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.
Continue reading: Miami Airport: Awful, Or Just Kind Of Bad?
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
CLT is absolutely the worst hub airport in the USA, and it isn't close. MIA still carries a bad reputation that is a bit undeserved. It isn't an overall great airport because international baggage in insanely slow compared to other US gateways, and the train in D is broken half the time, but after the renovations 10 or so years ago, the airport improved substantially from being one of the worst in the US to just OK.
I live closer to PBI and FLL but use MIA several times a year for international connections/convenient nonstops, and think Ben's assessment is pretty spot on. The location really is convenient, and unlike too many other airports in the U.S., it's accessible by multiple public transit options. Even arriving by car, the "horseshoe" is by far less crowded than other airports with similar designs, such as my former home airport LAX.
Concourse D is not my favorite for the reasons Ben described, but flying Delta from H or Air France/Swiss/etc from J with Sky Club or LATAM lounge access is perfectly pleasant. And even D is much better than FLL Terminal 3.
@Bosshawk slow
CLT sucks. PHX too
MIA is run of the mill. Good American FL. Helpful concessions ; cafe versailles, Miami Heat store , cigar outlets.
I would be bitchy if I were a GA in MIA. You need to keep your guard up and all announcements throughout the airport should be in Spanish as it’s a Latino market. Groupo Ocho will board whenever they damn please.
A few more areas of horror with this airport.
MÍA jetbridges are carpeted uniquely. The ground in dirt suggests they are not on anyone’s s radar for cleaning, and never ever ever have been.
Washrooms in public areas are few and far apart, small, and marginal for cleanliness.
Horrible layout. A very long walk and then a shuttle train to the Rent A Car center and public transportation. A very long Terminal D and long airport in general. I remember back in the day the pain to connect from AA to LA.
Broken moving side walks, crowded terminals, dirty bathrooms and my favorite no dedicated Uber/Lyft. It's a total nightmare in the early to mid evening to figure out where your Uber/Lyft is in a sea of car traffic.
MIA is a nightmare depending on what time you land. It feels like every airport in Latin America has a flight arriving at MIA at the same time so immigration can be a total nightmare if you don't have GE. I also find the rental car return at MIA to be horrible and the trip back to the terminal by train can take very long. Now, MIA is paradise when compared to CLT. CLT has to be the worst airport in the US by far. What a nightmare. As far as convenience and proximity to the city, although smaller than MIA, MSP is hard to beat.
I have a memory of terminal around the Centurion lounge smelling nice because of a consistent perfume pumped into the air. I could never figure out if it was a shop or just the airport itself
I travel to Miami Beach at least twice a year and grew up in Broward. Whether I fly into/out of MIA is simply determined by if I want to have a rental car on the particular trip. If I do, I'm flying into FLL, without hesitation. The amount of time you spend in the nightmare rental area (And I'm top tier with Hertz and Avis) and then factoring in the ungodly walk to and from the rental car counters (has to be 1.5 miles in some gates) can be greater than the time it takes for the brief FLL to Miami drive.
Other than that, MIA is generally a quick no-frills in and out kind of airport to start or finish a journey, much like LGA was. I don't want to hang out longer than necessary anyway.
Miami is one of the worst airports in the United States. The concessions are atrocious, there is zero flow, and most of the time the place is filthy.
I think CLT sucks more than MIA. PHX also sucks but not as much as MIA. Although the AA ACs at PHX are a joke.
One important point Ben forgot -- getting from the terminal to the rental car center is fairly painless using the MIA mover (as opposed to other large airports when you need to physically go outside and wait for a shuttle bus).
JFK is worse because of Noo Yawkers. BOS is worse because of Massholes. MSP is worse because of C Concourse and the horrible layout of concessions. CLT lives in its own universe of awful. MCO is worse because of the critical mass of children. LAX lives in infamy because of the Horseshoe. I'm a United 1K and even I can't excuse EWR or DEN. Or maybe it's because I never travel through MIA.
As a former Miamian I can honestly say that Miami is a sh**hole city full of uncivilized and rude people and the airport is a representation of it; and don't get me started with the snowbirds that bring horrendous traffic congestions with them. As for the airport which is a major gateway to Latin America you would expect to have a beautiful and efficiently laid out terminals but instead you get a filthyp lace with rude staff, fast food and subpar restaurants. I would go out of my way to fly to Ft. Lauderdale airport every chance II ge, it's a smaller but efficient airport with much nicer staff.
