As the holiday travel season continues, Miami International Airport is making significant strides in modernizing and improving its infrastructure.
Airport Director Ralph Cutie provided a firsthand look to Local 10 News at the ongoing work, where crews are replacing essential components of the moving walkways—such as rollers, treads, and boards. The importance of this upgrade became evident during the Thanksgiving weekend, when a single malfunctioning conveyance caused significant travel delays in Concourse E.
Nearly a year ago, Miami-Dade County pledged to address the long-standing maintenance issues that plagued the airport, which had seen 15% of its elevators, escalators, and people movers out of service. Today, that number has been reduced to just 5%, with repairs and replacements ongoing.
“We’ve come a long way since then,” Cutie said, noting the progress made in fixing the airport’s infrastructure. Modernization efforts extend to the bathrooms, which are being upgraded with touchless features for greater convenience and hygiene.
The nearly 80-year-old central terminal is also getting a facelift, with vintage ticket counters set to be replaced thanks to grant funding. Some of the new self-bag drop stations are already operational, and more will be installed as the terminal undergoes a complete renovation.
In addition to the ongoing improvements, a new parking garage is slated for completion by the end of 2025. To ensure continuous smooth operations, the airport has hired additional staff to monitor real-time issues and quickly address problems as they arise.
“A lot of these pieces of equipment weren’t in bad shape 10 years ago,” Cutie explained. “But the deferred maintenance we’re addressing now is the biggest challenge. We have to balance these transformational projects with the need to operate efficiently, all while rapidly becoming one of the busiest airports in the country—and possibly the world.”
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