Miami International Airport - Operations - Terminal

Terminal

The main terminal at MIA dates back to 1959, with several new additions. Semicircular in shape, the terminal has one linear concourse (Concourse D) and five pier-shaped concourses, lettered counter-clockwise from E to J (Concourse A is now part of Concourse D; Concourses B and C were demolished so that Concourse D gates could be added in their place; I was skipped to avoid confusion with the number 1.). From the terminal's opening until the mid-1970s the concourses were numbered clockwise from 1 to 6.

Level 1 of the terminal contains baggage carousels and ground transportation access. Level 2 contains ticketing/check-in, shopping and dining, and access to the concourses. The airport currently has two immigration and customs facilities, located in Concourse E, Level 1 and in Concourse J, Level 3. The Concourse E FIS can be utilized by flights arriving at all gates in Concourse E and all gates in Concourses D and some gates in Concourse F. The Concourse J FIS can be utilized by flights arriving at all gates in Concourse J and most gates in Concourse H. However, all gates in Concourse G and some gates in Concourses F and H, do not have the facilities to route passengers to any FIS, and therefore can only be used for domestic arrivals. MIA is unique among American airports in that all of its facilities are common-use, meaning that they are assigned by the airport and no one airline holds ownership or leases on any terminal space or gates, thus giving the airport much more flexibility in terminal and gate assignments and allowing it to make full use of existing facilities. The entire airport became common-use by the 1990s.

The airport has three parking facilities: a two-level short-term parking lot directly in front of Concourse E, and two seven-story parking garages (North and South) within the terminal's curvature and connected to the terminal via overhead walkways on Level 3. In the late 1990s, the Dolphin Garage was expanded to better serve the then-new Concourse A; it is expected that the Flamingo Garage will be similarly expanded in the near future to serve the new Concourse J. The two parking garages are connected at their west ends; at the top of this connection are the airport's SIDA and ID Section offices. The single terminal facility is divided into three sections known as the North Terminal, Central Terminal, and South Terminal.