MIA Bursting At Seams, Will Need To Begin Busing Passengers Soon
Officials at MIA say that they have run out of gate capacity and are “on the brink” of busing passengers to terminals from hardstands.
Miami-Dade Aviation Department’s Ken Pyatt told a Dade committee last week that during peak times, the airport has no remaining spare gates. The airport is coming very close to implementing a busing solution, he said, with airlines such as Qatar Airways now looking to expand further.
Passenger growth at the airport is years ahead of forecast, according to a consultant. Dade commissioners have been pressuring airport officials to accelerate the Central Terminal project, but consultants and officials say that years of planning is needed before work can begin.
(photo:dan lundberg)
was in MIA last nite and it felt like being in a third world country. officers not giving clear directions. nobody speaking the same language. cutting and chaos. i love my city but it simply cannot keep up. we have dated politicians and corrupt beauracratic processes that make us more like the third world than america.
And the traffic is horrible. It took 20 mins. to get from the 112 off ramp to the American to drop a friend off.
Take the MerroRail.
LOL…MIA is the gateway to Central and South America so if you are traveling to those regions from MIA it is a great way to get the vacation started early. I travel to/from MIA
a few times a year and personally I like the craziness and energy that the airport puts out.
@frank abagnale jr – couldn’t agree more. Living in MIA is like living in a third world country – horrible signage, horrible infrastructure, no concern for fellow citizens, the unwritten rules of living in a civilized metropolitan that are in place in many other large and medium U.S. cities are not followed in MIA.
what an embarrassment to claim to be a “leader in Miami…..”we need to study for several years”…….STUDY WHAT???…..the airport needs that space!!!! now…do what real leaders do and fix the problem!!
Yea, lets just come up with a few billions dollars out of thin air, and the tens of millions needed to plan this.
how very miami to be late
So does that mean plans to renovate the airport will be replaced with plans to expand it (the logical solution)?
MIA doesnt have the room to expand..basically build a new terminal on top of a pre existing terminal as they did for the new american airlines terminal
I’m glad they are realizing that waiting until 2035 to have a new terminal is a stupid idea.
The airport site is tight. Needs a second terminal complex with a separate connector to the congested Dolphin expressway. The long-term solution is unfortunately pressing now. A congested airport will seriously affect the perception of Miami as a destination to the benefit of other destinations. The American Airlines hub will only provide so much protection until flyers start paying a premium to avoid it. Same with the cruise ship related flyers. Ft. Lauderdale can pick up some of the slack but is relatively small. Too bad this requires some prompt, collaborative action, two things Miami avoids.
Time to beef up Opa-Locka or better yet Homestead.
maybe move more domestic traffic to Fort Lauderdale and focus on Miami as international. Could build a fast train between the 2 airports.
FLL is already packed as is. They’re currently expanding Terminal 4 and are planning to build a new concourse for Terminal 1. Once again, Broward getting work done while Dade sits around and does nothing.
“Qatar Airways looking to expand further? Are they planning flying the A380 to Miami? Maybe that’s why they are renovating the E Satellite and adding a A380 capable gate (E24).
Not only has American’s banked hub increased the necessity for more gates but American benefits from MIA having fewer gates available for use by competitors. While there might be solid marketing reasons for American to operate banked hubs, MIA must prioritize access for other carriers who wish to grow outside of the gates American constructed as part of its new terminal.
The congestion issue at MIA has been an issue everyone at the airport has known about for years. The problem is the Miami Dade Commission refuses to play ball with AMerican Airlines with any renovations they try to do. It’s been that way since the 90’s when American gained their majority presence and refused to give the Miami Dade Commission flight privileges like the airlines there before them. Once they told the commission they could fly only when they paid for their tickets like everyone else American Airlines got shut out from any rhyme or reason regarding the airport. They’ve been trying to rush the process of fixing up the E terminal for the lob eat time. The hold up? Miami Dade Commission. The Miami Dade Commission is basically a cartel in regards to running that airport and Miami International is the only airport in the country run that way. They have no regards for how passengers are effected or traffic or anything else. All over some petty feud from almost 30 years ago…
By adjusting the angle of the runways by 3 degrees the flight path is no longer over the CBD. This is possible.
The real issue is that MIA, and Miami in general, have a reactionary mentality rather then planning ahead for our future before issues arise. Airports, traffic, public transportation, baylink….all of these should have been addressed years and decades ago. But thats not how our politicians operate. You want change, elect officials who are wiling to go to bat for our city on project that actually effect us.
