Miami Airport

Travelled to Miami on 2nd Nov. Queue was 4 hours long. Totally unacceptable. Exhausted elderly and crying babies. Animals are treated better than this. Then to top it all a further 2 hours queuing for Alamo car. We landed at 5.30 got out on our way at 10.30. Something has to be done. I will never fly to Miami again. Quicker in long run to use other airport.

Dreadful airport. Do not transit at any cost! Flew LHR-MIA-SJO on 6 Nov. 1.5 hours queuing to clear immigration then further 15 mins for customs. Then as transit passenger (yes transit so why do I have to enter the USA then leave again) collect bags and re-check them back in for next leg of flight to Costa Rica. Had 3 hours so made flight. Return journey on 19th Nov worse. Queues for immigration stretched all the way along arrivals concourse. Unhelpful staff (when found) avoiding any useful info for transit pax. Arrived at MIA 1630 ran to "immigration" as only had 2.5 hrs to make connection. Immigration queue 1hr 45 no seats no water no toilets. No AA staff to be seen. Find (difficult) and pick up bags then customs (15 mins) then sprint to connections. Refused boarding because flight closed gate then re-opened and accepted as pax. Further queues through security then sprint to gate. Boarded (just) 2 hrs 30 total. Bags didn't make flight so were missing at LHR. This airport has a serious problem. Avoid at all costs.

I've had the misfortune to have to go through MIA twice in the last three months. The first time the queue in Immigration was horrific taking almost 2 hours to get through. The most recent time was this week and whilst the Immigration queue was not quite as long the whole process was totally unacceptable. I happened to run into a friend there who was simply transiting through MIA from one international flight (from Barbados to MIA and then onto Mexico City). He too also had to go through Immigration and Customs even though he was not entering the USA at all. No wonder the queues are horrific - they include transit passengers! After finally making it through Immigration I was interrogated by a very rude woman at the door of Customs who subjected me to an interrogation about my occupation education and travel habits. She made it clear that she didn't believe me and sent me for a full search. After waiting while other unfortunates had their baggage scanned and searched I was then interviewed by another (polite) officer who clearly couldn't understand why she had sent me there and waved me on without a search. I then had to deposit my bags with AA. Despite having TSA PRE PRIORITY ACCESS stamped on my boarding pass and travelling in FIRST class there was no priority line and a huge queue in security. All in all the process took over two hours!

We were travelling through this airport to St Maarten in September and flying American Airlines from Departure area D and was amazed to see one TSA person checking boarding passes at the security check. It took nearly 55 minutes just to pass this point and I was not the only person who was getting fed up in the queue and why they have to spend an age writing in red pen on the ticket and for what it just seems a waste of time just to see its okay would seem sufficient enough. They same when we returned at border control the queue was very long it just seems the airport is unable to cope or just not want to recruit staff. I would be very reluctant to use this airport again.

Another awful experience. American passport holders another hall my wife goes through there. Here in the non US section we have line jumping crying babies staff that stand around chugging coffee and doing nothing a near 90 minute wait At passport control desk official with a chippy attitude when you get there. I travel in Asia and live there so I have to lower my expectations when traveling in the USA but Miami is one of the worst ways to enter the country. Dirty small toilets too. Avoid.

I must admit that after reading the reviews on this page I was extremely worried I would make my 2 hour connection to Quito in Miami. However Miami airport turned out to be a rather pleasant experience. At check-in in Germany I asked for priority tags for my luggage because of the short connection and they were given to me free of charge. Of course the lines at immigration at Miami were huge but there was a really helpful lady who was directing passengers to their respective queues. I showed her my boarding pass and explained the situation and she directed my to the channel for diplomats. So I immediately got seen by an immigration officer and cleared immigration in less than 5 minutes. My bag was one of the first to arrive thanks to the priority tags and the queues at security were almost non existent. So I had more than an hour to spare until my next flight which I used to have lunch at Custom Made Burgers for the quintessential USA experience!

Airport is improving. Security screening is becoming faster than previous years. Food establishments are plentiful before you check in. Still very scarce once you have passed security.

What a mess! Transiting from Caymans to Heathrow on American Airlines. Even with assistance of airline it took 3 hours to clear through the process. Queues everywhere were a nightmare. Airport Staff TSA and Immigration were rude and unhelpful. 'Efficient bureaucracy is the best tool of oppression ever invented' - perfect definition of the nonsense immigration procedures employed by the US. Why as an international traveller leaving a British Territory going to the UK on the same airline am I forced to land in the USA? Why do I need to go through Immigrations claim my baggage go through Customs check-in my bags and re-enter airport through security? I know of nowhere else in the world where this nonsense takes place.

We were prepared for the worst since at exactly the same period last year (August) clearing immigration had been a total nightmare. This year it was all but perfect: 20 minutes on 4 August 1 minute on 23 August. Also no waiting time at security check (we were at MIA in transit). Probably we were just lucky but I thought I had to mention.

It took 20 minutes to walk/train from arrival gate to baggage claim and another 30 minutes to walk to rental car area. Are you serious about service.