Fort Lauderdale Airport Guide: Low Cost Gateway to Florida
Fort Lauderdale Airport is South Florida's low cost gateway and a cruise port feeder. Read how its two runways, four terminals and rail links work.
By The Aviation Hub
7 min read
Updated October 20, 2026 
Fort Lauderdale Airport sits in Broward County, Florida, barely 3 miles (5 km) southwest of downtown Fort Lauderdale and about 21 miles (34 km) north of Miami. It grew from a military airfield into the low cost alternative to Miami International, feeding the cruise terminals at Port Everglades next door and the beaches of the Gold Coast. Two parallel runways, four terminals and a fifth under construction serve more than 32 million passengers a year, most of them on domestic flights.
Fort Lauderdale Airport at a Glance
The codes are FLL and KFLL. The field lies between Interstate 595 to the north and Griffin Road to the south, with US Route 1 passing beneath the southern runway. Most of the site is barely above sea level, but the official elevation is 20 m (65 ft), measured at the raised eastern end of that southern runway. It has two parallel runways and four terminals numbered 1 to 4, with 67 gates between them. The Broward County Aviation Department operates it on behalf of the county.
Fort Lauderdale Airport handled around 32.2 million passengers in 2025, down 8.5 per cent from a record 35.2 million in 2024 as Spirit Airlines shrank ahead of its collapse in 2026. JetBlue runs an operating base here, Allegiant has a base, and Southwest treats it as its main South Florida airport. About 700 daily flights serve some 135 destinations. Terminal maps and parking are on the airport’s official website.
How Fort Lauderdale’s Airport Came to Be
Merle Fogg, a First World War aviator, bought a nine hole golf course wrecked by the 1926 hurricane and turned it into an airfield. Merle Fogg Field opened on 1 May 1929 with two unpaved crossing runways. The US Navy took it over during the Second World War as Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale, converting airliners for military use and training Avenger torpedo bomber crews.
Flight 19, the five Avengers whose disappearance in December 1945 fuelled the Bermuda Triangle legend, took off from here. The Navy left in October 1946 and the county reopened the field as Broward County International Airport. Scheduled flights began in 1953 with a service to Nassau, and the first permanent terminal and the current name arrived in 1959.
Growth followed the Florida tourist boom. The four terminal layout took shape through the 1980s and 1990s, Spirit built its main hub here in the 2000s and JetBlue made it a focus city in 2003. The southern runway was extended and raised over US 1 in 2014, and a $300 million renovation of Terminal 1 ran from 2015 to 2017.
Runways at Fort Lauderdale Airport
Fort Lauderdale Airport has two parallel east west runways, both 46 m wide. Runway 10L/28R, the northern strip, is asphalt and 2,743 m (9,000 ft) long. Runway 10R/28L on the southern side is 2,438 m (8,000 ft) and was rebuilt from a short general aviation runway into a full commercial strip in a project completed in September 2014. Its eastern end sits on an embankment that carries it over US Route 1 and the Florida East Coast railway.
The two runways are close together, so controllers run them as a dependent pair rather than fully independent operations. Prevailing easterly sea breezes mean arrivals usually land on 10L and 10R from the west over the Everglades fringe, and departures climb out over the ocean. Westerly winter fronts reverse the pattern, with approaches over the beach and Port Everglades.
The old crosswind runway 13/31 closed in 2013 to make room for the southern runway project. The field has no slot controls. The fairly short runways mean narrow bodies dominate, and Azul’s Airbus A330s are among the few regular wide bodies.
Terminals and Airlines
Terminal 1, with Concourses A, B and C and 24 gates, is the busiest building. Southwest is its main tenant, joined by United, Alaska, Allegiant, Frontier, Breeze, Avianca, Copa, Caribbean Airlines and Bahamasair. Terminal 2 has nine gates on Concourse D and is home to Delta and Air Canada, with WestJet using it while building work continues elsewhere.
