MIAMI, Fla. – Miami International Airport is one of 13 designated airports in the United States to receive flights from the Schengen area of 26 European countries, airport officials announced Friday.
MIA, America’s third-busiest airport for international passengers, was approved by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to receive flights as a designated airport. On Wednesday, during a 10-minute address from the Oval Office, President Donald Trump announced a presidential proclamation that suspends and limits entry to the U.S. from 26 European countries that goes into effect at 11:59 p.m. Friday, March 13.
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MIA currently has 117 weekly arrivals from 17 airports within the Schengen area, for an average of 16 arriving flights per day. Those 17 airports are Amsterdam, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Helsinki, Lisbon, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Oslo, Paris (CDG), Paris (Orly), Rome, Stockholm, Warsaw and Zurich.
In the proclamation, Trump stated: “Given the importance of protecting persons within the United States from the threat of this harmful communicable disease, I have determined that it is in the interests of the United States to take action to restrict and suspend the entry into the United States, as immigrants or nonimmigrants, of all aliens who were physically present within the Schengen Area during the 14-day period preceding their entry or attempted entry into the United States.”
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On Friday, passengers checking into the departures counter at American Airlines were scarce. Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said that they will shift resources to set up isolation stations at the airport and at PortMiami.
Isolation stations will be staffed with nurses from Jackson Memorial Hospital, Gimenez said. This is where travelers will be screened, questioned and tested. The airport and the port will be where people will be held that need to be monitored, said Gimenez.
Local 10 spoke with passengers who agreed with the demand for health screenings for travelers heading back to the U.S. from other countries.
“It is important that they make sure that nobody comes in with the virus and infect other people,” said Adlai Taylor, who was at Miami International Airport to catch a flight to Jamaica. “We should do extra screening for everybody that comes in.”