You can get a cafecito for $1.25. That's a great deal. Metro connectivity to downtown and Brickell is also good, not to mention Tri-Rail. I think most of MIA's problems can be traced back to neglect from the corrupt local government and airport authority using allocated money to do anything except keep the airport clean and functional.
can't believe no mention of the people mover tram between terminals that don't have clear doors. it's like a steel elevator to the gates of hell
Rudest TSA I have ever seen was at ORD. A woman didn't have her boarding pass ready before the podium. The document checker chewed her out. But at BOS, a man handed his credit card (he was not visibly intoxicated.) The BOS checker said, matter-of-factly but not yelling, "Sir, this is your credit card." The passenger said oh, ok, then went digging in his wallet for his ID while the checker waited patiently. This was a peak departure time with hundreds of people in the PreCheck line.
TSA at NYC airports (LGA and EWR, I rarely use JFK) are better than expected for the region. There is a reasonable explanation. NYC is not uniformly rude, it's mixed. Most people are just expressionless which is interpreted as not warm or friendly, but not hostile either. Pay for TSA positions is actually pretty decent compared to other blue collar customer facing jobs. You get a few barkers in NYC, but not materially more than other airports. For the most part NYC TSA is stoically calm.
MCO will yell at children which is inexcusable (I reported a TSO to a Supervisor for that, fortunately the Supervisor was very polite).
MSP is indeed very polite, reflecting the Minnesota niceness of the entire region.
DEN is squarely average.
Amen. The corruption is second to none.
Just look at the recent news. They’re gonna spend 2 years and millions to “study a new airport location”. Mayor’s friend awarded the bid. Meanwhile the latest architectural contract was awarded to a local firm with zero reputation besides, you guessed it, numerous contracts for MIA. Bigger name firms were rejected
EVERY time that I've arrived at MIA on an international flight (usually on AA or IB), the trek to Customs & Immigration was ridiculously long. I've had long walks to Customs & Immigration at other airports (e.g. FRA) but MIA has been the longest.
I appreciate the exercise (at least somewhat) but I hope that I never need to make a tight connection there.
Arriving on IB/BA/any E Satellite airline is the worst for that. Train ride to the main terminal, then a long miserable walk to immigration all the way at the center of D
Are they not using the E immigration facility anymore? Last time I arrived on BA (before Covid) we just went there while AA passengers in E were made to head over to D.
Regardless I don’t really mind a bit of a walk after being on a plane for several hours, though I know others would feel different.
Your judgement is rendered negative due to your incompetence. Chicago is the only perfect city, because it gave birth to me.
Smoking areas with slot machines and booze every ten feet. What is your problem?
Problem is the airport facilities are so poorly maintained. Elevators, moving sidewalks bathrooms etc. and don’t get me started on the train they can’t keep running. It’s emblematic of the city writ large, tons of graft and nothing done to improve the quality of the operation.
As a 40 year+ traveler, I feel very qualified to dispute your review. How can you write I review is this horrible airport (definitely the worst in the U.S. with out references the following: 1) On any give. day, up to 50% of the elevators, moving sidewalks and trams you will encounter at MIA will not be in working order; 2) The trip to and from the Rental Car Center is the most convoluted of any on the country. It requires long walks and relies on a sky tram that has broken down more than once when I have been there — creating absolute chaos for anyone needing to get to or from the terminal; 3) Getting anywhere from the airport can take an eternity due to some of the worst traffic congestion on the country; and 4) Given all of the above plus the people, terminal and other facility negatives you have already covered, the average traveler must plan for more time to use this airport than any other I am aware of in the country.
Former Miamian and agree with most of Ben's points, especially about originating there. 10-15 min from Wynwood/Midtown made life a breeze. I could leave my house under 1 hour from departure and still easily make it.
I will say the domestic connections can be pretty terrible. Flying into the D60 gates on a small plane with a connection at D1-10? Good luck! Actually worse than CLT E -> B connections if you ask me. The design of the airport is idiotic at best. The people mover is so inefficient due to high above the terminal walkways it is. Agree it's almost always a tie with walking.
