Miami International Airport

Taking off┬áA multibillion-dollar development program for Miami International Airport is helping it cope comfortably with demand, Ruari McCallion learns from Juan Carlos Arteaga. After weathering the effects of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the low-cost carrier boom at competitor airports, Miami International Airport has rebounded with consistent growth as the undisputed Gateway of the Americas and with an expansion program to more than match its increasing passenger volumes. In the years following an all-time high of 34.5 million passengers in 1997, MIAÔÇÖs traffic began to dip as a result of increased competition from neighboring airports and other international gateways. The downturn worsened after the terrorist attacks of 2001. Since then, MIA has seen a steady rise to pre-9/11 levels, with 33.7 million passengers in 2007 and a projected total of approximately 34 million passengers in 2008. MIAÔÇÖs stability was most noticeable in 2008 when it was one of the only US airports to grow in airline seat capacity, despite record-high fuel prices and subsequent flight cutbacks nationwide.┬á One of the high points of the year was Thanksgiving travel week, when MIA exceeded even its own projections by serving 3.2 percent more passengers than Thanksgiving week in 2007. The Air Transport Association of America estimated that passenger traffic at airports nationwide would decrease 10 percent overall during Thanksgiving week because of the struggling US economy. A healthy Latin American and Caribbean market, increased demand for cost-effective cruise ship vacations, and MIAÔÇÖs proximity to the Port of Miami and Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, two of the nationÔÇÖs top seaports, have contributed to MIAÔÇÖs success during the global economic crisis. American Airlines, which uses MIA as its Latin American and Caribbean hub and handles more than 65 percent of the airportÔÇÖs traffic, has increased flights at MIA while scaling back at other airports.MIAÔÇÖs Capital Improvement Program (CIP) is keeping pace with its renewed growth. The CIP began in 1992 with a new cargo facility and has since generated 17 new cargo buildings totaling more than 2.7 million square feet of new space. Improvements to the airportÔÇÖs Central Boulevard and 25th Street viaduct will make it easier to get from the airport to downtown Miami and other local attractions. Its fourth runway was completed in 2003, which increased airfield capacity by 25 percent. But the jewels in the crown of the $6.2 billion program are the new terminals. South Terminal, completed in 2007, represented Miami InternationalÔÇÖs first comprehensive expansion of terminal and concourse space since the 1950s. Currently under construction, the new North Terminal will enable the airport to handle up to 52 million passengers a year, a 60 percent increase over 2007. If the South Terminal brought the airport into the 21st century, the North building is a big step forward again. ÔÇ£The new terminal changes the building from a finger configuration to a linear configuration,ÔÇØ says Juan Carlos Arteaga, North Terminal Development Program Director. ÔÇ£It improves gate utilization. Previously, turnover of gates was very slow; it took a long time to pull aircraft in and out. The building is almost a mile long; it has an automated people moverÔÇöa train shuttleÔÇöon top of the roof to transport passengers with rapid movement around the 3.6 million square feet of new and renovated areas, and 48 international/domestic gates plus two regional commuter gates. There will be a huge new Federal Inspection facility with 72 lanes for the processing of international passengers and four boarding security checkpoints. It will have nine and a half miles of conveyor belts with a state-of-the-art baggage delivery system. When passengers go to the ticket counter, theyÔÇÖll simply tag the bag and it will be moved to the loading point without any further human intervention.ÔÇØA project of this size is bound to have its challenges, and one of them is clear as you approach the airport: it is remaining open through all the ongoing work. That means millions of passengers and millions of tons of freight still have to be moved safely and comfortably.ÔÇ£We needed to maintain 37 gates at first; then it went to 40, then to 42 two months ago,ÔÇØ Arteaga explains. The gates have to be kept open in order to serve the air operators, of whom American Airlines is the largest. American and its alliance partners represent 68 percent of Miami InternationalÔÇÖs traffic; when North Terminal is completed, thatÔÇÖs expected to rise to 72 percent. ItÔÇÖs the second busiest of AmericanÔÇÖs three hubs, behind DallasÔÇôFort Worth and ahead of Chicago OÔÇÖHare. The strength comes from FloridaÔÇÖs position as the preferred place for Latin America to do business: Spanish is spoken widely, and Portuguese (for Brazil) is common, but itÔÇÖs neutral territory. Miami International is also the principal airport in the US for the Caribbean.ÔÇ£We closed 17 gates in the existing terminal, mothballing Concourse A completely, and captured the area for construction,ÔÇØ says Arteaga. ÔÇ£That saved two years and around $200 million from the program. WeÔÇÖre opening the new terminal in phases, with five gates this year, seven next, and the remainder leading up to 2011, when the new North Terminal is scheduled to be completely open. The automated people mover, with five four-car trains, will carry 9,000 passengers per hour to four stations along the roof. The baggage screening system is designed to handle 6,700 bags an hour.ÔÇØArteaga is proud of what he and his team are achieving, and he has good reason to be. Soon after the program began, progress stagnated. The solution that Miami-Dade County adopted was to assume direct responsibility for the project, which it did in 2005. It came to settlements with subcontractors, got the budget under control and got the work moving and on schedule.ÔÇ£We have proven with this project that government agencies can handle something of this magnitude,ÔÇØ he says. ÔÇ£When we took over, we found that things were not up to code in the inherited work, and close to 70 percent of the program was behind schedule. WeÔÇÖve completed all the demolition work, and while there will always be issues in dealing with a 60-year-old building, we believe we have encountered and dealt with the majority of the challenges. In terms of construction time, weÔÇÖre 60 percent complete thus far.  During 2008 we have been on time with every single milestone in gates and concessions openingsÔÇöwe like to open each new stage with proper amenities. We have taken the program from a very bad situation into a very successful one so far.ÔÇØ This is good news for MIA, Miami-Dade County, South Florida and all airlines that do business with Miami International Airport.┬á