Miami Int’l Makes a Scene With Glass Boarding Bridges

From its art deco buildings and extravagant cars to racy nightclubs and barely-there beachwear, the South Florida ethos can well be described in six simple words: If you’ve got it, flaunt it.

In that spirit, the region’s busiest commercial airport is installing glass boarding bridges that allow travelers to immediately soak in the local sights when arriving at one of the country’s most eye-captivating destinations.

Miami International Airport (MIA) recently added two glass passenger boarding bridges, with plans for 60 more over the next five years. Once these projects are complete, MIA will have more see-through jet bridges than any other U.S. airport.

“We are in an amazing location,” says Isaac Smith, MIA’s assistant aviation director for Facilities Maintenance and Engineering. “We get a whole lot of folks who come here for our beaches and the tropical-type environment. Why not showcase that?”

In short, airport leadership wants deplaning passengers to say, “Wow, I’m in Miami!”

The airport placed its first glass boarding bridge into service during winter 2022, and that successful introduction led to another installation this April. Both are part of a $1.7 billion maintenance and upgrade program called the Modernization in Action Plan—M.I.A. Plan for short—scheduled to span several years.

The translucent boarding bridges are resistant to ultraviolet light for greater energy efficiency, and are equipped with 400 hertz power and potable water connections, plus preconditioned air for use with docked aircraft. They also include baggage chutes and space for advertising, should MIA seek to generate revenue through that channel using its glass windows. The airport has long displayed ads for HSBC, a major global banking corporation, on its traditional steel-sided bridges.

So far, 32 passenger boarding bridges have been replaced under the M.I.A. Plan, all but two with steel units. Atlanta-based TK Elevator replaced 27 bridges under two separate contracts of $16.4 million and $24.3 million. The first phase included 12 bridges and was initially meant to include all steel units until representatives from TK Elevator suggested the airport consider a glass alternative.

In essence, the company encouraged MIA to pursue this new vision for its terminals. “At first, there wasn’t a vast interest,” recalls Carla McCage, head of Project Management with TK Elevator. “But as we progressed, we kept bringing up the idea of a glass PBB [passenger boarding bridge].”

The bridge manufacturer saw the idea as mutually beneficial. For MIA, it was a chance to give its customers something splashy and different; for TK Elevator, it was another opportunity to highlight its products at a large, high-visibility airport.

MIA soon “saw the light” and agreed to equip Gate D14 with a glass boarding bridge. It then asked TK Elevator to swap one of the 15 steel bridges planned for Phase II to a glass model, culminating in what is now Gate H17. The glass bridge at D14 cost $1.25 million, while the longer unit at H17 was $1.78 million. Generally, the price for a glass bridge is about 10% higher than for a similar steel version. At MIA, the two clear bridges were such a hit that all 126 of its gates are now slated to receive glass bridges when their current equipment comes due for replacement.

“We started conservatively,” says Smith, who credits Miami-Dade Aviation Department Director and Chief Executive Officer Ralph Cutié for making the commitment to long-term wholesale conversion. “These bridges give us the opportunity to give our travelers a more pleasant boarding and deplaning experience.”

Breaking the Glass Barrier

Until a few years ago, clear jet bridges weren’t an option for U.S. airports due to a longstanding safety directive—National Fire Protection Association 415. This American fire code for terminal buildings and loading walkways mandated that passenger boarding bridges for aircraft could not include windows aside from those on ramp access service doors or in cab areas where controllers operate the bridges.

The NFPA cited risks from radiant heat and concerns that an outside fuel spill could ignite and blow out nearby glass, potentially spreading fires more easily into terminals. But glass jet bridges were already common in Asia, Europe and the Middle East; in the early 2000s, some U.S. airports campaigned for a reconsideration of NFPA 415. Its restrictions were gradually loosened beginning about 15 years ago.

ThyssenKrupp Airport Systems—a German conglomerate that in 2020 sold a division that is now the independent company TK Elevator—broke America’s proverbial glass barrier in 2008. First up was a pair of clear bridges at Killeen Regional Airport (GRK) in Texas, followed by six more at nearby Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport (AMA) in 2014.

After that, several other U.S. airports also installed glass bridges by TK Elevator or JBT AeroTech, a competing firm now owned by the Wisconsin-based Oshkosh Corporation (see sidebar on Page 34). No domestic location embraced the option as wholeheartedly as Kansas City International Airport (MCI). Its $1.5 billon terminal that opened in February 2023 features 39 glass boarding bridges—more than any other airport in the United States. Each JBT AeroTech unit at MCI is equipped with heating and air conditioning to temper the city’s notorious Midwestern temperature swings.

