Go early to airport, or you could be MIA

Don’t laugh, but I got lost on the way to the airport this morning.

Never mind that I was there yesterday to pick up a visiting sister, or that this year I’ll fly a total of 80,000 miles on various airlines – with most of my flights originating at Miami International Airport.

The problem: The airport access coming south from Lejeune Road has changed in the past few weeks, and I missed the cut-off. (I came from a different direction on yesterday’s airport run, so I didn’t see the change.)

To make matters worse, the police have set up a checkpoint near the airport’s entrance. While this might be good for security, it’s lousy for traffic, creating a pinch point and causing slowdowns.

And if that’s not enough, there are the monstrous security lines.

The average TSA security wait at MIA is 25 minutes, the local TSA spokesperson told me a few weeks ago. I beat that record by 5 minutes this morning, but it took dodging my entrance gate – at Concourse E – and running back to Concourse, D, where the queue was about 2/3 shorter than the boa wrap at D. What with running back and forth, the security gauntlet took more than 30 minutes (though I did get my daily dose of exercise!)

Moral of this story: Get to the airport early early early!

We’ve got more tips online in our Holiday Travel Survival Guide at www.MiamiHerald.com/travel.