There are many hassles at Miami International Airport: Long lines, scant short-term parking and detours caused by construction.

But the No. 1 complaint for passengers is this: The phone card machine took my money.

MIA executives would like to scrap the pre-paid phone card vending machines, which are the source of 80 percent of written complaints. But the Miami-Dade County Commission favors keeping the machines, whose politically connected providers pay roughly $750,000 a year in airport revenue.

''I wanted them out -- I thought there was too much clutter and problems,'' said aviation director José Abreu, who wants the cards sold in stores, where clerks would handle the transaction. That's how it's done at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

The proliferation of cellphones and generous calling plans have put a dent in the phone-card business, but MIA's millions of international travelers still depend on cards to call home.

Three firms have been providing the machines since 1995, operating under ''test permits'' the commission renewed.

Under one proposal to be presented to the Regional Transportation Committee Thursday, Latin American Enterprises would have half of the machines, while a joint-venture between Communitel and WTN would have the rest.

The airport would receive $501,000 from the two firms in the first two years of the deal. The third year calls for MIA to get $1.2 million.