jesmond23

Hi,

I'm flying London, England - Miami - Belo Horizonte, Brazil in June. I booked the flights through a tour operator as one but the first leg is with BA and second with American.

I've got a 12 hour daytime wait at MIA and would like to leave the airport and go into the city for the day, then return to catch my Brazil flight.

I'm on a british passport and have a valid ESTA.

My questions are:

1. Will I be allowed to leave the airport at all?
2. If so, will I have to collect my hold luggage then check it back in again?
3. If 'yes' to (2), can i check it back on immediately or do AA have a policy where it can only be checked in 2-3 hours before the flight time (meaning I'd have to drag my bags round Miami with me).

I called the tour operator and they don't know. Miami Airport website suggests visitors with more than 5 hours between flights visit attractions outside the airport, so they seem to think it's fine.

I don't know if this is something that individual airlines or airports have different policies on, or if there's some sort of global aviation regulation on it.

Any advice would be gratefully received!

Thanks,

Pete

Non-NonRev

Hello and welcome to FlyerTalk! Here's a quick recap:

1. All passengers need to formally enter the US (immigration and customs) - no US airport offers "transit". Because of the no transit policy, all bags must be picked up after immigration and before going through customs.

2. As you complete the clearing of customs, you will immediately find AA luggage re-check desks, where AA will accept your bags for the ongoing flight (this assumes you had the bags tagged all the way to Brazil when you check in at Heathrow).

3. AA has many evening flights to South America, so they are probably used to people doing drops several hours ahead of time - but check with AA to be sure.

LH-SEN-Berlin

Why is there a no transit policy in the US?

NPF

There used to have, but US politics has been dominated by security concerns after 9/11, with lots of irrational measures taken that do not have any bearing on real security but are all part of a "security theater" played by the politicians with the incentive of the security business.

They don't want anyone flying to America that is not pre-approved, even if they would be confined to a small section of the airport. I believe they don't have confidence in the security of their airports .

flymia

Most airports would only be able to offer transit passengers a very small room which nothing but a snack machine and restrooms. This is the U.S. we have a huge domestic network and building airports with International-International connections in mind would be unprofitable and inefficient.

As for your questions:

1 yes you can leave no issue.
2 yes you will no matter what. Call AA and figure it out. Because you are flying BA then AA they are partners so you should see if you can check in for both flights when leaving London. This will make the re-check easier.
3 Call AA, IMO mostly likely yes.

12 hours is plenty of time to get into the city especially if you want to see the Downtown area and not Miami Beach. To get to downtown it is a fairly quick metro ride. To see Miami Beach/South Beach you would take the metro downtown then find a taxi to take you to Miami Beach.

What time do you arrive in MIA and what time do you leave for Brazil and on what day of the week?

greg0ire

I'd love some help as well, please. My flight from LAX lands at MIA at around 10pm. We are spending the night at Hotel Victor in South Beach before heading back to MIA for a 6:25pm flight to BGI. What method of transportation would you recommend to get there at that time? Cheapest is best, but safety is a priority. Thank you.

Blumie

There is safe public transportation available, but it will take an hour, and do you really want to be riding trains and buses at that hour? A taxi will take half an hour and cost a flat fare of $32.

Blumie

BTW, if you did want to take public transportation, bus 150 goes right from the airport to South Beach and would drop you about 1/4 mile from your hotel. The fare is $2.25/person. There is a bus at 10:10 pm and at 11:10 pm, but you must take the airport train to get from the terminal to the Metrobus station.

http://www.miami-airport.com/bus_and_rail_info.asp

greg0ire

Thanks. Trying to figure if it might make more sense to find a hotel at the airport and just head to South Beach the next morning and afternoon before coming back for the 6:25pm flight. Either way I'd have to figure out a way to get us from MIA to the ocean.