement with American Airlines supported the route. The carrier later decided to codeshare with Delta Air Lines instead, which operated a hub in Atlanta. Consequently, South African replaced its Miami service with a flight to Atlanta in January 2000.[26][27]
Concourse A was built on the northeast side of the terminal in 1995, and Concourse H was rebuilt in 1997. Concourse J was built in August 2007 along with an expansion of the terminal on the south side.[18]
American began the development of the current North Terminal in the 1990s. Concourses B and C were demolished as part of the project with Concourse A becoming the eastern end of the expanded Concourse D. Although the terminal was originally scheduled to be completed in 2004, numerous delays arose in the construction process, and Miami-Dade County took over control of the project in 2005, at which time the project had a budget of $2.85 billion.[28] The terminal was ultimately completed in 2011 and included Skytrain, an automated people mover system, as well as a wing for American Eagle commuter flights.[29]
Pan Am was acquired by Delta Air Lines in 1991, but filed for bankruptcy shortly thereafter. Its remaining international routes from Miami to Europe and Latin America were sold to United Airlines for $135 million as part of Pan Am's emergency liquidation that December.[16] United's Latin American hub offered 24 daily departures in the summer of 1992, growing to 36 daily departures to 21 destinations in the summer of 1994, but returned to 24 daily departures in the summer of 1995 and never expanded further.[30] United ended flights from Miami to South America, and shut down its Miami crew base, in May 2004, reallocating most Miami resources to its main hub in O'Hare International Airport in Chicago.[31] United ceased all mainline service to Miami in 2005 with the introduction of its low-cost product Ted.[30]
Iberia also established a Miami hub in 1992, positioning a fleet of DC-9 aircraft at MIA to serve destinations in Central America and the Caribbean. The hub took advantage of rights granted under the 1991 bilateral aviation agreement between the United States and Spain.[32] During the 1990s, the airport had sterile international-to-international transit facilities in Concourse D (American, British, and Alitalia) and Concourse F (Iberia and four Central American carriers), and there were plans to establish a sterile corridor for international connecting passengers between six concourses.[33] However, the September 11, 2001, attacks made it necessary for many foreigners to obtain a visa in order to transit the United States, and as a result, United Airlines and Iberia closed their hubs in 2004.[34]
MIA is projected to process 77 million passengers and 4 million tons of freight annually by 2040.[35] To meet such a demand, the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners approved a $5 billion improvement plan to take place over 15 years and concluding in 2035. The comprehensive plan includes concourse optimization, construction of two on-site luxury hotels, the demolition of Concourse G, and expansion of the airport's cargo capacity.[36]
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Miami International Airport contains three terminals (North, Central, and South) and six concourses for a total of 131 gates.[37] With the exception of Concourse G, all concourses contain gates to access U.S. Customs and Border Protection facilities.
American operates three Admirals Clubs and one Flagship Lounge across Concourses D & E.[38] Numerous other lounges exist across the airport as well, including an American Express Centurion Lounge located in Concourse D.[38][39][40] The North Terminal (Concourse D) is for the exclusive use of American Airlines. The Central Terminal (Concourses E, F, and G) has varied uses; Concourse E is mainly used by American and its Oneworld partner airlines along with some Caribbean and Latin American airlines, and E's satellite terminal has a gate that can accommodate an Airbus A380. Concourses F and G are used by non-AA domestic and Canadian carriers and flights. The South Terminal (Concourses H and J) is the main non-Oneworld international terminal. Concourse H is largely used by Delta and non-Oneworld international carriers that send narrowbody planes largely from Central and the northern parts of South America, and some widebody flights; and Concourse J is used by most non-Oneworld international carriers that send widebody planes and is the main terminal at MIA for non-Oneworld trans-continental flights. Concourse J also has one gate that can accommodate an A380.[41]
Miami International Airport offers the MIA Mover, a free people mover system to transfer passengers between MIA terminals and the Miami Intermodal Center (MIC) that opened to the public on September 9, 2011. The MIC provides direct access from the airport to ground transportation (shuttle/bus/rail) as well as the Rental Car Center. A Metrorail station opened at the MIC on July 28, 2012; a Tri-Rail station followed on April 5, 2015. Plans for Amtrak to operate a station at the MIC have been cancelled since it was discovered that the platform built for the service was too short for Amtrak trains. The platform now sits empty and closed, with no trains stopping at it.[42]
The rental car center consolidates airport car rental operations at the MIC.[43]
Miami International Airport has direct public transit service to Miami-Dade Transit's Metrorail and Metrobus networks; Greyhound Bus Lines and to the Tri-Rail commuter rail system. Metrorail operates the Orange Line train from Miami International Airport to destinations such as Downtown, Brickell, Health District, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, Dadeland, Hialeah, South Miami, and Wynwood. It takes approximately 15 minutes to get from the airport to Downtown.