A “signature bridge” which does nothing to increase capacity, or take vehicles off our busy congested streets, is not that answer and a waste of money. Tunnel Brickell Avenue under the Miami River, expand the metro rail and metro mover on dedicated above ground lines, build the baylink, raise our streets (as they’re doing in Miami Beach) to prepare for sea level rise….these are real changes that the city will benefit from it is to survive the next 100 years.
Sorry for the rant but we need to focus our voices and money on things that improve our daily lives, not just make them “iconic”.
there is not enough space to do that…
Meanwhile, Tampa and Orlando are in the process of renovating and expanding. Step it up Miami.
http://www.thenextmiami.com/tunnel-brickell-cbd-studied/
Wonder if this is because of American’s new banked hubbing system?
I think that is most of the problem. They are using the old E satellite as overflow gates.
No one was really using the E satellite before AA started using it as overflow so that can’t be the entire issue. Plus, no other airlines used AA’s gates in D and E even before the banking, so the amount of gates available to other carriers hasn’t changed. Part of the problem may be that the 6 international (and 4 widebody-capable) gates on the south side of the E satellite are closed for construction.
The obvious answer is to shut it down so we can have taller buildings.
No the obvious answer is to move the runways 3 degrees and we have both.
The obvious answer is that you are each morons. Can’t move runways just for the sake of moving them, they are aligned according to prevailing winds. Not to mention the cost to taxpayers to move runways….
No, they are not. Winds change and many airports have runways in a cross pattern, so that takeoffs/landings can change based on the wind patterns at that moment
In South Florida the winds are typically E/W. The runways at ALL of the major airports reflect this, in fact FLL closed their crosswind runway years ago and there is just 10/28 L/R. Changing an 8/26 to a 5/23 is a big difference and would make takeoff and landing more difficult/less safe.
Changing an 8/26 to a 5/23 would be a 30-degree change, not 3.
While I agree that even a 3-degree change is unrealistic to expect (and would take one or more runways out of service to accommodate the work), the numbers would probably not change.
By adjusting the angle of the runways by 3 degrees the flight path is no longer over the CBD. This is possible.
The real issue is that MIA, and Miami in general, have a reactionary mentality rather then planning ahead for our future before issues arise. Airports, traffic, public transportation, baylink….all of these should have been addressed years and decades ago. But thats not how our politicians operate. You want change, elect officials who are wiling to go to bat for our city on project that actually effect us.
A “signature bridge” which does nothing to increase capacity, or take vehicles off our busy congested streets, is not that answer and a waste of money. Tunnel Brickell Avenue under the Miami River, expand the metro rail and metro mover on dedicated above ground lines, build the baylink, raise our streets (as they’re doing in Miami Beach) to prepare for sea level rise….these are real changes that the city will benefit from it is to survive the next 100 years.
Sorry for the rant but we need to focus our voices and money on things that improve our daily lives, not just make them “iconic”.
Miami is all private money and infrastructure doesn’t make private investors money. Rather than building the world’s largest hairpin (aka SkyRise) why not complete the bay and river walks? These great pedestrian spaces would attract many more tourists than a stupid free fall ride/obersvation deck. But alas, no one can profit off of that, so it will never happen.
Well said
This is not particular to MIA. LGA in NYC is worse. Miami does have options. In the 60-70’s thay opted not to create a new Airport at the Everglades, then known as the Jetport because of distance and lack of transportation solutions. Former Miami Mayor and Miami Dade Commissioner Maurice Ferré headed up a study in 2000 with MIT transportation experts to address this and one of the conclusions was to move Cargo to Opa-Locka and create new terminals were the Cargo is now at the West end of MIA. This was in addition to adding an additional runway. This was a brilliant study but would be impossible to make happen given the byzantine nature of the Miami Dade Commission and their fiefdom mentality. What will result is the ad hoc solutions that MIA undergoes. LGA is finally looking to solve their high demands for improving an antiquated airport. They have openned the airport to be managed by sophisticated, qualified and highly funded teams that can restructure LGA to increase the gate capacity and land side terminals along with a new transportation line. Joe Biden had to make harsh remarks about the “3rd World” nature of LGA in America’s largest… Read more »
http://www.thenextmiami.com/tunnel-brickell-cbd-studied/
It seems the gods above are listening. This was done with US1 under the New River in Fort Lauderdale. Brickell Avenue and South Miami Avenue should both run under the Miami River for vehicular traffic, leaving the existing drawbridges for pedestrian and bike traffic