Miami Airport

Flew LHR to MIA with British Airways on 1st Nov 2012. Flight arrived on time and after a long walk to the immigration hall the fun and games really began. We started queuing for passport control in the non-US citizen line about 9pm. There were so many people ahead of us and so few immigration staff that it took 1.5 hrs to be seen by an immigration officer. While I was waiting in the public area of the arrivals hall I witnessed other people who had also been detained for intrusive / abusive questioning. The attitude of US border officials is nothing short of disgusting. While we had a pleasant stay in Miami we will never go back to the USA and risk experiencing this type of treatment again. A terrible ordeal and their whole attitude seems to be that you are a threat and are guilty until proven innocent and that they are doing you a special favour by letting you in to spend money and have a holiday in their country.

I will never again fly to MIA : coming from London with a connecting flight I had to stand 2 hours for immigration then 1/2 hour for custom and then walk for miles to drop my luggage. The worst airport in the US for sure! Never again.

My mother had a short domestic flight today with American Airlines. She arrived at the airport 2 hours ahead of time. She was advised that customers should arrive at MIA at least 4 hours ahead of their flight (at minimum 3). That's ludicrous. That's a sign that there's something wrong with your airport! When you arrive at MIA you have to walk several miles to get to the baggage carousel. It's a mess.

It's not all negative with MIA. Landed with BA late July and got baggage and through immigration and custom in 1 hour. Left the car rental centre after another half hour and on the road after 1.5 hour from landing - not so bad.

In my opinion the worst airport in the US. TSA staff very rude and uncivilised. Staff also rude and unhelpful. Signs were badly placed so easy to get lost. I try to avoid to go to Miami international. I prefer to fly to Ft. Lauderdale Int'l.

The most awful airport I have ever used. Miami Intl makes transiting in Frankfurt a marvellous experience. We had almost 3 hours for our connecting flight but made it to our connecting BA flight to London only because we were travelling First and BA kept our seats. Staff at Miami appear to be trained to be rude and unhelpful to passengers. We asked a female staff if we could go in front of the massive queue as we were just about to miss our flight and she said if we miss our flight we just miss it. After immigration one has to endure the other queue to get through customs which is another awful experience. There were more than 1000 arriving passengers and only two members of staff dealing with the queue. We waited an eternity for our bags at carrousel 8 where it was announced they will be delivered. However they were delivered at 6 and we were not told of the changes. Staff just do not care about passengers. No one helps and they seem to see all visitors as a security threat rather than passengers who pay money to use this airport. Avoid this if you can.

The airport is not a suitable gateway. It's not fit for it's purpose. Walkways to gates are long and if you have luggage that is not wheeled you are left alone to carry it yourself. The little carts cost $5. Toilets are plentiful but the cleanliness is atrocious. The immigration queues take forever. This is not a good introduction. I had to queue again to rebook as my incoming flight was delayed by AA. The queue to reach the attendant took over 1 and half hours. It was a mad rush to my connecting flight. Everyone has to clear immigration and customs even if you are just transiting. To their credit though people were polite and friendly when you do eventually reach them. Better transit in Europe or Brazil for me sorry AA.

Within the last week I and two travelling companions have flown from London Heathrow to Lima Peru via Miami. It has confirmed that I will never fly to the USA again even in transit. And this is not because of the affect of all the additional security measures etc. that the USA have introduced. Miami Airport is too spread out. Very long walks to departure gates. It's too much in need of and upgrade. A bit like Heathrow 10 years ago. So don't have a go at Heathrow now. As for immigrations. Even when in transit it took us over two hours to get through. The staff managing the queues were the picture of helpfulness but by the time you met the immigration staff themselves you might as well have dealt with a machine. Clearly displaying signs of utter boredom. What sort of advertisement for a country is that? Sorry USA must try harder because I'm not coming back.

This is by far the worst airport in the US that we have travelled to and we have used many. After a 30 minute walk from the gate you are greeted by a snaking line which moves at snails pace. It is only when you get to the front of the line that you realise you are sent to another line in front of each immigration desk. Immigration officers seem to spend more time complaining to each other than dealing with passengers. The airport staff who direct you to the desks no doubt try their best but admit defeat by stating that the immigration officers are in charge and what they say goes. The unfriendly surly attitude of the immigration staff after having queued for up to 90 minutes does nothing to welcome you to the USA. In future we will fly to anywhere else in the US and transfer to Miami if we need to go there. Added to the immigration problems we then had a 75 minute queue to get a pre-ordered Alamo car from the car rental centre.

MIA has got to be one the of the worst airport in the US. By all means avoid travelling through it of you are arriving from abroad. If you don't you will encounter USA's rudest and most unhelpful staff including security and immigration officers. I live in Miami and I travel abroad several times a year for my job staff here never fail to demonstrate their ignorance and lack of interest in helping (let alone welcoming) traveler to thus beautiful country. This is astonishing to me considering this is the first gateway to the US for many of the 1st time tourists. On a normal busy day expect delays upwards of 3 hours. During which time take notice of the number of officers who are standing around doing nothing when they can be helping distraught old ladies or families with crying children. I have never seen such lack of compassion! MIA where is your airport manager? How can this happen in 2012?