Miami-Dade Transit operates an Airport Flyer bus that connects MIA directly to South Beach.[44]
MIA is served directly by Tri-Rail, Miami's commuter rail system. The station opened on April 5, 2015. Tri-Rail connects MIA to northern Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. Tri-Rail directly serves points north such as Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach, Delray Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Pompano Beach and West Palm Beach.[45]
MIA has a number of air cargo facilities. The largest cargo complex is located on the west side of the airport, inside the triangle formed by Runways 12/30 and 9/27. Cargo carriers such as LATAM Cargo, Atlas Air, Amerijet International, and DHL operate from this area. The largest privately owned facility is the Centurion Cargo complex in the northeast corner of the airport, with over 51,000 m2 (550,000 sq ft) of warehouse space.[46] FedEx and UPS operate their own facilities in the northwest corner of the airport, off of 36th Street. In addition to its large passenger terminal in Concourse D, American Airlines operates a maintenance base to the east of Concourse D, centered around a semicircular hangar originally used by National Airlines which can accommodate three widebody aircraft.[47]
| Rank | City | Passengers | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Atlanta, Georgia |
1,033,000 | American, Delta, Frontier, Southwest, Spirit |
| 2 |  New York–JFK, New York |
902,000 | American, Delta, JetBlue |
| 3 | New York–LaGuardia, New York |
848,000 | American, Delta, Frontier, Spirit |
| 4 |  Newark, New Jersey |
688,000 | American, Frontier, JetBlue, Spirit, United |
| 5 |  Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas |
682,000 | American, Frontier, Spirit |
| 6 |  Los Angeles, California |
635,000 | American, Delta, JetBlue |
| 7 |  Chicago–O'Hare, Illinois |
620,000 | American, Spirit, United |
| 8 |  Boston, Massachusetts |
566,000 | American, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Spirit |
| 9 |  Charlotte, North Carolina |
506,000 | American, Spirit |
| 10 |  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
491,000 | American, Frontier, Spirit |
| Rank | Airport | Passengers | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  London–Heathrow, United Kingdom |
976,245 | American, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic |
| 2 |  Bogotá, Colombia |
926,465 | American, Avianca, LATAM |
| 3 |  Panama City–Tocumen, Panama |
866,771 | American, Copa |
| 4 |  Mexico City, Mexico |
818,337 | Aeroméxico, American, Volaris |
| 5 |  São Paulo–Guarulhos, Brazil |
776,744 | American, LATAM Brasil |
| 6 |  Lima, Peru |
773,377 | American, LATAM Peru, Sky Peru |
| 7 |  Madrid, Spain |
732,582 | Air Europa, American, Iberia |
| 8 |  Havana, Cuba |
603,949 | American, Delta |
| 9 |  Buenos Aires–Ezeiza, Argentina |
575,207 | Aerolíneas Argentinas, American |
| 10 | Cancún, Mexico |
557,331 | American, Frontier |
| Rank | Airline | Passengers | Percent of market share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | American Airlines | 15,902,000 | 57.26% |
| 2 | Delta Air Lines | 3,031,000 | 10.89% |
| 3 | Spirit Airlines | 2,164,000 | 7.77% |
| 4 | Southwest Airlines | 1,592,000 | 5.72% |
| 5 | United Airlines | 1,586,000 | 5.59% |
| 6 | Other | 3,568,000 | 12.82% |
| Year | Passengers | Year | Passengers | Year | Passengers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 33,621,273 | 2010 | 35,698,025 | 2020 | 18,663,858 |
| 2001 | 31,668,450 | 2011 | 38,314,389 | 2021 | 37,302,456 |
| 2002 | 30,060,241 | 2012 | 39,467,444 | 2022 | 50,684,396 |
| 2003 | 29,595,618 | 2013 | 40,562,948 | 2023 | 52,340,934 |
| 2004 | 30,165,197 | 2014 | 40,941,879 | ||
| 2005 | 31,008,453 | 2015 | 44,350,247 | ||
| 2006 | 32,553,974 | 2016 | 44,584,603 | ||
| 2007 | 33,740,416 | 2017 | 44,071,313 | ||
| 2008 | 34,063,531 | 2018 | 45,044,312 | ||
| 2009 | 33,886,025 | 2019 | 45,924,466 |
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