I recently wrote about how I consider Cairo to have the worst major airport in the world. I asked if anyone had any other airports that they think deserve that title, and several people mentioned Miami.
Miami is my home airport, so I couldn’t help but chuckle. I wanted to talk about that in a bit more detail in this post. Before I do, let me say upfront that I’m by no means a Miami apologist or cheerleader (I’m talking about both the city and airport). I think I see it for what it is, and in 2021 I wrote about the absurdity of JD Power ranking Miami as North America’s best airport.
I’m absolutely not making the case that Miami is a good airport, I just don’t think it’s the worst airport in the world (or even in the country). Let me explain.
There are lots of bad things about Miami Airport
Miami Airport doesn’t have many redeeming qualities, plain and simple. Where do we even begin when it comes to the downsides of Miami Airport?
Employees & passengers leave a lot to be desired
There’s no denying that the staff at Miami Airport aren’t terribly nice, on balance. If you’re not from Miami, maybe that will be noticeable to you. As someone who lives in Miami, I’m totally unfazed, as that reflects many of my service interactions in the city.
I kind of view living in Miami as an expat experience in many ways (though perhaps less so since the pandemic, when half of New York seemingly decided to move here). I’m just not very good with languages, while Ford has fully embraced it — I’m pretty sure his Spanish is better than his English at this point. Anyway, I digress…
Beyond the rude staff, the passengers at the airport, are, ummm, also a mixed bag when it comes to their behavior. I mean, I can’t count the number of times over the years that I’ve witnessed situations where police got involved. And that says nothing of the number of passengers who don’t use headphones when making phone calls or watching videos.
The terminal layout is bad in multiple ways
Concourse D is the home of American, and the biggest concourse at the airport. It’s just one very long terminal, so if you leave from the higher D gates, it’s quite a trek to the gate, whether you’re walking from security or the lower D gates.
Yes, there’s a train system, but it’s usually breakeven as to whether it’s faster to take the train or just walk (and I always prefer to get some extra steps anyway). I don’t know who thought that this one long concourse thing was a good idea, but it’s a pain. The single, long terminal is also bad in terms of congestion, since it means that all passengers walk through the same area, and it can get very crowded.
Even beyond the layout of Concourse D, the overall layout of the airport is annoying, with regards to how terminals aren’t connected airside. Concourse D & E are connected airside, then you have Concourse H & J, and then you have Concourse F & G (which are the saddest of all).
Funny story — I didn’t realize that Concourse F actually really existed or was a thing until my recent flight on Boliviana de Aviacion. The terminal makes a Greyhound bus station look like the Lufthansa First Class Terminal, by comparison.
The concessions & lounges are subpar
There are no two ways about it — Miami Airport’s selection of dining and duty free is really low end, unlike so many other major international airports in the US.
Some airports put a lot of effort into having local establishments serve up some of their best food and drinks, while Miami Airport largely has garbage concessions that incorporate things that make them sound like they’re local, by adding “305,” or “Wynwood,” or whatever.
The lounges aren’t much better either:
- The Amex Centurion Lounge is consistently crowded… then again, which Centurion Lounge isn’t?
- The American Admirals Clubs are overcrowded and outdated; at least the Flagship Lounge tends to be pretty decent
- There’s a lack of other quality lounges, with some of the only other options being the Delta Sky Club®, the two Turkish Airlines Lounges, and the LATAM Lounge
To be honest, unless I have access to the American Flagship Lounge or Delta Sky Club®, I’ll just generally skip lounges and sit in a quiet gate area, for those situations where I do have extra time.
What I don’t mind about Miami Airport
Now let me make the case for why there are worse airports in the world than Miami. Again, I’m not saying Miami is a good airport, just that it could be worse.
It’s convenient if originating your travels
As someone who lives in Miami, I find the airport to be pretty easy to use. For one, Miami has to be one of the biggest airports in the country that’s so close to a major city. From many parts of Miami, the airport is just 10-20 minutes away (it can be a bit longer with traffic, of course), so that’s quite a contrast to airports in Los Angeles and New York, where it can easily take over an hour to get to the airport from many parts of the city.
Furthermore, when departing Concourse D, I typically have to wait for under five minutes at TSA PreCheck. I think the most I’ve ever waited (after hundreds of flights) is maybe 15 minutes.
So I find the airport to be easy to originate at, and that largely negates the negatives for me. I can reliably be at the airport well under an hour before departure, and still arrive at the gate before boarding begins. I also put in AirPods Pro the second I arrive at the airport until I get on the plane, so that I can be less annoyed by the poor manners of many people around me.
There are worse airports at which to connect
Miami Airport is not a pleasure to connect at. My only argument here is that I’m not actually convinced it’s the worst airport to connect at. For example, I’d rather connect in Miami than Charlotte (CLT), as I find the latter to possibly be the least pleasant connecting hub in the country.
That’s not because of anything wrong with the airport, but rather because of the number of people that American pumps through there during peak periods. There’s nowhere to sit, and the terminal feels about as crowded a a concert. Add in the lack of lounge capacity, and I just don’t enjoy connecting there.
I don’t want to throw too many airports under the bus, but I think one of the things that makes Miami a little less terrible in this regard is that it’s not a major domestic connecting hub, given its geography. I think any of the overwhelmingly domestic connecting hubs of the “big three” carriers are incredibly unpleasant during peak, banked periods, given the volume of travelers, and Miami doesn’t quite have that number of passengers.
Miami Airport is heaven for airline & aviation geeks
Perhaps this isn’t much of an argument in favor of Miami Airport not sucking, though as an aviation geek, I do kind of love the traffic we get at the airport.
Like, does your airport have daily service from Red Air MD-82s and World Atlantic MD-83s? Does your airport have flights to Havana using PLAY, Fly2Sky, and Eastern Express aircraft? Does your airport have a 68-year-old Convair CV-5800 cargo plane stationed there? I didn’t think so. 😉 And that says nothing of the huge number of Boeing 747 cargo jets we get here every day.
Take me to any other airport in the United States, and I probably won’t be caught off guard by any planes. Meanwhile at Miami Airport, there’s always something new.
Bottom line
Miami doesn’t have a good airport, and there’s a lot to dislike about it, from the terminal design and layout, to many of the employees, to the concessions. My only argument in favor of there being worse airports is that it’s actually a pretty convenient airport to originate at, and I’m not convinced it’s the least pleasant connecting hub in the country.
Where do you stand on Miami Airport — do you just dislike it, or think it’s the sixth circle of hell?
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