Norse Atlantic switching to Miami in September.

Norse Atlantic Airways has confirmed it will switch operations from Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport to Miami International for its services from London Gatwick and Oslo from 18th September. Any customers with bookings for the Fort Lauderdale route after 17th September will be rebooked onto the new Miami service or offered a full refund.

The airline is billing this as a change to benefit passengers and increase loads as Miami has high levels of passenger demand with both direct and connecting traffic volumes greater than other airports in South Florida, plus will boost the airlines freight operations. "We look forward to being able to offer our cargo customers increased choice and flexibility as we begin operations from our new South Florida base in September,” said Bjorn Tore Larsen, CEO Norse Atlantic Airways.

Norse Atlantic will continue to operate its Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft on the route which features a premium cabin and an economy cabin and a range of fares.  Norse Dreamliners also have a more comfortable cabin altitude, with cleaner air and better humidity. The largest windows on any jet worldwide, with individual dimmers, to suit passenger  needs throughout the flight along with LED lighting, that is supposed to give a natural daylight feel in the cabin. 

Ralph Cutié, MIA Director and CEO said "We are thrilled that Norse Atlantic has chosen MIA for all of its South Florida flights. We look forward to welcoming their London Gatwick and Oslo service to Miami-Dade County, and to becoming their seventh destination in the U.S."  

Flight Tracker courtesy of FlightAware.com

Investigation ongoing into MD-82 crash in Miami

Photo  Pedro Portal/El Nuevo Herald/TNS

Investigators are looking into the causes of a plane crash in Miami that saw an MD-82 from Red Air come to a halt with a crumpled nose and fire under one of its wings.

The jet had arrived from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on Tuesday with 137 people on board when its nose gear failed and remarkably all the passengers and crew escaped without serious injury. According to local reports, three were taken for medical evaluation with minor conditions.

Many videos have been shared on social media which capture the aged aircraft skidding along the side of the runway, its wing colliding with communications equipment and passengers evacuating via the rear and overwing exits on one side f the aircraft. 

The airport fire service reached the stricken plane within 2 minutes and dowsed the flames with foam before helping with the assistance of passengers that had run onto the airfield.

Some reports have recorded passengers and witnesses as saying that the aircraft came in with a hard landing, which burst a tyre on the nose gear before it collapsed.  Other passengers reported that the aircraft was jumping and jumping and jumping down the runway, with many cabin windows breaking before it came to a halt. 

Hector Dejesus, A 36-year-old mechanic from Red Air spoke to the Miami Herald saying first it looked like pilot error and then describing it as  “hard landing” - “I suppose it was a hard landing. We do maintenance all the time. I suppose it was that,” he said, “I’m in shock. I would see things like this in the air force.”

Miami Airport used social media to warn other passengers of the incident, which caused so minor disruption to other flights. – “Red Air #203 from Santo Domingo had its landing gear in the nose of the plane collapse, which seems to have caused a fire. MiamiDadeFire responded & extinguished the fire. Some flights have been delayed as a result. Please follow up with your airline for the latest flight info.”

The National Transportation Safety Board have an investigation team now in Miami and are currently assessing the conditions at the time of the crash and the aircraft.

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A new service to Miami set to launch from Emirates...

The Dubai based Emirates has confirmed today that it will soon operate a direct service from its home base to the Floridian hotspot of Miami.

The new route will operate four times each week from 22nd July and marks the 12th U.S. destination for the carrier. Emirates will then serve the US with over 70 weekly flights, offering over 26,000 seats across 12 gateways including Boston, Chicago, New York (both JFK and Newark), Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington DC and Orlando.

The City of Miami has long been the gateway for southern Florida and is perhaps the cultural mecca for the state. Famous for its hedonistic nightlife, art, music, architecture and not to mention cuisine, the City of Miami has become one of the nations most exciting vacation destinations.

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates Chairman and Chief Executive said: “Launching a non-stop service to Miami at this time signals our confidence in travel recovery as countries progress on their vaccination programmes and implement protocols for the safe resumption of flight and travel activity, particularly in the US and the UAE. It also underscores our strong commitment to the US market which Emirates now serves with over 70 weekly flights across 12 gateways.

There is a clear demand for this service from both leisure and business travellers and we anticipate that our new route will be warmly received across our global network, as well as by travellers in Southern Florida, South America and the Caribbean who can conveniently access Dubai and our wider network via Miami’s many air service connections. We look forward to facilitating even more tourism and commerce opportunities to and from Florida with this new route, and to providing our customers with the award-winning Emirates experience.”

Flights to/from Miami will operate four times weekly on Emirates’ three-class Boeing 777-300ER, offering eight private suites in First Class, 42 lie flat seats in Business Class and 304 spacious seats in Economy Class. Emirates flight EK213 will depart Dubai (DXB) at 03:10hrs, arriving in Miami (MIA) at 11:00hrs while the return flight EK214 will depart Miami at 21:10 hrs, arriving in Dubai at 19:35 hrs the next day.