And yeah, the people. Miami is full of some of the worst people on the planet (both residents and tourists) and both crowds make MIA far worse. LAS and MSY are also bachelor party type destinations, but you don't see or hear near the number of issues that happen at MIA. There are also some really incredible people in Miami, you just have to look (really hard lol).
As for the rest of your comical assertions, Noo Yawk Yankers and Massholes are so crude and disgusting that the Neanderthals went extinct rather than share the planet with them. MCO doesn't go far enough; children should be beaten. I don't care about TSA, since I have CLEAR and Pre-check and my interactions with them are minimal. I said that MSP sucked, not the people. You've obviously never connected from a mainline to an RJ at DEN.
Translation: You're kack of sentience negates your ability to have an opinion that would be relevant to me.
I was based in MIA for 4 years with Pan Am.....yes a long time ago. The airport was a toilet then and it still is a disgrace. I fly from Tampa which IMHO is the best in North America...I pass through MIA to get to friends in Chile & Equador. I speak fluent Spanish and love the city of Miami. The airport just bites though !
Connecting from international to domestic is a nightmare; there's no PreCheck at the transfer point outside immigration/customs, and the line can be LONG. It's easier to just go upstairs and go through security as if originating from MIA.
My most memorable MIA layover was in the Centurion lounge, nearly empty at opening, and water started pouring from the ceiling when it began raining. We let the front desk know and moved sections. When we left a few hours later, 4 buckets were placed around the lounge to collect water still coming down from the deluge. 😉
I have used it multiple times in 2021 and 2022. Last time I arrived on an international flight in Concourse E was October 2022 on QR and we used the E Immigration area.
I fly in and out a few times a year. My last flight landed after 1am from DFW when the airport was a ghost town. We had to wait for our gate as no one was around. The FA’s on AA said it’s their worst hub and jr FA’s primarily get sent there as they all hate it. Seems all ops in MIA are somewhat third world. And I second the Centurian lounge, it’s always crowded and way too small
Your assessment of MIA is terrible. It’s a great airport and offering an opinion of the passengers at concessions makes me wish you a long layover in PTY. DFW almost always requires a hectic terminal change. LAX as well. Maybe you should order a wheel chair. Charlotte Atlanta JFK I could go on and on about how much better MIA is. You offer nothing truthful or accurate to say the least. Anybody reading this should ignore you.
Unironically, ORD is a phenomenal airport for its size. It was built forever ago so it didn't need to sprawl massively to put in every dumbass overpriced shop under the sun, so it's generally pretty darn efficient to walk between terminals (5 obviously excluded). TSA is perfectly fine and have a "get them in and out as quickly as possible" mentality. ORD has no tolerance for buffoonery and I deeply love it as a home airport for that.
Elevators are positively glacial at ORD though. That and the awful lounge scene are the airport's chief drawbacks.
If it makes you happier, LAX is awful to make a connection through also.... (but I still really dislike Miami - terrible concessions, rude employees, etc.)
As someone who just connected there this past week. Worst. Airport. Ever to enter the USA….rude CBP, rude TSA. Sea of people and lines for security.
AA operation is also a complete mess. (I had 2 cancelations there took 3 days to get home thanks to me booking on UA instead).
I actually don't think Miami is that bad. It's way better than Fort Lauderdale by comparison, and airports in the northeast. I quite like the 1 terminal and 1 hall layout for American, as it makes navigating the terminal so easy. Compare that to Chicago, which has so many terminals and where it is so easy to get lost. I do agree that the Admirals clubs there suck, but that is the case in many other places. The Flagship lounge is quite good though.
I also don't mind Charlotte. They have done a great job renovating all the concourses and the main food court area is really nicely done. The two Admirals clubs aren't great and can get crowded, but the Club Lounge by Priority Pass in concourse A is quite nice.
Miami and Charlotte are way better than transiting through airports like Chicago or Philadelphia
Concourse F & G have not been touched since the days of Pan Am. Horrible third world concourses that mostly serve third world charter carriers with the exception of a few regular carriers. The horribly low ceilings in G and in bag claim are awful. Most aiports in Latin Am are now much better than MIA. PAP is marginally worse (they shoot the planes there).
