Miami International Airport

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Miami International Airport (MIA) is the main international airport serving the Miami area in Florida. It sits in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, about 8 miles from downtown Miami, and covers about 3,300 acres.

Today, MIA handles more than 1,000 daily flights to about 195 destinations in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia. In 2024 the airport served nearly 56 million passengers and moved about 3 million tons of cargo. It is Florida’s busiest airport for aircraft operations and cargo, and one of the largest airline hubs in the United States.

MIA is American Airlines’ third-largest hub and a key gateway to Latin America and the Caribbean. It is also a focus city for Avianca, Frontier Airlines, and LATAM. The airport has three terminals (North, Central, and South) with six concourses and about 131 gates.

Connections and transit
- The MIA Mover is a free people-mover that links the airport to the Miami Intermodal Center (MIC), which provides access to ground transportation and the Rental Car Center.
- Public transit options include Metrorail (Orange Line) to downtown and the Airport Flyer bus to South Beach. Tri-Rail serves the MIC, connecting to other parts of South Florida.
- The MIC hosts ground transport, rental cars, and train connections (though Amtrak service to a dedicated platform at the MIC has not been implemented).

Air cargo
- MIA has a large cargo complex on the west side between Runways 12/30 and 9/27. Major cargo operators include LATAM Cargo, Atlas Air, Amerijet, and DHL. The Centurion Cargo facility in the northeast corner is a large privately owned warehouse complex. FedEx and UPS also operate facilities at the airport.

History and growth
- MIA originated as Pan American World Airways’ Pan Am Field in 1928, becoming the first mainland airport with international port-of-entry facilities.
- In 1950 the modern Miami International Airport was dedicated at Wilcox Field. Over the following decades, the airport expanded with new terminals, concourses, and passenger services.
- The airport became a major hub for American Airlines in the late 1980s and 1990s, with continued growth of long-haul and international routes. Pan Am’s assets were absorbed by other airlines after Pan Am’s bankruptcy in the early 1990s.
- A major modernization near the turn of the 21st century added the Skytrain (an automated people mover) and other improvements, including a new North Terminal project completed around 2011.

Future plans
- A long-term improvement program aims to handle about 77 million passengers and 4 million tons of freight annually by 2040. The plan, worth about $5 billion and planned to run over 15 years, includes optimizing concourses, adding two on-site hotels, and expanding cargo capacity. Part of the plan also involves reorganizing or replacing Concourse G as needed.

Upcoming events
- In 2026, MIA is expected to play a major role for World Cup fans, with the nearby Miami Freedom Park MLS stadium opening and direct links to the airport via the MIA Mover.