UK business travellers heading to or through south Florida face heavy disruption after a cargo aircraft operating for Amazon overran the runway at Miami International Airport on Sunday afternoon, closing every runway and taxiway at one of the busiest hubs in the United States.
The Boeing 767-300 freighter, operating as 21 Air Flight 7598, had flown in from Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Footage circulating online showed flames and thick black smoke rising around an aircraft carrying the Amazon arrow logo on its tail. The plane was reported to be flying for Amazon Prime Air. Unconfirmed reports suggested there may have been casualties, but no details of injuries or fatalities had been established at the time of writing.
What happened at Miami International
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the incident in a statement, saying: “21 Air Flight 7598 overran the runway after landing at Miami International Airport around 2 pm local time on Sunday, September 6. The Boeing 767-300 cargo aircraft departed from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The FAA will investigate.”
A spokesperson for the airport said the aircraft had overrun the diagonal runway and come to rest, disabled, at the north-west end of the airfield. An air and ground stop was imposed shortly afterwards, preventing any other flight from landing or departing.
“All runways and taxiways at MIA are currently closed as of 3pm and a ground stop is in effect,” the airport said, adding that Miami-Dade Fire Rescue had responded to the scene.
US transportation secretary Sean Duffy said on X that responders would “assess the scene after an Amazon cargo plane overran the runway”. He added: “If you’re traveling through the area, please expect significant delays and potential cancellations.”
Miami is a major gateway for British business, served by daily nonstop services from Heathrow with British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, and it acts as the principal connecting point between Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean. A full closure of the airfield, even for a matter of hours, has consequences that ripple well beyond south Florida.
Sunday afternoon in Miami is late evening in the UK, which means overnight departures from London may have been held, diverted or cancelled while the airfield remained closed. Diversions to Fort Lauderdale, Orlando or Tampa are the most likely alternatives, but each adds hours of ground transfer for anyone due at a Monday morning meeting in downtown Miami or Brickell. Travellers with connections to Bogota, Sao Paulo, Mexico City or the Caribbean islands are especially exposed, since American Airlines routes much of that traffic through its Miami hub.
The airport had recently been in the news for happier reasons, with new Wait N’ Rest pods and a TAP Air Portugal and Avianca lounge aimed at premium passengers.
Practical steps if your trip is affected
Anyone booked to fly to or from Miami in the next 24 to 48 hours should check their airline’s app before setting out and consult the airport’s own flight information page rather than social media. Airlines typically waive change fees when an airport closes, so rebooking on to a later service or via another Florida gateway is usually possible at no extra cost, but seats will go quickly once the ground stop lifts.
Compensation is a more complicated question. UK passenger rights rules cover flights departing the UK on any carrier, and flights arriving in the UK on UK or EU airlines, but a runway closure caused by an accident is almost certain to be treated as an extraordinary circumstance, which removes the right to fixed cash compensation. The duty of care, meaning meals, refreshments and hotel accommodation during a long delay, still applies. Our guide to flight delay compensation sets out what you can and cannot claim.
Corporate travellers should also alert their travel management company early, since agents can often secure alternative routings before they appear on consumer channels. The FAA’s statement on X confirms an investigation is under way.
