|
(MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FL) – More than 500 people, including federal, state and local elected officials, airline and visitor industry representatives, community leaders and members of the public, gathered at Miami International Airport’s South Terminal international greeter’s lobby on Friday, November 30, for a grand opening celebration for the new, 1.7-million-square-foot expansion of MIA.
South Terminal’s first flight was on August 29, and airlines have been relocating gradually to the new terminal space since then. The last four of 19 airlines are scheduled to move into the new facility and begin their flight operations in December. At that point, South Terminal will begin handling 25 percent of MIA’s 32 million annual passengers, with airlines providing international service to 72 cities in 28 countries.
South Terminal includes: a new Concourse J with 15 gates and a renovated Concourse H with 13 gates; 190 new ticket counters; space for 61 dining, retail and duty free concession locations; 1,040 feet of new vehicle curbside space; two new security checkpoints; a new federal inspection service facility that can process 2,000 international passengers per hour; and a new cruise and tour bus station for shuttle service to and from the Port of Miami. It also features striking architecture with tall glass walls and eye-catching, South Florida-themed artwork.
Speakers at the grand opening celebration included: U.S. representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Mario Diaz-Balart: former Florida Governor Jeb Bush; Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez; Chairman Bruno A. Barreiro, Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners; Rebeca Sosa, District 6 County Commissioner; Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz, Chairman of the County Commission’s Airport and Tourism Committee; Miami-Dade County Manager George M. Burgess; Harold Woodward, Customs and Border Protection Miami Field Office Director; Mark Hatfield, Jr., Federal Security Director for the Transportation Security Administration in Miami; Miami-Dade Aviation Department Deputy Director Max Fajardo; Gilberto Neves, President of Odebrecht Construction, Inc.; and Bill Talbert, President and CEO of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, who served as the master of ceremonies.
# # #
|
