Miami, International (MIA/KMIA) FL. USA

18 janvier 1998

IATA: MIA – ICAO: KMIA – FAA: MIA
Summary
Airport type		Public, Miami International Airport is a public airport located eight miles (13 km) northwest of the central business district of Miami. The airport is a hub for passenger airlines American Airlines, American Eagle, and Executive Air; cargo airlines Arrow Air, Fine Air, UPS and Federal Express; and charter airline Miami Air. Miami International Airport handles flights to cities throughout the Americas and Europe. Miami is the premier gateway between the US and Latin America, and, along with Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, Miami is one of the largest aerial gateways into the American South, In the past, it has been a hub for Eastern Air Lines, Air Florida, the original National Airlines, the original Pan Am, and Iberia. As an international gateway to the United States it ranks third, behind New York-JFK and Los Angeles LAX .In 2006, 32,533,974 passengers traveled through the airport, the highest number since 9/11.
Owner		Miami-Dade County
Operator		Miami-Dade Aviation Department (MDAD)
Serves		Miami, Florida
Hub for		American Airlines FedEx Express LAN Cargo UPS Airlines
Elevation AMSL
Website		http://www.iflymia.com/
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
8L/26R	8,600	2,621	Asphalt
8R/26L	10,506	3,202	Asphalt
9/27	13,000	3,962	Asphalt
12/30	9,354	2,851	Asphalt
Statistics (2008)
Aircraft operations
Based aircraft			250
Passengers			34,063,531

MIA_Header_animated

DSp Pictures
Year	Minolta		Spot Location
Year	Film	Scan	Spot Location
1988		16	Inside the terminal before my Eastern flight to LGA

MIA was opened to flights in 1928 as Pan American Field, the operating base of Pan American Airways Corporation, on the north side of the modern airport property.

After Pan Am acquired the New York, Rio, and Buenos Aires Line, it shifted most of its operations to the Dinner Key seaplane base, leaving Pan Am Field largely unused until Eastern Air Lines began flying there in 1934, followed by National Airlines in 1937.

In 1945, the City of Miami established a Port Authority and raised bond revenue to purchase the airport, now known as 36th Street Airport, from Pan Am. It was merged with an adjoining Army airfield in 1949 and expanded further in 1951. The old terminal on 36th Street was closed in 1959 when the modern passenger terminal (since greatly expanded) opened for service.

Pan Am and Eastern remained Miami's main tenants until 1991, when both carriers went bankrupt. Their hubs at MIA were taken over by United Airlines and American Airlines.

United slowly trimmed down its Miami operation through the 1990s, and eventually shut down its crew base and other operations facilities in Miami.

At the same time, American expanded its presence at the airport, winning new routes to Latin America and transferring employees and equipment from its failed domestic hubs at Nashville and Raleigh-Durham.

Today, Miami is American's largest air freight hub, and forms the main connecting point in the airline's north-south oriented international route network.

MIA

The main terminal at MIA is semicircular and has eight pier-shaped concourses, lettered A through J (B was demolished in 2005) in a counter-clockwise direction. Ticketing and departures are located on the upper level and baggage carousels are located on the lower level,

the airport contains three customs arrival levels, on the third floor at both Concourse J and the now demolished Conncourse B, and at the lower level of Concourse E; the largest of the three. Gates located in Concourses A-F and J, and some gates at Concourse H, can route arriving passengers to the main level (for domestic arrivals) or to the immigration halls (for international arrivals), however, gates at Concourse G and some at Concourse H are designed only for domestic arrivals

Two parking garages, the Dolphin and Flamingo Garages, are located inside the terminal's curvature, and are connected to the terminal by overhead walkways, it is expected that a third garage will be contructed to serve expansion for Concourse J; there is a heliport located atop a connecting point between the two garages.

At present, the terminal is being dramatically altered. Concourses A, B, C, and D, which primarily house American Airlines and its OneWorld partner's flights, are being merged into a single linear concourse to be called the "North Terminal". Portions of the new concourse have already been built as extensions of concourses A and D; to make space for completing the new terminal, the former concourse B has been already been demolished and concourse C will soon follow to accommodate new gates and lounges. Although this construction was originally slated for completion by 2005, it has been delayed several times due to cost overruns: the current deadline for completion is summer of 2011.

The remaining "South" (Concourses H and J) and "Central" (Concourses E, F, and G) Terminals have also been renovated and expanded with Concourse J, the newest addition to the airport, opening on August 29, 2007, (photo) being constructed with the support of fifteen Star Alliance and SkyTeam carriers: it is seven stories tall and has 15 gates, with a total floor area of 1.3 million square feet (120,000m²) including two airline lounges and several offices.

Currently, the new concourse is still in opening stages with the movement of most airlines located at Concourse A moving to the new area beginning on September 24, 2007, this was done to allow for renovations to be done at Concnourse A, and includes American Airlines taking over gates at Concourse E to replace the gates it will lose at Concourse A. Currently, LAN Argentina, LAN Chile, LAN Ecuador, LAN Peru, LACSA, TACA, COPA, US Airways, Avianca, and United/Ted have already moved into the new concourse with, Aerolineas Argentinas (October 16), Caribbean Airlines (October 18), El Al (October 23), LTU (October 25), Lufthansa (October 30), Swiss International (October 30), and Air Canada (November 6) expected to move both permanently and temporarily to the gate area of the new concourse over the next few weeks.

