Miami Airports $1.1 billion expansion set to open today
29 Aug 2007
A $1.1 billion terminal expansion at Miami International Airport (MIA) is set to open on 29 August. The new MIA south terminal stretches over 1.7 million square feet of glass, steel and concrete. It will house 19 airlines, 150 ticket counters, 31 gates and 61 food and retail outlets.
The improvement will be rolled out in phases. On 28 August, travellers will get their first look at Concourse H. Next week, Concourse J will open. Terminals H and J alone are larger than the airports in many mid-sized cities, airport authorities said. The new terminal will be able to process up to 2000 international passengers an hour.
Earlier, the airport built a fourth runway to make the airfield more efficient. It is also building roadways to get more people in and out of the airport as quickly as possible. "The idea is to process passengers faster and give them a better experience in Miami," airport officials said.
The new terminals have a facility that allows passport control and baggage processing on the same floor. Security officials say this is more efficient and effective for security measures; to identify and target individuals who may be a threat to the US. "It's also much more efficient for passengers, because they just flow in and flow out," said airport officials.
