Fort Lauderdale Airport

While travelers can arrive in Fort Lauderdale in a number of different ways, including via cruise ship, flying is typically the most popular option, and if this is the case for you, at some point you will experience the Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport. It is the fastest-growing airport in the United States as well as a major port for many of the low-cost carriers, so budget travelers are in luck when they fly into the airport in Fort Lauderdale Florida. Vacationers may also consider other airports in the nearby area and traveling to their destination by shuttle, train, or car.

From its humble beginnings as a dirt airstrip, Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport has come a long way in terms of development. Over the course of 75 years, FLL has become an international hub with flights to several destinations throughout North, Central, and South America. Today, more than 20 million passengers traverse the terminals at the airport in Fort Lauderdale Florida, where travelers can take advantage of wireless internet and a host of shops and restaurants.

For business travelers and those who prefer to stay near the airport, Fort Lauderdale offers a number of hotel options located near the airport. Hyatt Place, Comfort Suites, and Sheraton are a few of the institutions accommodations near the airport as well as Port Everglades.

Once visitors arrive, there are several available options for ground transportation from the airport, including shuttles, share-ride vans, buses, taxis, and the Tri-Rail, which links three important counties in southern Florida: Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach. There are also plenty of options to get rental cars at the airport, for those travelers who want their own set of wheels. The Fort Lauderdale airport is continuously working towards new efforts and goals; currently, there is a project in the works to increase terminal and runway capacity as well as open up different avenues of terminal use, such as a collaborative effort with Port Everglades in which FLL will manage cruise passengers embarking at the port.

The Fort Lauderdale airport features a history of several noteworthy pilots that have operated from this airstrip, including Merle L. Fogg, Joe Mackey, Red and Athley Gamber, and Lt. Charles Taylor. The first flying service in Fort Lauderdale was operated by Fogg, who started out as a performing pilot, or barnstormer, and was the first to fly from Maine to Florida. One year after his death in a plane crash at 29 years of age, the Merle L. Fogg Airport was established in his memory. Another barnstormer, Joe Mackey, established the first commercial carrier in Fort Lauderdale, Mackey Airlines; which offered service from Florida to the Bahamas and the Caribbean and eventually merged with Eastern Airlines.

Red Aircraft was operated out of the Fort Lauderdale airport by Red and Athley Gamber for many years, and after Red’s death, Athley continued service for many more years and after completing 50 years of aviation, was honored by the Ninety Nines, the oldest and largest association for women pilots in the world. A well-seasoned naval pilot, Lt. Charles Taylor, was commanding Flight 19 that flew out of the airport in Fort Lauderdale on December 5, 1945, never to be seen again after the flight’s mysterious vanishing act in the Bermuda Triangle.

Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport not only offers efficient service and plenty of things to do within the terminals for travelers departing, arriving, and passing through, but it also stands quietly in memory of the brave aviators who spurred its development. Any travelers on a vacation in this area are sure to find a pleasant traveling experience at the airport in Fort Lauderdale Florida, no matter what their final destination might be.