Source: MIA

Miami International Airport is expecting another busy winter holiday travel season this year, with 2.5 million passengers projected from December 21 to January 6 (Three Kings Day), for a 1.5% increase over its record-breaking period in 2021. A daily average of 151,000 travelers is expected over the 17-day travel period, which is 10,000 more travelers per day than the airport’s average in November.

MIA’s busiest travel days are expected to be the Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday before Christmas Day, the Friday before New Year’s Day, and the Thursday and Friday after New Year’s Day, when the airport projects more than 157,000 passengers on each day.

Because of the record-breaking projections, MIA’s parking garages may approach their capacity on peak travel days. Instead of parking at MIA’s main garages, travelers can also use the airport’s new remote Economy Park and Ride lot, Valet Parking lots, or be dropped off by friends or family, a ride-share service, taxi, or Miami-Dade Transit’s Orange Line.

Below are additional travel tips from MIA for winter holiday travel:

  • Arrive at MIA at least 3 hours before a domestic flight and 3.5 hours before an international flight to allow enough time for parking, airline check-in, and security screening.
  • To expedite the airline check-in process, passengers should check in online before arriving at MIA.
  • Passengers departing from concourses D, E, H, and J during peak times can pre-schedule their TSA checkpoint screening time with MIA Reserve, a free reservation service.
  • To streamline TSA checkpoint screening, wear easily removable shoes, follow the 3-1-1 rule for liquids or gels in your carry-on, avoid accessories that resemble weapons, and pack medications in your carry-on instead of your checked bags for easier access. More TSA tips are available at the TSA website.  
  • The expedited TSA checkpoint screening service CLEAR is now open to members departing from any of MIA’s concourses. CLEAR customers departing from Concourse D can use TSA checkpoint 5 to access Concourse D gates post-security. 
  • Find the fastest TSA checkpoint for your flight online with MIA’s Queue Analyzer, for real-time updates on checkpoint wait times. 
  • Avoid waiting in line to order food and drinks with MIA2GO, MIA’s mobile ordering service that lets you quickly browse menus, order, and pay before making your contactless pick-up at restaurants throughout the airport.
  •  On-site COVID-19 testing (Antigen, PCR, and Rapid PCR) is still available at two convenient MIA locations. Costs vary depending on the type of test.
  • MIA’s cell phone waiting lot, which features 60 parking spaces for non-commercial users picking up travelers, is located just off LeJeune Road and N.W. 31st Street, accessible from LeJeune Road heading north or south.
  • Eligible international travelers can use the free, secure Mobile Passport Control app to submit their passport and customs declaration information on their smartphone or tablet to avoid completing a paper form or using an automated passport control kiosk. 
  • MIA now offers special accessibility lanes for passengers with disabilities or limited mobility arriving from foreign destinations. By completing an accessibility lane request form at MIA’s website 48 hours in advance of their arrival, those passengers can request special queueing assistance in MIA’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) area.