Ref CLT- when it was a USAir hub it functioned fairly well. Most a/c were 737s or Airbus narrow bodies, so not as overcrowded as now. AA has too much put through in the limited terminal.
MIA get bonus points for being the most diverse (number of airlines flying there) in the United States. It gets bonus points for having a branch of Versailles Restaurant for amazing Cuban food.
For negatives, yes, those long walks to an alternate Immigration station when the one in your arrival terminal is closed. The airport hotel is hopelessly dated. Surprised one of the big 4 hotel companies hasn't bought and refurbished it for its amazing location in the terminal. Lastly, only one Dunkin Donuts.
MIA is one of the (only four) USA airports to have ever had scheduled Concorde service, so there's also that distinction.
Though sucks that it's been 30yrs since.
You haven't been here in a while if you think that. Half the terminals have been completely redone, all of them are now connected airside, and lounge/private space has nearly tripled over the past 10yrs.
Not perfect by any stretch, but hardly "awful" anymore, particularly if in terminals 1-4.
Mia is basically SIN compared to the trailer park of atl
But those that chase a mileage program that despises you have to defend their stupid loyalty
Tough to keep track of your location the last 24 hours between TIJ and LAx
You pretend to be so well traveled from all but if you fly from TIJ, it’s fairly obvious you fly ULCC mostly
The one thing nice about Miami is that it's located pretty close to the United States. Besides that, it's a giant cesspool.
What in the world are you talking about ? Miami has one of the lowest crime rates in the United States.
Several experiences - some worse than others
1. 3 generations (age 2 - 67) flying SEA-ATL-MIA-GRA on Eastern arrived in MIA at 6? Departure scheduled for 1 PM. Sat at isolated gate for hours with noone else. Eventually panicked and discovered gate change to other end of airport. Scrambled like crazy and finally got to aircraft as doors closing. Never any update or announcement.
2. Flying in on BA J from UK back when they introduced picture and fingerprints. Hours in the non-American line (we are Canadian) behind all regional. Luckily first off plane. Missed 3 connecting flights to Bahamas. Agent at next gate sat with nothing to do and would not assist.
MIA also adds 18% for all bars and restaurants for their friendly and fast service. ✈️
What city in America isn’t “a sh**hole city full of uncivilized and rude people”?? Honest question.
This writer is absurd. He's talking about an airport that opened in 1959. Long before he even saw an airplane. And by no means am I defending the airport OR the city. I live here and I worked at that airport. But he reminds me of the whinersI dealt with on a daily basis.
Oh that’s quite interesting. I usually use Avis at MIA (also top leve for Avis) and I can just view my car (and where it’s parked) in their app as I walk the terminal. Just walk up to it and drive off. No time spent at those god awful counters. Quite a breeze really.
Have never rented out or FLL though, so will have to give that a try.
Well, I didn’t imagine the day I’d be defending MIA, as it is quite a filthy outdated airport, still stuck somewhere between the 60s and 80s, in desperate need of a refresh… But it’s not that bad. I fly in and out at least a couple times a year and though I definitely agree a major overhaul would certainly make it more aesthetically pleasing, it currently does what it needs to do. And the people mover to the rental car center works great (when it works). I also very much like that it’s so close to the city which is quite unique.
Maybe my bar is low as I’ve generally accepted US airports not being amongst the best in the world. I do agree the concessions are very bare and definitely some of the rudest CBP unfortunately. Standing in TSA lines also feels a bit like a third world country. But it generally does what it needs to do and is quick and convenient, looking at it from a door to (plane) door perspective. Just my two cents.
Miami isn't that bad if you're in one of the first-world "main" terminals. Still, if you are flying out of the baren hallways they use for Southwest, etc., which also have the worst security lines in the region outside Atlanta, then it is one of the worst airports in the USA.
As far as it being a good Av-geek airport, that might be true in some ways but I believe it lacks any sort of good viewing platforms or encouragement of that sort of activity.
Miami is one of our least favorite airports in the U.S. for many of the reasons you mentioned. It is not a clean airport and the people are rude. We live in Florida and live two to three hours from the major airports of Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm and Miami. Because we drive a distance we include the ease of getting to the airport and Miami is tough to navigate and it is difficult to determine how much time is needed because of traffic and road construction.
