Thoughts-numbingly lengthy traces and crowded terminals coated with human effluvium are acquainted to anybody who’s made their approach by means of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Worldwide Airport (FLL) or Miami Worldwide Airport (MIA). And on the appropriate day, you would possibly come throughout a bird smuggling operation, a passenger handing out vodka in a safety line, or perhaps a good-ole violent SoFlo skirmish.
As if vacationers wanted another excuse to be cautious of the South Florida hubs, journey web site Family Destinations Guide just lately compiled an inventory of the ten worst airports within the nation for flight delays final yr, rating FLL and MIA third and fifth, respectively.
FLL had 26 p.c of its flights delayed in 2022, whereas MIA noticed 24 p.c. The report crunched information from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, which discovered greater than 1,042,000 flights had been delayed throughout the nation final yr. Solely Orlando Worldwide Airport and Newark Liberty Worldwide Airport beat out FLL for flight delays.
So far as alarming passenger incidents, each MIA and FLL have had a justifiable share of untamed tales over the previous two years.
On the Fort Lauderdale hub a couple of weeks earlier than Thanksgiving final yr, officers from the Transportation Safety Administration claimed they discovered a gun hidden inside a raw chicken. In one other headline-grabbing incident, a Canadian man allegedly made a bogus reference to a bomb in his baggage after arguing over baggage price coverage.
Final month at Miami Worldwide Airport, a girl was arrested on battery fees after she picked up a pc monitor and chucked it at an airline worker whereas looking for her youngsters in a terminal. A yr earlier, a person was charged for allegedly biting an officer on the head in a dispute that ended with police pointing a gun at a riled-up crowd within the airport. Then there was that point that a stowaway was discovered within the touchdown gear in a aircraft arriving at MIA by way of Guatemala Metropolis.
Anecdotes apart, MIA constantly beats out FLL on traveler satisfaction surveys. In 2021, Miami Worldwide Airport managed to lock up the top spot amongst “mega airports” on the JD Energy North America Airport Satisfaction survey.
The Miami airport dropped to ninth out of 20 mega airports on this yr’s JD Energy survey. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Worldwide Airport was not far behind, coming in on the 12 spot.
Each airports have issue with holding flights on time, repeatedly rating among the many worst within the nation for delays. Fort Lauderdale is a hub for Spirit, and the airline has borne the brunt of vacationers’ rage when mass flight cancellations and delays crop up.
In response to the current Household Locations report, Miami-Dade Aviation Division spokesperson Greg Chin tells New Instances that MIA is not chargeable for the heavy delays.
“The elements that decide an airport’s on-time efficiency/delays are associated to inclement climate or airline or Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) operations, that are out of the airport’s management,” Chin says in an e mail. “Relating to climate delays, it’s value noting that Florida has extra lightning per sq. mile than every other U.S. state.”
The 2 South Florida airports have additionally handled controversies over service workers working circumstances. As beforehand reported by New Instances, the airports have confronted criticism relationship again a number of years for working with contractors who’ve allegedly mistreated airport staff. Although a neighborhood service staff union says circumstances have improved, a bunch of MIA airport staff just lately gathered in protest to name on Congress to move the Good Jobs for Good Airports Act, which might guarantee them livable wages and affordable advantages.
