A fire which damaged the fuel pumping system at Miami International Airport is causing many delays and cancelled flights.
Fallout from last week’s fuel fire at Miami International Airport continued to cause headaches over the weekend for airport officials, airline staff and thousands of travellers trying to get in and out of MIA. MIA officials were working late Saturday to put into place two temporary pumps to speed up the refuelling process and were expected to get four additional pumps by today.
By today the airport is expecting to expand the temporary system with four additional pumps, bringing to six the number of temporary pumps available to refuel aircraft. The temporary pumps are being used as a stop-gap measure until a new fueling system can be installed. MIA officials initially thought the installation process could take two to three months, but now suggest could take longer.
Meanwhile, the investigation into what cause the fire continued. Since Thursday, American Airlines – which handles the most traffic at the airport – has been forced to cancel more than 400 flights in order to avoid major delays. On Friday, 192 flights were canceled and on Saturday 179 flights were canceled.