We often travel for 4 to 6 weeks at a time so we do one way car rentals to and from the airport. Our grading system would include the easy of picking up and returning car rentals. In Florida, our opinion is West Palm beach has the worst car rentals as it takes forever. Our favorite airport is in Melbourne, Florida. We would love to see you rate some of these off the beaten path airports around Florida but realize that will not happen.
Ben, Maybe better to change the article to the Best Airports in the world instead of worst.
It surely would be a short article. Why? Because there aren't many that are good, convenient, good service, good variety.
Our recent trip thru NEWARK was horrible, we'd say one of the worst. We chose that over JFK and LaGuardia.
I remember nice airports like Hong Kong, Osaka Japan. San Franciso used to be nice, like Miami was. Yes Miami is the most convenient from any city.
We like Mexico City, pretty convenient and staff are good. We like seeing them employ physically challenged folks in wheel chairs working the lines and immigration. Thats a first that we saw and we applaud it.
Denver was supposed to be great, but too big too fail and it did when it opened. Don't know today.
But as said at the top, world's airports could be so much better then the are.
Lets see the changes coming. November & December 2024
A better article would be which airports do people like and why. There are so many bad ones and not many good ones.
Not just for functionality, but whats inside, good shops, food, service, something special.
Take the "42" bus to the Intermodal Center, wait, they cut out that bus a year ago. Go up the escalator to the Airtrain, wait, the escalator has been broken for almost 2 years. Take the Airtrain to the terminal and walk on the moving walkway. Wait, that's been broken for over 1 year. All good...
Miami is generally convenient, yes, but that’s about it. You’re lucky if you never had to wait more than 5 minutes at TSA pre. It’s never that short for me. Amenities aren’t great in Terminal D and it drops to approximate zero in any other terminal. The people mover is ok to get to transit/rental cars and that plus location saves from being closer to the bottom (which is LAX).
Good point. I should have mentioned this in my earlier posting. The lack of a PreCheck option is disappointing.
MIA = Awful
And it has been for decades. They managed to do a big rebuild about 20 years ago that resulted in an airport that is just as aggravating as before. Rude staff, mile-long walks and the continued existence of High E gates that are entered before security are merely mentions of why this facility sucks. And no amount of Cafe Versailles sandwiches are nearly enough to make up for the suck that is MIA.
BTW, I can't recall who the commenter was that said that MIA is better than FLL but to whomever that is: I'd like to know what you're smoking so that I can have some too!
Agree completely. 75 percent of the moving walkways are broken.
50 percent of the garage elevators are out of order and the stairwells reek of urine. Every men's bathroom smells like piss and are filthy and the few urinals in the men's restrooms hang loosely from the walls. That's in addition to a design that is a joke. Regrettably, because i live in Miami, I am forced to use this airport every couple weeks.
I'm always impressed when traveling to/from MIA-usually on an international connecting flight. They have been able to find thousands of employees who won't smile, treat passengers like dogs, and can perfectly create mile long lines for security clearance.....and that's not even mentioning the international arrival experience. Let's all be honest, the only reason anyone ever would fly via MIA is because of all the connectivity to Latin America and the Caribbean. Otherwise, it remains near the bottom of America's large airports.
Oh dear. Yet another US airport which forces pax onto people movers before they can get a train into the city. At least the one in MIA is free....
Without pointing any fingers , MIA has a the largest mixed bag of culture in the country. Anyone that has gone through Miami airport is part of it. No exceptions.
Is there any airport in the USA where the bathrooms don't stink of urine and the commodes not a mess?
And the general condition of the toilets (dirty grout, stained walls, dirty stainless steel fittings) if there hasn't been a renovation in the past 2 years?
Shocking that "richest" country in the world has facilities that are rank below even "third world" countries that properly maintain their airports.
Not sure about Miami being good for connecting. Last time I connected in Miami, we arrived early and I missed my 90 minute connection while we taxied around the airport looking for a gate. They'd send us one place and then say "nevermind" and send us to another and then send us to a corner somewhere to park. Of course, to the point of CLT, I've nearly missed a couple connections due to congestion in the alley.
