Miami International Airport (Miami International Airport)
Miami International Airport, also known as MIA and historically as Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the greater Miami metropolitan area with over 1,000 daily flights to 167 domestic and international destinations, including most countries in Latin America. The airport is in an unincorporated area in Miami-Dade County, 8 mi northwest of Downtown Miami, in metropolitan Miami, 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.
In 2021, Miami International Airport became the busiest international cargo airport in the U.S. and the busiest U.S. gateway for international passengers, surpassing John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. 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. 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 1335 ha. 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.
The first airport on the site of MIA opened in the 1920s and was known as Miami City Airport. Pan American World Airways ("Pan Am") opened an expanded facility adjacent to City Airport, Pan American Field, in 1928. Pan American Field was built on 116 acres of land on 36th Street and was the only mainland airport in the eastern United States that had port of entry facilities. Its runways were located around the threshold of today's Runway 26R. Eastern Air Lines began to serve Pan American Field in 1931, followed by National Airlines in 1936. National used a terminal on the opposite side of LeJeune Road 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 during World War II to the south of Pan American Field. The runways of the two were originally separated by railroad tracks, but the two airfields were listed in some directories as a single facility.
Following World War II in 1945, the City of Miami established a Port Authority and raised bond revenue to purchase Pan American Field, which had been since renamed 36th Street Airport, from Pan Am. It merged with the former Miami Army Airfield, which was purchased from the United States Army Air Force south of the railroad in 1949 and expanded further in 1951 when the railroad line itself was moved south to make more room. 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 Reserve Base, (now Homestead Air Reserve Base). Pan Am and Eastern also constructed maintenance bases in Miami in the late 1940s, which made the airport the world's largest commercial aircraft maintenance and overhaul facility at the time.
The old terminal on 36th Street was closed in 1959 when the "20th Street Terminal" opened, at the time the largest central airport terminal in the world, with five concourses and a 270-room hotel. This terminal was repeatedly renovated and expanded through the 1990s to create the modern MIA terminal complex.
Nonstop flights to Chicago and Newark in the northeast New Jersey 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. British Airways flew a Concorde SST (supersonic transport) tri serial between Miami and London via Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., from 1984 to 1991.
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 union antagonist Frank Lorenzo in 1986, ultimately forced the airline into bankruptcy in 1989. Eastern operated out of Concourses B through D on the north side of the terminal, where American's Concourse D stands today. Concourse E was the home for most international carriers, while Pan Am operated out of Concourses E and F.
In 2021, Miami International Airport became the busiest international cargo airport in the U.S. and the busiest U.S. gateway for international passengers, surpassing John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. 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. 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 1335 ha. 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.
The first airport on the site of MIA opened in the 1920s and was known as Miami City Airport. Pan American World Airways ("Pan Am") opened an expanded facility adjacent to City Airport, Pan American Field, in 1928. Pan American Field was built on 116 acres of land on 36th Street and was the only mainland airport in the eastern United States that had port of entry facilities. Its runways were located around the threshold of today's Runway 26R. Eastern Air Lines began to serve Pan American Field in 1931, followed by National Airlines in 1936. National used a terminal on the opposite side of LeJeune Road 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 during World War II to the south of Pan American Field. The runways of the two were originally separated by railroad tracks, but the two airfields were listed in some directories as a single facility.
Following World War II in 1945, the City of Miami established a Port Authority and raised bond revenue to purchase Pan American Field, which had been since renamed 36th Street Airport, from Pan Am. It merged with the former Miami Army Airfield, which was purchased from the United States Army Air Force south of the railroad in 1949 and expanded further in 1951 when the railroad line itself was moved south to make more room. 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 Reserve Base, (now Homestead Air Reserve Base). Pan Am and Eastern also constructed maintenance bases in Miami in the late 1940s, which made the airport the world's largest commercial aircraft maintenance and overhaul facility at the time.
The old terminal on 36th Street was closed in 1959 when the "20th Street Terminal" opened, at the time the largest central airport terminal in the world, with five concourses and a 270-room hotel. This terminal was repeatedly renovated and expanded through the 1990s to create the modern MIA terminal complex.
Nonstop flights to Chicago and Newark in the northeast New Jersey 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. British Airways flew a Concorde SST (supersonic transport) tri serial between Miami and London via Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., from 1984 to 1991.
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 union antagonist Frank Lorenzo in 1986, ultimately forced the airline into bankruptcy in 1989. Eastern operated out of Concourses B through D on the north side of the terminal, where American's Concourse D stands today. Concourse E was the home for most international carriers, while Pan Am operated out of Concourses E and F.
| IATA Code | MIA | ICAO Code | KMIA | FAA Code | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Telephone | +1 (305) 876 7000 | Fax | |||
| Home page | Hyperlink |
Map - Miami International Airport (Miami International Airport)
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Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
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| USD | United States dollar | $ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
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| EN | English language |
| FR | French language |
| ES | Spanish language |