A bridge style that was banned in the U.S. not so long ago is now being adopted by airports of all sizes, all across the nation.

Ongoing Need

At MIA, traffic is driving bridge replacements and other infrastructure improvements. Its 52.3 million passengers in 2023 set a new annual record, and represented a 3.3% increase from the prior year. Last Dec. 23, MIA welcomed 194,866 passengers—the highest single-day count in its 92-year history.

To prepare for continued growth, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and the Board of County Commissioners have adopted a capital improvement program to fund up to $7 billion in airport modernization projects over the next five to 15 years. That’s in addition to $1.7 billion committed to maintenance upgrades via the M.I.A. Plan.

New passenger boarding bridges are considered to be critical for maintaining smooth operations as some projections suggest MIA could reach 77 million annual travelers by 2040. Smith explains that new bridges are more dependable, and it’s easier to obtain spare parts and manufacturer support for them compared to older units. Boarding bridges at MIA typically have a 20-year service life, including a full refurbishment after 10 years of use.

“Time is money,” says Smith, who oversees the Aviation Support and Contracts Department that maintains MIA’s bridges. “Once an aircraft comes, the bridge has to work at the right level, the right angles and right location so passengers can deplane and new passengers and crew can get onboard so that aircraft can fly on to another destination. All of that is possible when you have a reliable bridge.”

Given the critical role boarding bridges play in maintaining flight schedules, the Aviation Support and Contracts Department has a team of about three-dozen workers and provides onsite coverage 24 hours a day.

AERO BridgeWorks Inc., a Georgia-based firm that specializes in airside construction, is installing the new bridges as a subcontractor to TK Elevator. Its work scope also includes high-mast lighting, plumbing, mechanical and electrical, as well as site civil and foundation work.

Coordinating with multiple stakeholders before and throughout each installation is a key aspect. “We had full-time supervision, technicians and mechanics on site throughout the project who completed our work safely around active airport operations without negatively impacting the airport or airlines,” says AERO Project Manager Miguel Diaz.

Spec’d to Last

The operational practices and local weather at MIA require its boarding bridges to be especially durable and strong. Because hurricanes present an annual threat, the bridges must have high impact resistance and be capable of withstanding wind loads in excess of 180 miles per hour.

“The structural designs for Miami were more complex,” notes Eduardo Moran, head of Engineering for TK Elevator. “These are more reinforced than any other bridges in the U.S. because Miami doesn’t want to use tie-downs. All the strength was placed in the structure of the bridges. They’re very special.”

Extra structural integrity was added beneath the ramps, as well. Like the bridges themselves, the foundations and rotundas are designed to withstand gusts of up to 180 miles per hour. “We needed the bridge assembly to have that capability,”
Smith explains.

Sunny skies and hot temperatures prompted the airport to make tinted, dual-pane glass and added insulation part of its new standards, as both contribute to a more comfortable customer experience. So do the bridges’ top-to-bottom windows and skylight-style ceilings.

Unsurprisingly, McCage reports that MIA passengers say they feel “less closed in” with the new glass bridges.

Smith adds: “There are some folks who are claustrophobic without knowing they’re claustrophobic…until they’re put in that position. Putting them in a glass bridge that appears open is a much more pleasant experience.”

As bridges come due for replacement, the MIA Maintenance Department works in conjunction with air carriers to ensure that boarding bridge construction/installation has minimal impact on flight operations. No bridges are taken offline between November and New Year’s since that’s peak travel season in Florida. Some installations take as little as 35 to 45 days because crews complete the required belowground work up front.

“It’s so amazing to see just how fast the bridge is removed,” says Smith. “It comes down in one day.”

Style and Substance

Smith credits Cutié, the airport’s top exec, for striking a balance between aesthetics and the need for operational efficiency at the busy gateway airport. MIA already offers more flights to Latin America and the Caribbean than any other U.S. airport, and also moves nearly 60% of Florida’s international annual visitors. Glass boarding bridges are one way the airport can continue that pace with a visible splash of South Florida style.

“We have to make decisions to keep us at top levels, and the decisions we make today will impact our standing in the next five years, the next seven years,” Smith says. “Customer experience won out.”