The airline is not a stranger to Miami,  it has been operating scheduled cargo flights to the city since October of last year and prior to that, there have been a number of special charter operations. Often those special SkyCargo flights on its Boeing 777 full freighter's were to transport champion horses from Miami to equestrian events around the world.

MIA just got a little more "Miami"

Miami International Airport's passengers and visitors will soon receive a warm welcome from some of Miami's most recognizable voices.

World-renowned artists, athletes and local personalities have lent their voices to MIA in a new initiative to share the warmth and energy of our diverse and vibrant community.

Bringing the heat to this launch are NBA Champions Alonzo Mourning and Udonis Haslem along with Grammy-winning recording artist Willy Chirino and singer and telenovela star Jencarlos Canela.

"We thank all of the hometown personalities who are participating in this campaign which is representative of our diverse community," said Lester Sola, MIA Director and CEO. "We are excited that our 45 million passengers will now be greeted by these celebrities who call Miami home."

Frontier to quadruple its Miami flight schedule this fall

The US low-cost carrier Frontier announced this week that in November it will expand its schedule at Miami International Airport by a total of 28 weekly flights and six additional routes, bringing its total weekly departures to 57. 

Its new Miami schedule will include three weekly flights to Hartford/Springfield and three weekly flights to San Juan beginning November 14, in addition to four weekly flights to Boston starting November 15 – three first-time routes by Frontier from MIA. Frontier will also launch four daily flights to Detroit starting November 15, as well as bring back daily service to New York LaGuardia and Chicago O’Hare on November 14.

The news comes on the heels of last month’s announcement that Frontier will begin daily service from MIA to Las Vegas on September 10, followed by four weekly flights to both Cincinnati and Cleveland on October 10.

MIA wins approval for up to $5 billion in modernisation projects

The Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners today adopted a new capital improvement program at Miami International Airport that will fund up to $5 billion in airport-wide modernization projects over the next five to 15 years, paving the way for future growth in passenger and cargo traffic at MIA - projected to reach 77 million travelers and more than four million tons of freight by the year 2040. 

"MIA is Miami-Dade County's leading economic engine and busiest gateway, generating nearly $31 billion in business revenue and welcoming 96 percent of all visitors to our community," said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez. "The goal of this new capital program is for MIA to provide even greater value, convenience and efficiency to our visitors, airline partners and cargo operators."

EVEN Hotel Miami Airport Opens

South Florida’s premier wellness destination hotel opened December 2018

Miami-based Epelboim Development Group (EDG), in conjunction with InterContinental Group Hotels (IHG), announced recently the completion of its newest project: EVEN® Hotel Miami Airport.

EVEN® Hotels, part of IHG’s premier lifestyle hotel brand, offers guests a unique wellness and relaxation experience through its exclusive “Eat Well, Rest Easy, Keep Active and Accomplish More” initiative. From in-room trainers, mounted fitness walls, resistance bands and exercise balls, to yoga mats and blocks, 18+ On-Demand fitness videos, beds with built-in “mood lighting,” ergonomic workstations and more—all in its 190 guest rooms—EVEN® Hotel Miami Airport is set to be the most comprehensive wellness hotel South Florida has ever seen.

Royal Air Maroc to link Casablanca with Miami

The Moroccan national carrier Royal Air Maroc has confirmed it will introduce the first-ever  Casablanca - Miami route on 3rd April 2019. 

This new air link with be the first passenger flights to Africa from Miami International Airport since the year 2000 and Florida’s only nonstop service to the continent.

“I offer my congratulations and thanks to Royal Air Maroc for its decision to make Miami its first destination in Florida. Casablanca is one of the most historic, picturesque and influential cities in Africa, and we are proud to establish this first-ever connection between our two world cities." said 

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez.

Air Italy extend Miami service.

The Italian airline half owned by Qatar Airways, Air Italy has announced it is extending its recently launched service between Milan and Miami. The scheduled service will now complete the entire forthcoming winter season. 

The airline only launched the route on the 8th of June and demand has proved to be strong, Neil Mills, Air Italy Chief Operating Officer said, "Thanks to a great response from our customers and increasing demand, we are opening up our winter inventory for our Milan-Miami flight, as we are already running at a load factor of over 80%. This expansion is a testament to our business plan and product offering, and is simply a response to the great support which we have been receiving from our customers," 

Miami International Best For Transinting

Miami International Airport has been ranked the most transit-accessible airport in America, according to a study released this week by transportation technology firm TransitScreen. MIA received a TransitScreen MobilityScore of 66 (on a scale of one to 100). The study analyzed the 20 busiest U.S. airports in passenger traffic and their access to buses, trains and taxis, in addition to ride-sharing, bike-sharing and car-sharing options.

The study highlighted that Miami Central Station - the ground transportation hub connected to MIA - provides nine bus routes to various neighbourhoods, while transit options at other U.S. airports mostly carry passengers straight to downtown. Miami Central Station also houses stations for Metrorail, Tri-Rail and inter-city buses, and is adjacent to a full-service Rental Car Center with 14 companies – all within one intermodal complex. MIA is connected to the Miami Central Station by a 1.25-mile automated people mover system.