The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered airlines to cut domestic flights at 40 United States airports while the federal shutdown continues, and South Florida is on the list twice: Miami International and Fort Lauderdale. The cuts began on Saturday 7 November 2026 at 4 percent, stepping up in stages to 10 percent on Saturday 14 November. International flights are exempt.
There is no end date: the order stays in place while the shutdown continues, and the higher steps happen only if it does. Miami is a connecting city as much as a destination: a cut domestic leg can strand a traveler short of the Beach or a cruise. This post sets out the schedule and the ride in.
What is happening
The FAA announced the emergency order on 5 November 2026. The cuts rose from 4 percent on 7 November to 6 percent today, Wednesday 11 November, and they rise again to 8 percent on Friday 13 November and 10 percent on Saturday 14 November, each step conditional on the shutdown continuing. The order sets no end date.
Miami International is the gateway to Latin America and the Caribbean, and those international flights are exempt. The cuts fall on domestic services at MIA and at Fort Lauderdale, about 25 miles north. A traveler connecting through Miami from abroad is exempt on the long flight and exposed on the short one.
The order does not name individual flights. Airlines choose which of their domestic flights to cut inside the percentages, so no one can say today whether a specific flight survives. The working plan: check your flight status before you leave for the airport, keep the airline app on your phone, and if your flight is cut, take the rebooking the airline offers. Build slack into anything booked tight against a domestic arrival.
The same order covers New York: the companion post on the FAA flight cuts at JFK, LaGuardia and Newark sets out the picture there.
Getting there after you land
The cuts are in the air, not on the ground: every ride in this guide runs as normal, at the usual prices. The free MIA Mover carries you to Miami Airport Station, where the Metrorail runs Downtown and the Route 150 bus leaves for the Beach. The three rides that cover most arrivals:
Metrorail Orange Line to DowntownCheapest
Free MIA Mover to the airport station, then direct trains to Government Center. No service between about midnight and 5 am.
Route 150 Airport Express bus to Miami Beach
The budget route to the Beach from the Intermodal Center beside the airport station, stopping along Collins and Washington Avenues, about every 30 minutes from 6 am to 11:40 pm.
Rideshare to Miami Beach
Door to door from the signed Ride App Pickup zone on the arrivals level. Prices surge during events and downpours.
Every option, priced and compared, sits in our Miami Airport to Miami Beach transfer guide. Taxis run on the meter, $15 minimum from the airport, roughly $35 to $45 to South Beach. A pre-booked transfer is fixed when you book, the settled choice for late arrivals and cruise groups. From Fort Lauderdale, Brightline and Tri-Rail trains run into Miami.
The full first hour: Miami guide
The ride in, the first ticket, the first meal and the traps to skip, priced and checked.
Where to stay, and getting back
The Splurge pick is The Setai, Miami Beach, a serene tower behind a 1930s Art Deco facade on Collins Avenue. The Sweet spot pick is Kimpton EPIC Hotel, on Biscayne Blvd Way in Downtown, bay view rooms, the Metromover at the door, and Downtown prices below the Beach. The Budget pick is Freehand Miami, a hostel in a restored Art Deco hotel on Indian Creek Drive, one block from the sand. Where you stay decides the ride: Downtown and Brickell are a straight rail shot from MIA, while the Beach is a causeway crossing no train makes.
Getting back out carries the same warning: while the order runs, a cut flight can mean a long wait for the next seat, so leave for the airport earlier than usual. If your departure falls on a step up date, 13 or 14 November, check the flight before you check out.
The first hour, sorted
Sort the transit tap first: Metrorail and Metrobus take contactless cards and phones at the gate for the $2.25 fare, with a daily cap of $5.65, or buy an EASY Card at the airport station for $2. Cards and contactless work virtually everywhere; keep some small bills for cafecito windows, taco trucks and tips.
Get connected on landing: the guide eSIM pick is Airalo, and Miami runs on apps, rideshares, Brightline tickets and restaurant queues. On a disruption day it is also how you watch your flight status. Then eat something Cuban: a Cuban sandwich and a cortadito from a ventanita window. And book the Everglades airboat day before you fly; it fills up fast in season.
The cuts end when the shutdown ends, and nobody has published that date. Until then: check, buffer and land flexible. Browse the events calendar for what else is on in Miami, and use plan your trip to line up the rest.
Key West, the first Cuban sandwich and the Beach from above.
Get the Miami first hour checklist by email
The ride in, the first ticket and the first meal, in the Miami guide PDF you can read on the plane.
The checklist, free, from After You Land.
What else is on
The events calendar tracks every guided city, strikes and stoppages included.
Events calendarLine up the rest
Plan your trip pulls the guide, the stays and the bookings for this trip into one place.
Plan your trip