Passenger perks net Miami Airport a big award
A long list of advancements and improvements aimed at improving the at-the-airport experience for passengers has earned Miami International Airport the inaugural Airport Innovation Award from a key industry organization.
The award – established by the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) – recognizes the special programs, new amenities, operational tweaks and service partnerships that, altogether, are making MIA both an easier airport for travelers to pass through and a more enjoyable space for passengers to spend time in.
The list of perks the award honors includes MIA’s digital magazine, MIA Connections; the MIAmamas program for nursing mothers that includes MIA-branded nursing pods; a mobile app – MIA Airport Official – that offers a wide variety of customer service enhancements; and MIAair, a special-needs dress rehearsal program for hearing impaired and autistic travelers.
Also noted: MIA’s $40 million energy saving initiative, the construction of a Wall of Honor memorial for 119 fallen local military service personnel and Miami Begins with Me, a customer service training effort operated in partnership with tourism professionals.
“The airport community is embracing and driving innovation like never before,” said AAAE President and CEO Todd Hauptli, who declared Miami International Airport “a clear leader in the field.”
“This recognition from one of the aviation industry’s leading organizations, based on feedback from airport users, is proof-positive that we are moving in the right direction and making a difference with our customers,” said Miami-Dade Aviation Director Emilio T. González. He added that since being appointed MIA Aviation Director in 2013, one of his highest priorities has been improving the passenger experience through advances in technology and the embracing of “out of the box ideas.”
The Airport Innovation Award was established by the AAAE’s Airport Innovation Accelerator group to honor innovative developments that are a model for airports around the country and is being awarded to MIA officials Wednesday at the second Annual Airport Innovation Forum in Silicon Valley.
MIA, which recently added indoor pet relief areas and a pre-security yoga room, isn’t content to rest on its laurels.
This week the airport is opening a new children’s play area (near Gate E-5), called Plane Fun. Created in partnership with the Miami Children’s Museum, the play area has six interactive areas, including a Control Tower with video of arriving aircraft and audio chatter between the tower and pilots and an aircraft selfie station with a five-foot tall touch screen monitor.
Better yet – in early 2017, MIA plans to add one more perk sure to please passengers: free Wi-Fi.
Harriet Baskas is a Seattle-based airports and aviation writer and Paste BN Travel's "At the Airport" columnist. She occasionally contributes to Ben Mutzabaugh's Today in the Sky blog. Follow her at twitter.com/hbaskas.