Terminal 3 holds Concourses E and F with 20 gates and is JetBlue’s base, shared with American, Sun Country, Avelo, Azul and Porter. Terminal 4 has 14 gates on Concourse G and handles most international arrivals, including JetBlue’s Caribbean and Latin American flights, Air Transat and Flair. Only Terminals 3 and 4 are joined by a walkway, so connecting between airlines in other terminals is slow.
Spirit Airlines, the largest carrier here for many years, ceased operations in May 2026 after a second bankruptcy, leaving gates across Terminals 3 and 4 for competitors to fill.
Routes and Destinations
Atlanta is the busiest route from Fort Lauderdale Airport with around 1.16 million passengers in the year to May 2026, followed by Newark at about 700,000, New York LaGuardia at 685,000, JFK at 548,000 and Chicago O’Hare at 528,000. The northeast corridor dominates, with Philadelphia and Boston next, ahead of Dallas Fort Worth, Charlotte and Detroit, since the airport is the budget way for New Yorkers to reach the beach.
Toronto Pearson leads the international list at around 667,000 passengers, with Montreal at 503,000. Kingston and Montego Bay in Jamaica, Medellin in Colombia and Cancun follow, reflecting JetBlue’s Caribbean and Latin network. Long haul is thin because Miami takes it, though Azul flies Airbus A330s from Brazil and Air Transat links Quebec. Azul’s Campinas service, near Sao Paulo, is among the longest at about 4,050 miles (6,500 km).
Winter is the peak, when snowbirds and cruise passengers fill the terminals, and the cruise ships at Port Everglades turn Saturdays and Sundays into the busiest days. Cargo is modest at around 105,000 tons a year.
Getting to and from Fort Lauderdale Airport
Interstate 595 runs along the northern edge of the field and Interstate 95 passes a mile to the west, so most people arrive by car. Downtown Fort Lauderdale is ten minutes away and Miami 30 to 45 minutes depending on traffic. A taxi to Fort Lauderdale Beach costs around $25 to 30 (£20 to 24), and ride hailing cars collect from marked zones on the lower level. A consolidated rental car centre and large garages sit opposite the terminals.
Rail is close but not direct. Tri Rail’s Dania Beach station is linked by a free shuttle, and the commuter line runs north to West Palm Beach and south to Miami. Brightline’s Fort Lauderdale station downtown is reached by shuttle and offers fast trains to Miami, West Palm Beach and Orlando. Broward County Transit route 1 runs through downtown to Aventura Mall for a few dollars, the cheapest sensible option.
Spotting and Photography
Fort Lauderdale Airport has two official viewing areas, both reached from the Griffin Road exit of Interstate 95. One sits near the 10L threshold on the north runway, and the other, with a large car park, covers 10R on the south runway. Dania Beach Pier, southeast of the field, catches arrivals on 28L in westerly winds. The top of the Hibiscus Garage between Terminals 1 and 2 overlooks the northern runway and the apron.
Morning light favours the southern side and afternoon sun suits the west end. JetBlue A220s and A321neos, Southwest 737 MAX 8s, Azul A330-900s and the Caribbean carriers’ small fleets make up the mix. Florida law is relaxed about photography from public roads, but do not stop on the interstates, keep off airport service roads and comply with sheriff’s deputies if they ask you to move.
What Comes Next
A roughly $3 billion master plan launched in 2018 would lift the gate count to 95 and add an intermodal centre, an automated people mover between terminals, a hotel and wider access roads. Terminal 5, a $404 million building with five domestic gates, broke ground in October 2023 and is the first piece. Airside links between Terminals 1, 2 and 3 and a rebuilt Terminal 3 are next, and the PREMO light rail project would connect the airport to the convention centre and Port Everglades.
JetBlue, Southwest and Frontier are the carriers best placed to fill the gaps left by Spirit. Fort Lauderdale Airport will keep growing as the affordable door to South Florida. See where it sits among American airports on the Airports of the World map.
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