Although the airport is dated and in general not very nice, I was, however, pleasantly surprised that spending the night in the terminal is actually quite pleasant.
My wife and I were meeting in the airport, arriving from different destinations, and had an 8am connection. Since she was arriving at 1 am, we decided to simply sleep in the airport. The airport is nearly empty at 1 am yet you can wander around nearly anywhere you want. In terminal E we discovered a children's playground that had a stack of cushions. We grabbed a few and put them in one of the small planes in the playground and went right to sleep; we were not the only ones in the playground doing the same! The only negative is that they keep the airport ice cold, cadavers would be quite happy!
At 5am we went to the Turkish Airlines lounge which at that hour was nearly empty. By 7am it was getting crowded and could no longer be recommended.
At MIA now. PHL was home airport, now home is TPA. PHL was no great shakes but MIA makes it look like paradise. MIA is absolutely awful. Customs is a nightmare. Staff is surly. Inadequate and dirty lavatory facilities. Ignorant people in the concourse everywhere. And God forbid you have to go out of one of the Eagle gates at D60. What a proverbial S#&t Show. I will do my utmost to avoid this airport...
It was the condition of the terminal. Used to Chicago but the grime, poor repairs, and graffiti made ORD look like the Taj Mahal. The choices for food and access to other terminals were just awful. Very very nasty. Going to avoid this nugget of nastiness now that i have been.
Miami airport bathroom facilities are filthy and stink to high heaven. Nobody around to complain. Shameful! This is the only airport I can fly out to my destination, otherwise I would avoid it like the plague!
Passing US Customs and renting a car required two hours (this on a Monday night.) and a walk of over two miles. Yes. Two miles. The car on the "skip the line" was not the right car and navigating out of the airport felt nightmarish until I returned the car the next day when I realized finding rental return was carzy difficult. (Many airports provide lights on signs to be read when it's dark, BTW). . Only 1 of the many "people mover" walking ramps worked. I counted ten that were out of order. The customs people were rude, telling me I didn't need so many bins, and after they realized I did (I was carrying multiple computers) they told me the bins will sit there all day until I push them. Last, and certainly most important, was the shocking lack of places to charge devices and the ridiculous "free wifi" (which required a lot of data input presumably for marketing purposes didn't work). The wifi didn't have connection to the internet. Three of the charging stations had no power which were few and far between. Coming recently from Houston and Charlotte, which seem to understand that people use mobile devices when traveling, I would suggest MIami take a look at how to do it, though I suspect it's way too late for that.
Been to Cairo's airport. Awful. Live in Broward fly out of Miami often. Also awful. Not as bad as Cairo by a long shot.
I chuckle every time I land at MIA from a foreign location and watch the other travelers in shock and hear their comments about the disassembled walk ways, escalators, and inoperable elevators. The long walks to immigration are not only inconvenient but irritating. I recently spent 2 weeks in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Then spent several days in Dubai and transisited through LHR back to Miami. Miami looks like a third world airport, to include our infrastructure compared to the others which makes them look like first world. Sad.
G is definitely a time warp. One of the original concourses dating back to when this terminal opened in 1959. I like the low ceilings it kitsch. You know its old school by the low G gates having interior stairs in addition to the jetways. This harks back to the olden days of propeller airliners. Back in the day you descended those stairs and walked on the ramp and climbed air stairs, I'm just happy that we (Southwest) have service in MIA. And we are growing our presence. Up till recently some of the low G gates had those "mini-me" original jetways. I'm an aviation geek at heart and appreciate the old school terminal. I understand won't get extreme makeover Airport edition. It will be demolished in the next few years. FLL is OK but, I prefer MIA as I visit Miami Beach and cruise out of Port Miami. Unless you do Tri Rail, FLL is basically cabs, Uber and Lyft. And, MIA has Cafe Versailles and my favorite La Cerreta. If you are in D-E you can dine in their massive restaurant. For those of us who have flights out of F, G, H or J there is a carry out kiosk in Baggage Claim near door 18 (under E/F piers. Most airports are like MIA with some showcase areas and many areas that time forgot.