Delta/Comair and Air France have also already begun operating ticket counters at the new Concourse whilst using gate space at Concnourse H, soon to be followed by TAM (date unconfirmed), Alitalia (date unconfirmed), AeroMexico (November 1), and Continenal (November 13), COPA Airlines will also move its gate usage to Concourse H upon the reponing of gate H4, on or around October 18; British Airways, currently housed at concnourse A, will move its ticket counters to Concourse G and use gates at Concourse F for the duration of the A concourse renovations.

MIA

After Concourse A is renovated, it is expected that Alaska Airlines, British Airways, LAN Argentina, LAN Chile, LAN Ecuador, and LAN Peru will return to Concourse A, along with American Airlines, while Avianca will be relocating to gates at Concourse H. Aerolineas Argentinas, Caribbean Airlines, EL AL, and LTU will then return to Concourse E once their gates have been vacated by American Airlines. Barring further delays due to construction, the major move of airlines is expected to be finished by November 16.

MIA

The airport is one of the largest in terms of cargo in the United States, and is the main connecting point for cargo between Latin America and the world. In 2000 LAN Cargo opened up a major operations base at the airport and currently operates the second largest cargo facility at the airport second to UPS. Most major passenger airlines, such as American Airlines use the airport to carry belly cargo on passenger flights though most cargo is operated through cargo only airlines. UPS, FedEx, and DHL, all operate their major Latin American operations through MIA.

Web information :

[Accidents and incidents

Airline accidents and incidents involving MIA include:

On April 25, 1951 Cubana de Aviación Flight 493, a Douglas DC-4 en route from Miami, Florida to Havana, Cuba, collides in mid-air with a United States Navy Beech SNB-1 Kansan off Key West. All 43 aboard both aircraft are killed.
On February 1, 1957, Miami-bound Northeast Airlines Flight 823 crashed on take-off from New York's LaGuardia Airport.
On 2 October 1959, a Vickers Viscount of Cubana de Aviación was hijacked on a flight from José Martí International Airport, Havana to Antonio Maceo Airport, Santiago. The aircraft landed at Miami International Airport.^[12]
On January 6, 1960, National Airlines Flight 2511, a Douglas DC-6B bound from New York to Miami, crashes near Bolivia, North Carolina, when a bomb planted on board explodes in mid-air. All 34 people on board are killed.
On 12 April 1960, All three crew and a passenger of a Vickers Viscount of Cubana de Aviación claimed political asylum after the aircraft landed at Miami International Airport.^[13]
On February 12, 1963, Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 705 crashed into the Everglades while en route from Miami to Portland, Oregon via Chicago O'Hare, Spokane, and Seattle.
On December 29, 1972, Eastern Air Lines Flight 401, a Lockheed L-1011, crashed into the Everglades. The plane had left JFK International Airport in New York City bound for Miami. (the subject of Hollywood movie, The Ghost Of Flight 401).
On January 13, 1982, Air Florida Flight 90, a Boeing 737, crashed in Washington, D.C. en route to Tampa, and then to Fort Lauderdale. The aircraft had flown up from Miami on a flight earlier that day.
On January 1, 1985 Eastern Air Lines Flight 980, a Boeing 727, crashed into the mountains in Bolivia. The plane originated in Asunción and was bound to Miami via La Paz, Bolivia and Guayaquil.
On December 20, 1995, American Airlines Flight 965 crashed into a mountain while en route from Miami to Cali.
On May 11, 1996, ValuJet Flight 592 crashed into the Everglades after take-off from Miami en route to Atlanta.
On October 2, 1996, Aeroperú Flight 603 crashed after takeoff from Lima, Peru. The flight, which originated in Miami, was continuing to Santiago, Chile.
On August 7, 1997, Fine Air 101, a Douglas DC-8 cargo plane, crashed onto NW 72nd Avenue less than a mile (1.6 km) from the airport.
On February 2, 1998, two Skyway Enterprises Shorts 330-200 aircraft (N2630A and N2629Y) were damaged beyond repair by a tornado at Miami International Airport. Both aircraft had to be written off. No one was injured.^[14]
On December 22, 2001, American Airlines Flight 63, en route from Paris to Miami, was the target of "shoe bomber" Richard Reid.
On December 7, 2005, forty-four year old Rigoberto Alpizar, a passenger aboard American Airlines Flight 924, claimed to have a bomb in his carry-on luggage while boarding the flight's second leg to Orlando, Florida after arriving on a flight from Quito, Ecuador; the flight had just arrived from Medellín, Colombia. Federal air marshals reportedly shot and killed the man as he attempted to escape the plane after being confronted onboard, marking the first time an air marshal has fired a weapon on or near an airplane.
On August 31, 2006, US Airways Flight 431 from Charlotte caught fire on the runway. All 118 passengers and crew on board were evacuated safely and there were no injuries. The fire occurred in the left wheel well of the 737 after the tires blew upon landing, and was extinguished with foam by firefighters. Passengers have stated that the plane was shaking violently as it landed