DFA operates 20 stores at MIA.

Miami International Airport (MIA) is engaged in several important duty free and travel retail concession projects as the Florida hub seeks to capitalise on sustained international passenger traffic momentum.

It is understood that a major new walkthrough store for Duty Free Americas (DFA) is being planned within the H-J Connector at the South Terminal (Concourse H, J).

“We are in the inception of this project still and working though our design approval process,” Sarah Abate, Division Director, Airport Concessions Business Department, Miami-Dade Aviation Department told TRBusiness.

Meanwhile, a solicitation for two convenience stores – one situated at arrivals South Terminal J and at North Terminal D – has been advertised via a request for proposal. The lots span 1,599sq ft and 1,527sq ft, respectively.

MIA consists of the North Terminal (Concourse D), Central Terminal (Concourse E Satellite, F, G) and South Terminal (Concourse H, J).

The duty free and retail footprint accounts for nearly 146,000 square feet of the approximate 280,000sq ft of overall concession space positioned across the airport’s pre- and post-security areas at the North, Central and South Terminals.

Investment ramps up in view of 77m pax target

Gross concession sales, which includes revenue from retail, duty free, F&B and services, totalled $207,921,114 for the period January 2024 through April 2024.

Incumbent Duty Free Americas runs a total of 20 shops, of which six are duty paid/duty free outlets.

MIA handled 23.2 million international travellers in 2023, a rise of +8.5% year-0n-year, as total passenger traffic hit 52.3 million in 2023. Credit: MIA.

TRBusiness passed through MIA earlier this year and had the opportunity to tour airside commercial sections of the airport’s sprawling North and Central Concourses in the company of airport officials.

Recently, French fashion house Dior was selected to occupy a pop-up space in close proximity to gates D46-D48 at the North Terminal.

The lot is allocated on a four-month rotational period to maximise the variety of brands available to travelling shoppers, with the likes of Benefit Cosmetics previously occupying the space.

Dior will now continue its tenancy for an additional period, MIA has confirmed to this publication.

During the visit, TRBusiness visited Jackson Soul Food at Concourse E near to gate E2.

Opened earlier this year as part of a partnership between MIA and SSP America, Jackson Soul Food serves up traditional southern cooking to millions of passengers at MIA each year.

Passengers at Concourse D and E can also enjoy grab-and-go bites from the successful minority-owned business’s adjacent Chick-fil-A franchise in an area branded ‘Jackson Square’.

MIA, operated by the Miami-Dade Aviation Department and the property of Miami-Dade County government, is in the midst of a capital improvement programme dubbed ‘Future Ready’.

Nearly $9 billion is being funnelled into upgrades and modernisation developments over the coming decade, as the airport targets 77 million travellers per year by 2040.

Interior refurbishments at Concourse F and the E Satellite plus a new baggage handling and screening system at the Central and South Terminal are among several completed projects to date.

MIA’s gross concession sales, which includes revenue from retail, duty free, F&B and services, totalled $207,921,114 for the period January 2024 through April 2024. Pictured is the Miami to Go store.

The capital improvement programme takes in existing initiatives such as the Central Terminal redevelopment and South Terminal expansion.

The latter is being extended with a six-gate concourse pier and ramp expansion east of Concourse J.

At the Central Terminal, passengers will look forward to space efficiency improvements, a large security checkpoint and several new concession areas when work completes.

According to MIA officials, work on the Central Terminal redevelopment and its planned retail stores remains ‘ongoing’.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) funding worth $27m has been allocated to MIA, comprising $15m towards the design phase of the modernisation and development of the airport’s Central Terminal and E and F Concourses plus $12m for the rehabilitation of the Automated People Mover (APM) connecting lower Concourse E to the Concourse E Satellite.

As reported, the grants derive from the Airport Terminal Program, which falls under the Biden-Harris administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and offers nearly $1bn annually to 114 airports in the US to fund airport terminal development projects over a five-year period.

Sarah Abate, Division Director, Airport Concessions Business Department, Miami-Dade Aviation Department.

Future plans at MIA include an extension of the west side of Concourse D, including space for new commercial concessions.

As an important economic driver for Miami-Dade County and the South Florida area, MIA handled a total of 10.6 million international (enplaned and deplaned) passengers from January through May 2024 – an approximate 12% lift year-on-year.

Indeed, international pax volumes jumped 12% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024 to register to 6.5m, with growth outpacing the 11.6% increase in total passengers to 14.9m for the period, according to audited statistics from the Miami-Dade Aviation Department.

In 2023, international passenger traffic growth of +8.5% to 23.2m passengers outshone total growth of +3.2% to 52.3m with hub carrier American Airlines contributing 31.4m to that total.

The figure comfortably shattered its previous record of 45.9m set in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic.

As with many US airports, MIA responded to the crisis by providing relief measures to its concessionaires with four- to five-year contract extensions [it is gathered DFA received a six-year extension – Ed] and flexible rent arrangements superseding minimum guarantee payments.

As reported, Congress passed a bill in early 2021 unlocking an additional $8 billion in support for airports, including $800m in grant aid administered by the FAA to support concessionaires with MAG and rent relief.

This added to the $200m supplemented by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which passed into law in December 2020, as part of a wider $2 billion package for eligible airports.

The CARES Act pledged $10bn in capital grant funding to a wave of US airports to help offset revenue plummeting revenues, operational expenses and assist with debt servicing.