Miami (MIS) is a s****y airport. I’m sorry, but I don’t really care that it’s convenient for YOU because it’s close to your city. I’m thinking about compared to other U.S. airports in the abstract. Having to connect through MIA is pretty terrible. Terminal D is loo long AND much too crowded. The food options are awful. There are insufficient charging stations. It’s like LGA before they renovated it.
How about the buckets around the terminal to catch water during the raining season. Are they part of the decor, the homeless people are also part of the staff, not to mention the lack of friendly staff that don't speak any English. The elevators inside the terminal are out if order. A disgrace to Miami.
CLT is absolutely the worst hub airport in the USA, and it isn't close. MIA still carries a bad reputation that is a bit undeserved. It isn't an overall great airport because international baggage in insanely slow compared to other US gateways, and the train in D is broken half the time, but after the renovations 10 or so years ago, the airport improved substantially from being one of the worst in the US to just OK.
@Bosshawk slow
CLT sucks. PHX too
MIA is run of the mill. Good American FL. Helpful concessions ; cafe versailles, Miami Heat store , cigar outlets.
I would be bitchy if I were a GA in MIA. You need to keep your guard up and all announcements throughout the airport should be in Spanish as it’s a Latino market. Groupo Ocho will board whenever they damn please.
I think CLT sucks more than MIA. PHX also sucks but not as much as MIA. Although the AA ACs at PHX are a joke.
I live closer to PBI and FLL but use MIA several times a year for international connections/convenient nonstops, and think Ben's assessment is pretty spot on. The location really is convenient, and unlike too many other airports in the U.S., it's accessible by multiple public transit options. Even arriving by car, the "horseshoe" is by far less crowded than other airports with similar designs, such as my former home airport LAX.
Concourse D is not my favorite for the reasons Ben described, but flying Delta from H or Air France/Swiss/etc from J with Sky Club or LATAM lounge access is perfectly pleasant. And even D is much better than FLL Terminal 3.
A few more areas of horror with this airport.
MÍA jetbridges are carpeted uniquely. The ground in dirt suggests they are not on anyone’s s radar for cleaning, and never ever ever have been.
Washrooms in public areas are few and far apart, small, and marginal for cleanliness.
Horrible layout. A very long walk and then a shuttle train to the Rent A Car center and public transportation. A very long Terminal D and long airport in general. I remember back in the day the pain to connect from AA to LA.
Broken moving side walks, crowded terminals, dirty bathrooms and my favorite no dedicated Uber/Lyft. It's a total nightmare in the early to mid evening to figure out where your Uber/Lyft is in a sea of car traffic.
MIA is a nightmare depending on what time you land. It feels like every airport in Latin America has a flight arriving at MIA at the same time so immigration can be a total nightmare if you don't have GE. I also find the rental car return at MIA to be horrible and the trip back to the terminal by train can take very long. Now, MIA is paradise when compared to CLT. CLT has to be the worst airport in the US by far. What a nightmare. As far as convenience and proximity to the city, although smaller than MIA, MSP is hard to beat.
I have a memory of terminal around the Centurion lounge smelling nice because of a consistent perfume pumped into the air. I could never figure out if it was a shop or just the airport itself
I travel to Miami Beach at least twice a year and grew up in Broward. Whether I fly into/out of MIA is simply determined by if I want to have a rental car on the particular trip. If I do, I'm flying into FLL, without hesitation. The amount of time you spend in the nightmare rental area (And I'm top tier with Hertz and Avis) and then factoring in the ungodly walk to and from the rental car counters (has to be 1.5 miles in some gates) can be greater than the time it takes for the brief FLL to Miami drive.
Other than that, MIA is generally a quick no-frills in and out kind of airport to start or finish a journey, much like LGA was. I don't want to hang out longer than necessary anyway.
Oh that’s quite interesting. I usually use Avis at MIA (also top leve for Avis) and I can just view my car (and where it’s parked) in their app as I walk the terminal. Just walk up to it and drive off. No time spent at those god awful counters. Quite a breeze really.
Have never rented out or FLL though, so will have to give that a try.
It's Florida - what do you expect?
Miami is one of the worst airports in the United States. The concessions are atrocious, there is zero flow, and most of the time the place is filthy.
One important point Ben forgot -- getting from the terminal to the rental car center is fairly painless using the MIA mover (as opposed to other large airports when you need to physically go outside and wait for a shuttle bus).
