World City Guide

Getting There By Air

Miami International Airport (MIA)
Tel: (305) 876 7000 or 1 800 TALK-MIA. Fax: (305) 876 7398.
Website: www.miami-airport.com

Located 11km (7 miles) northwest of the city, Miami International Airport is regarded as the ‘Hub of the Americas’ – the primary connecting point for air travel between the Americas and Latin America and a major gateway to Europe. It has the third highest international passenger traffic in the USA and is number one in the USA for international freight trade. Almost 40 airlines serve 34 million passengers per year.

The terminal building is in the shape of a horseshoe, with nine concourses (A-J). For easy access to any of the concourses, there is a moving walkway on Level 3. International flights arrive at concourses A, B, D, E and F.

Major airlines: National airline American Airlines (tel: (800) 433 7300; website: www.aa.com) serves Miami International Airport. Other airlines include Air Canada, Air France, Air Jamaica, British Airways, Continental, Delta, Lufthansa, Northwest/KLM, TACA, TWA, United, US Airways and Virgin Atlantic.

Approximate flight times to Miami: From London is 8 hours 30 minutes; from New York is 3 hours; from Los Angeles is 5 hours; from Toronto is 3 hours 45 minutes and from Sydney is 18 hours.

Airport facilities: Throughout the terminal, there are plenty of restaurants, cafés, snack bars, gift and duty-free shops, newspaper stands and foreign currency exchange booths. A pharmacy (concourse F), a post office (concourse B, level 4) and a unisex hair styling salon cover additional passenger needs. Car hire firms include Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Hertz and National. There are five Tourist Information Centers (the main one, at level 2 of Concourse E, is open 0500-2400), a full-service bank (concourse B, level 4) and several ATMs (concourse C and G, level 2).

Business facilities: There are data port connections at various locations throughout the airport terminal. For specific locations, visitors should either pick up a white paging phone or ask at one of the Information Counters. There is also an Internet café at the Casa Bacardi restaurant located in the Concourse E food court. The Miami International Airport Hotel (Concourse E, upper level; tel: (305) 871 4100; fax: (305) 871 0800; website: www.miahotel.com) offers conference suites, boardrooms and other meeting facilities, with catering service available. Many airlines (including American Airlines, Delta and United) belong to the airline VIP club, enabling their business-class passengers to access executive lounges. There is a computer that can be used by the public to access the Internet, at the 7th level of the hotel.

Arrival/departure tax: US$50-95, depending on airline and destination, included in ticket.

Transport to the city: Some hotels provide a free minibus or limousine service to their visitors. In lieu of this service, perhaps the best mode of transport for the money is the SuperShuttle (tel: (305) 871 2000 or (800) 874 8885; website: www.supershuttle.com). Minivans depart from the lower level of the terminal outside baggage claim, with 24-hour service to points as far north as Palm Beach and to some of the Lower Keyes. On average, Miami destinations cost US$8-15 one way.

Public transport from the airport to Miami is somewhat complicated. A free 24-hour shuttle bus (departing from the ground level of concourse E, directly across from US Customs) connects with the Miami Airport Tri-Rail station. Tri-Rail (tel: (800) 874 7245 or (954) 942 7248; fax: (954) 788 7878; website: www.tri-rail.com) trains run from Miami Airport station as far as Mangonia Park station in Palm Beach (0416-2210 weekdays and 0700-2157 weekends). To reach downtown Miami by train, passengers must travel two stops on the Tri-Rail to the Tri-Rail/Metrorail Transfer Station (cost: US$2 weekdays/US$4 weekends) and transfer to Metrorail, operated by Miami-Dade Transit Agency (MDTA; tel: (305) 770 3131; fax: (305) 654 6583; e-mail: transit@miamidade.gov; website: www.co.miami-dade.fl.us/mdta). Metrorail trains cost US$1.25 and operate 0500-2400.

Alternatively, Miami-Dade Metrobuses, also operated by the MDTA, and costing the same as the Metrorail, leave from the lower level of Concourse E. Bus 7, which goes to the Government Center in downtown Miami and the main bus terminal (journey time – 35 minutes), and bus 42, which goes to Coconut Grove, both leave every 40 minutes 0600-2200. Bus J goes to Miami Beach every 30 minutes 0440-2400 (journey time – approximately 1 hour). The Metrobus Airport Owl Line runs hourly (1150-0540) and goes as far as South Beach.

Taxis charge flat fares (tip is not included) from the airport to most destinations (Port of Miami US$18, Miami Beach US$24 and Key Biscayne US$31) and take about 20 minutes to downtown Miami. A porter matches travellers with taxis on the arrivals and departure levels.