Adopt an Airport The Miami International Airport (code MIA) generates upwards of $30 billion in revenue per year, bringing in the vast majority (70%) of all international visitors to the entire state of Florida ("About Us," 2017). Therefore, MIA is a gateway airport to Florida and not just Miami. Furthermore, MIA is the gateway airport linking Latin America and the Caribbean with the United States, with more flights to and from these regions than any other airport in the United States ("About Us," 2017). According to the Miami International Airport's own website, their goal is to become a "hemispheric hub," ("About Us," 2017). However, there are several impediments to MIA reaching its status, the main one being its outdated infrastructure and terminals, which are reflected in its outdated and clunky website.

Organizational Structure

Airports in the United States exhibit different types of organizational structure depending in part on their ownership. Most airports in the United States (73%) have a senior manager whereas 13% have a fixed-base operator (FBO) as the airport manager (National Academies of Science, n.d., p. 3). Municipalities, counties, port authorities, and private owners may all have stakes in airports. MIA is fully owned by Miami-Dade County, specifically its Miami-Dade Aviation Department. At MIA, the airport more closely follows the organizational structure of a corporation with an Aviation Director as the senior manager. With the Aviation Director at the helm, MIA's organizational structure also includes a Deputy Director, Chief of Staff, Chief Financial Officer, and a host of assistant directors ("Executive Leaders," n.d). Regardless of its internal organizational structure, MIA, like all American airports, are responsible and accountable to the FAA. The FAA establishes and enforces the regulations that govern MIA's operations. However, the State of Florida also has its own aviation plans that relate more to capital budgeting, infrastructure improvements and developments, and maintenance (National Academies of Science, n.d.). Daily operations remain the province of the MIA Aviation Director.

The organizational hierarchy and structure of MIA focuses on chief daily duties including but not limited to quality management, coordination, public outreach, strategic planning, public safety, environmental stewardship, and legal responsibilities (National Academies of Science, n.d.). To facilitate coordination of services, MIA has multiple divisions including human resources, information systems, communications, cash management, land use grants, real estate development, marketing, and more ("Executive Leaders," n.d).

Governmental Roles

The Miami-Dade Aviation Department is a part of the Miami-Dade County government that is primarily in charge of all the county airports including MIA. Executives at MIA work directly for the Miami-Dade Aviation Department ("Executive Leaders," n.d.). In addition to the county government role, MIA is also accountable to the FAA, as with all American airports. MIA also runs a Protocol Office, which "coordinates all logistics associated with diplomatic arrivals/departures with representatives of the airlines operating at MIA and with U.S. government agencies," ("Protocol and International Affairs," n.d.). The government agencies...

According to the NPIAS report, MIA boasts the most international enplanements in the country, forecasted to grow even more due to the additional hosting of new los-cost carriers as well as new large aircraft like the A380 (National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) 2009-2013). MIA was also recently a test site for FAA-led air quality improvement projects (National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) 2009-2013). However advanced the capabilities of MIA are now, "improvements may be warranted" at MIA to "keep pace with rapid growth in international cargo," in terms of transfer facilities in particular (National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) 2009-2013, p. 55).
Privatization and Privatized Services

MIA offers an abundance of privatized services for the consumer/retail sector as well as in the service operations of the facility itself. In the consumer/retail sector, passengers at MIA have access to a wide range of retail store outlets and food and drink service providers including local restaurants and international chain franchises. Some of the locally owned businesses include the Estefan Kitchen Express, My Ceviche, Chefs of the Caribbean, and Original Penguin. Additional private retail outlets are expected in the near future according to MIA's 2016 annual report (Miami-Dade Aviation Department, 2016). All airport security-related features are, however, controlled by the Miami-Dade Aviation Department (Miami-Dade Aviation Department, 2016).

Public Relations

Dickie Davis is the Director of Public and Customer Relations at MIA ("Dickie Davis," n.d.). The Public Relations Department combines its outreach services with customer relations. Customer service for passengers at MIA include services for the prevention and amelioration of discrimination, paging system, a lost and found, and a slew of services including animal relief, MIAmamas, Kids' Corner, yoga room, and other unique benefits ("Dickie Davis," n.d.). The overall public relations strategy at MIA involves outreach with local fundraising and philanthropic organizations, networking with the private sector. Allowing MIA to become a host to major international events has allowed the airport to integrate itself with Miami-Dade County's lucrative conference and events sector.

MIA also links with local arts and culture organizations. In fact, the airport has its own fine arts and cultural affairs division. The arts and cultural affairs division allows MIA to improve its overall aesthetic through ongoing permanent and temporary exhibits in the airport. By partnering with local art organizations, MIA establishes itself not just as a transportation hub, but also a hub for the international art scene.

One of the most important ways MIA conducts marketing and public relations is through welcoming partnerships with key brands from around the world. For example, in 2016, MIA became the first airport in the country to launch Brand USA's international welcome campaign, and also that year welcomed a group of Japanese community leaders to discuss business partnerships with MIA in the future (Miami-Dade Aviation Department, 2016). Many of the marketing and public relations-outreach events at MIA are aviation-specific, such as welcoming new airlines and designating new flight paths. The partnerships between the chief aviation director and the public relations director ensure that new cargo and passenger airlines can secure strategic positions at MIA. For example, MIA welcomed a new Canadian cargo airline called KF Cargo, and also welcomed representatives from several major Asian airlines including All Nippon Airways (ANA) to develop Miami to Asia nonstop flights in the future (Miami-Dade Aviation Department, 2016). The first nonstop passenger flight from Asia to Miami occurred in 2016, with a charter flight from Taipei carrying the country's President Tsai Ing-wen.

Legislative History

In 1928, what would later become the Miami International Airport (MIA) was called the Pan American Field,…