Skytrain at Miami International Airport to reopen Friday

DORAL, FL – Miami International Airport will offer peace of mind to some passengers that now will stop enduring long walks to get to their terminals with the reopening of the Skytrain. 

The Skytrain was shut down last September following the finding of cracks in three columns that support the train near station 1. Since then, some passengers have had to make a trek, up to a mile, to move to their terminals, while others have been using trolleys and golf carts provided by the airport.

But on Friday, March 29, three out of the four Concourse D Skytrain stations will reopen. One station will remain out of service. 

“Our team is hard at work to get the remainder of the system open early this summer, further enhancing the efficiency and convenience of our airport experience,” reads part of the statement made by Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. 

The system that holds the Skytrain has 100 columns that have undergone repairs and testing in order to address the issues that led to its closing. Repair crews have been fixing cracks for six months so much so that now at least trains can resume trips for most of the mile-long track that runs above Concourse D. 

Miami International Airport will continue to provide a courtesy trolley service for passengers between stations 1 and 2. 

“We understand that this decision may have caused inconvenience to some of our passengers, but taking the Skytrain out of service to repair, strengthen, and test the system prior to reopening were necessary steps to ensure your safety and security,” said Levine Cava during the rest of her statement. 

The Skytrain repairs costs amount to $4.2 million, and they were part of a larger project aimed to improve the airport’s elevators, walkways, escalators and bathrooms in a five to seven years span of time. The total cost for the maintenance is $1.7 billion.

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