Miami International Airport

Miami International Airport {{Airport codes|MIA|KMIA}}, is located in unincorporated Miami, Florida between the suburbs of Hialeah, Doral, Fontainbleau, and Miami Springs.

History

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 Airlines began flying there in 1934, followed by National Airlines in 1937.

Related Topics:
1928 - Pan American Airways Corporation - New York, Rio, and Buenos Aires Line - Dinner Key - Eastern Airlines - 1934 - National Airlines - 1937

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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.

Related Topics:
1945 - 1949 - 1951 - 1959

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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.

Related Topics:
1991 - United Airlines - American Airlines

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For many years, the airport was a common connecting point for passengers traveling from Europe to Latin America. However, stricter visa requirements for aliens in transit (a result, in part, of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks) have lessened MIA's role as an intercontinental connecting hub. In 2004, Iberia Airlines ended its hub operation in Miami, opting instead to run more direct flights from Spain to Central America. However Air France still has flights to Port Au Prince using smaller A320 and ERJ-145 aircraft.

Related Topics:
Europe - Latin America - Visa - September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks - 2004 - Iberia Airlines

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Gulfstream International Airlines operates regular flights between MIA and several airports in Cuba, the only direct airlik between the two nations. However, these flights must be booked through agents with special authorization from the Office of Foreign Assets Control, and are only generally available to government officials, journalists, researchers, professionals attending conferences, or expatriates visiting Cuban family.

Related Topics:
Gulfstream International Airlines - Cuba - Office of Foreign Assets Control

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Disasters involving MIA

Airline crashes involving MIA include the 1972 crash of an Eastern Airlines Lockheed L-1011 in the Everglades (the subject of Hollywood movie, The Ghost Of Flight 401), the 1982 crash of a Miami-bound Air Florida Boeing 737 in Washington, DC, the 1995 crash of American Airlines Flight 965 into a mountain while en route from Miami to Cali, the 1996 crash of ValuJet Flight 592 in the Everglades, and the 1997 Crash of Fine Air 101, a cargo plane that crashed onto NW 72nd Avenue less than a mile (1.6 km) from the airport. Another flight that almost ended in death was Miami-bound American Airlines Flight 63, the target of "shoe bomber" Richard Reid.

Related Topics:
1972 - Lockheed L-1011 - Everglades - Hollywood - 1982 - Boeing 737 - Washington, DC - 1995 - American Airlines Flight 965 - Cali - 1996 - ValuJet Flight 592 - 1997 - Fine Air - American Airlines Flight 63 - Richard Reid

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