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MIAMI —

Flights into and out of Miami International Airport could be snarled for days after a spectacular fire in a jet fuel pump station sent a fireball skyward and crippled the transportation hub's underground fueling system.

The airport's major carrier, American Airlines, and its regional partner, American Eagle, on Thursday canceled more than 185 flights between them. Airline officials were unable to say there would not be similar cancellations Friday for both passenger and cargo flights.

Jose Abreu, director of the Miami-Dade Aviation Department, said late Thursday afternoon that inspectors found a piece connecting the fuel pumps had been destroyed, and that permanent repairs to the system would take weeks. He said crews planned to work though the night to hook up mobile pumps that could be in place by Friday.

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Miami Herald report....looks like awhile before everything returns to normal

A spectacular fire that led to cancellations of 179 flights and delayed dozens more at Miami International Airport may have been caused by an electrical failure in a complex grid of underground pipes that pumps fuel to hundreds of planes each day.

Investigators still were looking into details of the damage Thursday and scrambling to repair the fueling system as thousands of frustrated passengers remained stranded.

The blaze, which started late Wednesday and burned into the early morning, caused one of the largest flight disruptions in recent years in the area. It comes during the height of South Florida’s tourist season, with major events expected to draw tens of thousands of visitors to Miami.

American Airlines was the worst hit, since it operates 70 percent of the flights out of MIA.


Four temporary pumps from Central Florida were delivered to the airport in the afternoon, bringing some relief.

But that relief was not enough to pacify some passengers in the long lines at the American Airlines counters that wrapped around much of Concourse D.


American Airlines spokesman Ed Martelle said the airline’s standard cancellation policy is in effect, which says passengers are responsible for accommodations, meals and expenses if flights are delayed or cancelled because of events out of the airline’s control.

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MIA still screwed.....anyone pass thru there recently?


Looks like this shit might go on for months

Newswire story

MIAMI—
The misery continues at Miami International Airport as flight cancellations escalate by the hour Tuesday morning.

As of 9 a.m. there were 25 cancellations and 18 delayed departures, said Greg Chin, spokesman for Miami International Airport.

From the cancellations, 10 are from arriving aircrafts and 15 from departing ones. These numbers are expected to increase as the day progresses.


"It is encouraging that the number is a lot lower than it has been in the past few days in the morning," Chin said.

Around 9 a.m. Monday morning there were 75 cancellations and 19 delays.

Nearly a week after a fire at the airport's fuel farm, installation of four fuel pumps is progressing. It is expected to be complete by the end of the week. Two additional pumps have already been installed.

Currently fuel is mainly delivered through truck, tank and underground pipes.

Tuesday morning, all but one of the delays and the bulk of cancellations are from American Airlines as they have the most flights coming in and out of MIA.

"There are still cancellations and delays, so please check with your airline before coming to the airport," Chin said.

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I have a short layover for connecting flight on AA in Mia the middle of next week (6th). Then have another one the on return trip 6 days later. Should I have a concern? Is AA telling upcoming passangers about potential problems? I haven't heard anything yet. Are there alternatives? Of couse I doubt that there are. But I need this trip and have been looking forward to it for a while.

They should be caught up, it was worse in January with 1000's of cancellations due to weather. AA booked passengers on other flights on Friday (my Delta flight was canceled after 8 hours of waffling on Thursday) To their credit, AA booked their SJ passengers on Delta as Delta had to add an extra flight on Friday. So it worked out. btw...2 flight cancellation/delays on Delta suggests that they use corrective maintenance instead of preventative maintenance.

AA announced that the worst of the problem is over and they expect all their flights to operate today. AA is by far the largest operator at MIA and it was their flights that suffered the majority of the disruptions so if they are back on schedule so should most everyone else be.

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