JFK is worse because of Noo Yawkers. BOS is worse because of Massholes. MSP is worse because of C Concourse and the horrible layout of concessions. CLT lives in its own universe of awful. MCO is worse because of the critical mass of children. LAX lives in infamy because of the Horseshoe. I'm a United 1K and even I can't excuse EWR or DEN. Or maybe it's because I never travel through MIA.
Your judgement is rendered negative due to your incompetence. Chicago is the only perfect city, because it gave birth to me.
As for the rest of your comical assertions, Noo Yawk Yankers and Massholes are so crude and disgusting that the Neanderthals went extinct rather than share the planet with them. MCO doesn't go far enough; children should be beaten. I don't care about TSA, since I have CLEAR and Pre-check and my interactions with them are minimal. I said that MSP sucked, not the people. You've obviously never connected from a mainline to an RJ at DEN.
Translation: You're kack of sentience negates your ability to have an opinion that would be relevant to me.
Unironically, ORD is a phenomenal airport for its size. It was built forever ago so it didn't need to sprawl massively to put in every dumbass overpriced shop under the sun, so it's generally pretty darn efficient to walk between terminals (5 obviously excluded). TSA is perfectly fine and have a "get them in and out as quickly as possible" mentality. ORD has no tolerance for buffoonery and I deeply love it as a home airport for that.
Elevators are positively glacial at ORD though. That and the awful lounge scene are the airport's chief drawbacks.
As a former Miamian I can honestly say that Miami is a sh**hole city full of uncivilized and rude people and the airport is a representation of it; and don't get me started with the snowbirds that bring horrendous traffic congestions with them. As for the airport which is a major gateway to Latin America you would expect to have a beautiful and efficiently laid out terminals but instead you get a filthyp lace with rude staff, fast food and subpar restaurants. I would go out of my way to fly to Ft. Lauderdale airport every chance II ge, it's a smaller but efficient airport with much nicer staff.
Amen. The corruption is second to none.
Just look at the recent news. They’re gonna spend 2 years and millions to “study a new airport location”. Mayor’s friend awarded the bid. Meanwhile the latest architectural contract was awarded to a local firm with zero reputation besides, you guessed it, numerous contracts for MIA. Bigger name firms were rejected
What city in America isn’t “a sh**hole city full of uncivilized and rude people”?? Honest question.
You can get a cafecito for $1.25. That's a great deal. Metro connectivity to downtown and Brickell is also good, not to mention Tri-Rail. I think most of MIA's problems can be traced back to neglect from the corrupt local government and airport authority using allocated money to do anything except keep the airport clean and functional.
can't believe no mention of the people mover tram between terminals that don't have clear doors. it's like a steel elevator to the gates of hell
EVERY time that I've arrived at MIA on an international flight (usually on AA or IB), the trek to Customs & Immigration was ridiculously long. I've had long walks to Customs & Immigration at other airports (e.g. FRA) but MIA has been the longest.
I appreciate the exercise (at least somewhat) but I hope that I never need to make a tight connection there.
Arriving on IB/BA/any E Satellite airline is the worst for that. Train ride to the main terminal, then a long miserable walk to immigration all the way at the center of D
Are they not using the E immigration facility anymore? Last time I arrived on BA (before Covid) we just went there while AA passengers in E were made to head over to D.
Regardless I don’t really mind a bit of a walk after being on a plane for several hours, though I know others would feel different.
I have used it multiple times in 2021 and 2022. Last time I arrived on an international flight in Concourse E was October 2022 on QR and we used the E Immigration area.
Add LAS to the list of airports I really hate
Problem is the airport facilities are so poorly maintained. Elevators, moving sidewalks bathrooms etc. and don’t get me started on the train they can’t keep running. It’s emblematic of the city writ large, tons of graft and nothing done to improve the quality of the operation.
Agree completely. 75 percent of the moving walkways are broken.
50 percent of the garage elevators are out of order and the stairwells reek of urine. Every men's bathroom smells like piss and are filthy and the few urinals in the men's restrooms hang loosely from the walls. That's in addition to a design that is a joke. Regrettably, because i live in Miami, I am forced to use this airport every couple weeks.
MIA: Definitely awful!
awful bloody airport on every level.