Missed your connection at Miami: what to do first

Rebook before you do anything else. Open your airline’s app, or go to the nearest gate agent for your airline, and ask for the next flight with seats.

First ten minutes: rebook, don’t queue

Try the app and an agent together. Our airlines pages show where each airline checks in at MIA. Give three things in one sentence: “I arrived on flight ___, missed flight ___, and I need the next flight to ___.”

Ask these before you walk away:

• Which flight am I on now, and is my seat confirmed? A standby listing is not the same thing.
• Where is my checked bag going? Ask the agent to confirm it has been moved to the new flight.
• Are the later flights on my booking still active? Get the agent to check.

MIA’s Tourist Information Counters in D, E, H and J are open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

What to ask about the delay, and when you get a refund

Ask the agent plainly: “Was this delay within the airline’s control?” Ask the agent what the airline covers before you accept or turn down an offer.

If you decide not to travel at all, the Department of Transportation’s refund rule covers you when a flight to, from or within the US is cancelled or significantly changed. You get your fare back, nonrefundable fares included, as long as you turn down the rebooking and any voucher or credit offered.

Two situations that need extra care

Separate tickets. If your two flights were booked separately, ask the second airline what happens to a passenger who misses its flight because another booking ran late. Tell every agent at the start that your tickets are separate. You may need to collect your bag at baggage claim on Level 1 and check in again. Our guide to short connections at MIA shows which route to take between gates and when to ask for help.

An international arrival. If you missed the connection because immigration and customs took longer, follow the arrival route to your airline. Don’t try to reach a departure gate in the secure area first. Our connections page explains what happens to your bags on an international arrival, and our terminal guide shows which concourse and checkpoint serve your next gate.

If you’re stuck overnight

Once you have a new flight, pick a place to wait:

• The Miami International Airport Hotel is inside the terminal, before security on Level 2 in Central Terminal E. Check whether your airline’s hotel voucher covers it.
• Wait n’ Rest sleep rooms are after security in Concourse D, near Gate D15, and MIA lists them as open 24 hours. You need a same-day flight with access to Concourse D. Call (305) 338-1917 to ask about a room.
• Sent to a hotel off the airport? Hotel shuttles pick up from marked curbside zones on Arrivals, Level 1. Our list of airport hotels with a free shuttle has the ones near MIA.
• Staying in the terminal? Checkpoint 9, for H and J gates, is listed as open 24 hours. The other regular checkpoints close between 7:15 p.m. and 11:45 p.m. Our guide to sleeping at Miami airport overnight covers what stays open.
• Lounges can help with a long daytime wait. Our lounges page lists who gets in to each one.

If your bag didn’t make it

Ask your airline’s baggage service office on Level 1. MIA lists these:

Our airlines pages list every airline at MIA.

Sources

• MIA Airport Guide: connections, hotels, lounges, security and information desks
• US Department of Transportation refund rule, 14 CFR part 260