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Driving at Miami International Airport (MIA)

Airports can be complicated places, especially for drivers. But knowing the basics, and getting information in advance about your local airport, can help make sure you’re prepared for your first pickup or dropoff.

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Airport regulations

Per airport guidelines, drivers operating at the airport must follow all airport rules and regulations. Failure to do so may result in citations or the airport suspending or banning individual drivers from receiving future airport trips. Please note that Uber will not pay for any citations that drivers may incur.

Airport rules

People who are driving using the Driver app must adhere to the following Airport rules:

  • Keep your app open at all times while on airport property (drivers should not go offline until they’ve exited the airport).
  • Book all rides in the app (do not solicit off-app).
  • Display the Uber vehicle decal (trade dress) on the front passenger windshield facing outward. Drivers can obtain this Uber decal at their local Greenlight Hub or by ordering it online here.
  • Do not litter or vandalize in the waiting lot on airport grounds.
  • Do not leave phones unattended in the waiting lot.

Driver cancellations

Asking riders for their destination and then canceling can cause problems for riders trying to get home and drivers waiting for their next trip. Drivers who improperly use the app and intentionally disrupt the service for riders or drivers, including excessively canceling rides or asking riders to cancel rides, may lose the ability to provide transportation to or from airports.

Airport staff

Airport rules are as important as traffic rules. As a reminder, the airport expects drivers to be respectful and responsive to airport personnel. The airport requires drivers to comply with requests from airport personnel at all times; failure to do so may result in the removal of a driver’s ability to do future airport trips.

Pickups at the airport

It’s easy to receive trip requests from riders leaving the airport. However, these trips work a little differently than other requests.

Finding the waiting area

In order to receive trip requests, you must be located in the waiting lot. Based on the operating agreement with the airport, the waiting lot is located at the northwest corner of McLaughlin Road and Northwest 20th Street (see map below).

You can find directions to the lot by tapping the MIA Waiting Lot symbol on the Driver app map.

Waiting inside the lot

Once you’re inside the waiting lot, you’ll be placed in a virtual queue to receive a trip request.

Some things to know about the virtual queue

  • How your position in the queue is determined
    • Drivers enter the queue in order of when they entered the waiting lot
    • There is a separate virtual queue for each ride option (UberX, UberXL, etc.)
    • A driver can get priority queue access if they receive an airport pickup with a destination that is a short distance away; if this happens and the driver decides to return to the waiting lot, they’ll be positioned near the top of the virtual queue
    • If a rider cancels on the way to the pickup and the driver decides to return to the waiting lot, they’ll be positioned near the top of the virtual queue
    • Note: your physical location within the waiting lot does not affect your position in the queue
  • Ways you can lose your place in the queue
    • You go offline on your Driver app
    • You drive outside the designated waiting lot
    • You do not accept multiple incoming trip requests in a row
    • You cancel multiple rides
  • If there are no drivers in the queue, trip requests will go to the closest driver using Uber outside of the airport.
  • You can see your position in the queue by looking in your Driver app. You can also check how long the queue is before you get to the airport by tapping the airport parking symbol on your in-app map.

Picking up your rider

Once you accept a trip request, head to the pickup location noted in the app. Occasionally, drivers may receive an opportunity to head to the airport pickup zone in anticipation of upcoming demand. If this happens, here are the steps you should expect:

  1. You will receive an alert to begin driving toward the terminal.
  2. Once you’re driving, you should look for a rider request on your way to the pickup zone.
  3. In the event that you do not receive a request on your way to the pickup zone, you may return to the waiting lot and resume your position at the top of the queue.

Dropoffs at the airport

Based on the operating agreement with the airport, riders can be dropped off at the Departures level. When dropping off riders at Terminal D, please drop them off starting at Door 5. This is to prevent the buildup of traffic at the beginning of Terminal D. Once you drop off your rider, the airport requires you to vacate the dropoff zone. You can either leave airport property or head to the waiting lot to wait for an airport pickup trip.

Finding the waiting lot

If you’d like to be eligible to receive an airport pickup request after dropping off a rider, you’ll need to keep the Driver app on and head to the waiting lot to enter the virtual queue.

Getting a Rematch trip

Rematch is turned on at MIA. Rematch allows drivers who just completed an airport dropoff to be temporarily eligible for receiving a pickup request without having to enter the waiting lot. With Rematch, once you drop off at the airport you must exit the dropoff area and begin heading toward the waiting lot. While navigating to the lot, you may receive a Rematch request, though a Rematch is not guaranteed. Airport regulations prohibit loitering in the terminal area. Idling at the curb may result in a citation from airport authorities.

Map of MIA