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).
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!
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.
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.