Miami Airport

This is my home airport and it has never been so poorly run. I am an American citizen and recently returned from a short trip to the Caribbean. To clear Customs citizens and non-citizens were put in the same absolutely absurdly long line -- something I have never seen anywhere else in my travels throughout the world. It took almost as long to clear Customs as to fly from the Caribbean. I will be flying out of Ft. Lauderdale for all future international travel.

Arrived and departed from terminal J. Smooth check in security screening was ok. Good shops pricey duty free but overall arrival experience seems to be improved.

Having transited this airport on several occasions in the past my latest visit in January '14 was by far the worst. Arriving from Heathrow we were subjected to what can only be described as a 'hell on earth' experience so far as trying to get through airport immigration and customs. 2 hours for immigration followed by a further hour for customs clearance. Both sets of miserable officers reciting the same line of questioning. Will avoid this airport in future.

Passed through MIA 4 times in 1 week once on a flight from London arriving into MIA at 15.20 twice on flights from Grand Cayman (requiring immigration clearance) arriving into MIA at 15.20 and 18.45 and once from LAX arriving into MIA at 15.20 (domestic arrival). On the flight from London it was 45 minutes between the wheels touching the runway and me being in my hotel room at the airport Sheraton. There was no queue at immigration. On the arrivals from Grand Cayman the longest wait was 12 minutes. On all three occasions the immigration officers were polite and welcoming. Customs was a bit tedious but again the queue kept moving and was not too long merely on one pass through very disorganised. I had read the horror stories on here but some of the queuing will depend upon arrival time compared to other incoming arrivals and how quickly you get off your aircraft. However the overriding factor in having a good experience with both immigration and customs is be polite and welcoming to them - they are just doing their job and greet them with civility as we did on every trip and we were met with civility back without fail!

1.5 hours waiting for luggage for transit. Ridiculous! With delays at immigration and customs it took us 3 hours to get to our onward flight just in time for boarding. This is not a serious hub airport and the airlines that use it are at a serious disadvantage. I for one will avoid at all costs.

We are on our way to Jamaica and went via Miami as it was cheaper than the direct flight. However I made a big mistake. The immigration queue was not long but the officer was obnoxious and I never heard a please or thank you once. The queue getting out was very long and it took ages. We were greeted by the customs agent from hell. Then we had to get through security staffed by people that hated their job. If you don't have to visit Miami then don't is my advice.

My husband was in a wheelchair and we were in the same very long queue with pre-cleared folks who took priority. It took over 3 hours to get through. I was shocked that we were treated like 2nd class citizens as caregivers were becoming stressed dealing with their loved ones needs as everyone else took priority. Shocking and disrespectful and totally thoughtless.

We were dreading going through MIA after reading all the horror stories about having to wait 3 hrs or more to clear immigration and customs (international travellers). We landed about 6.00 pm and were through the airport in 50 mins and could not believe it. Yes it is a very very long walk to the immigration hall and the staff are not friendly and we obviously landed at a good time but our experience was not as bad as we were expecting. What is sadly lacking in the airport are good restaurants. The choice is deplorable for an international airport. Restrooms we used were not clean.

I was expecting this airport to be a bit of a trial to transit through after having read the reviews but nothing can prepare you for the totally unnecessary rudeness of the staff at MIA. As a transit passenger you have to queue up on four separate occasions to be processed and at each stage you are treated like an animal (at best) or a criminal (at worst). Please tell me why in Miami in transit to/from Peru I have to explain the reasons for my holiday in India (3 years earlier)! Never again.

After 9 hour flight from the UK spent 2 hours walking around immigration hall where an ultra long queue had been set up. Asking Officer what was the better days to arrive we were told it is always like this! Dreadful experience and will try to avoid Miami in the future.