Our Review of Fort Lauderdale Airport (FLL)
Our Review of Fort Lauderdale Airport (FLL)
At Plan Your Trips, we have analyzed hundreds of airports around the world, gaining a clear understanding of what users expect when visiting an airport. With this know-how, we have created this guide, placing passengers at the forefront of everything, aiming to simplify and enhance the airport experience.
In this Guide,our goal is to present information in a manner that is both quick and reliable. Recognizing that passengers often have limited time and may be in a hurry, we strive to ensure that they do not waste time unnecessarily.
Another key focus of our guide is to highlight the strengths of the airport and also the weaknesses, and in some cases, offer recommendations to travelers. In alignment with this approach, we provide users with aggregated information on delays and on-time performance, analyzing both airlines and individual flights.
Pros and Cons of Fort Lauderdale Airport (FLL)
PROS
Location: Fort Lauderdale Airport is conveniently located about 5 km from downtown Fort Lauderdale and 34km north of Miami. Fort Lauderdale is the low cost airport to get to Miami so it is a perfect airport to discover Florida.
Modern and Clean Facilities: The airport is known for its modern facilities, big and spacious areas, including a wide range of shops, restaurants, and lounges. It caters to both business and leisure travelers with amenities like VIP services.
US Hub: FLL Airport serves as a hub for Silver Airways. A focus city for Jet Blue and an operating base for both Allegiant Air and Spirit Airlines, making the Airport a great hub in Florida.
Accessibility: Offers straightforward access to downtown, with a variety of transport options.
Spacious Design: The design and spacious layout of the airport have been well-received, offering a comfortable and pleasant environment for passengers.
CONS
Capacity Constraints: The airport can get quite crowded during cruise seasons, leading to longer wait times and a potentially stressful experience.
Terminals are not connected: Passengers should be aware that Terminals 1, 2, 3 and 4 are not interconnected post-security, necessitating the use of shuttle buses for terminal transfers, which may add to transit times. Take that into consideration if you have to transit.
Public Transport Options: As well as many airports in the United States, public transportation is tricky and passengers don’t count with lots of connections with bus or train.
Seasonal Overcrowding: The airport experiences substantial congestion during tourist seasons, resulting in longer queues and a more chaotic atmosphere.
Limited Long-Haul Connectivity: Compared to other North-American airports, FLL does not have a lot of long-haul flights. Lots of companies prefered Miami Airport for that type of flights.
Mini-Guide of the Airport (2' Guide)
- There are four terminals: Terminal 1, Terminal 2, Terminal 3 and Terminal 4. It is not possible to walk between terminals but passengers can use the shuttle bus available to move between them.
- Transport to and from Fort Lauderdale: to move to and from the Airport, the best option is to use private transportation or taxi, private transfer or ridesharing companies. However, there is also bus and access to tri rail.
- Check-in Areas: Check-in areas in FLL are located inside the main buildings at the terminals.
Terminal 1: The check-in area is located on the second level (Departures). It is a very spacious area with all the airlines together. Security control is just at the end of the check-in area.
At Terminal 2, check-in is on second level (Departures area).
At Terminal 3 check-in is located on the second floor.
At Terminal 4 check-in area is located on the second level too.
- You will find a great selection of shops and pretty basic services. Expect to also find several restaurants.
- Fort Lauderdale Airport is a family-friendly airport: there are children’s play areas, child seats, lactation areas, and separate family check-in areas in terminals.
- You can choose your preferred lounge from the different options located throughout the airport. Expect to find food, refreshments, and a nice seating area while waiting for your flight.
How we calculate On Time Performance
On various pages of our website, you will encounter a metric widely utilized in aviation and other forms of transportation known as OTP (On Time Performance). We believe that providing this metric assists passengers in planning their trips and exploring alternatives before purchasing their flight tickets.
We calculate the On Time Performance for all flights and airlines, when we have enough data to do so. In certain instances, it may not be feasible to accurately compute the On-Time Performance for a specific flight or airline due to inadequate or non-representative data, which could result in misleading conclusions.
Our calculation of On Time Performance and delay information solely relies on arrival times. This approach is chosen over calculating departure delays, as we consider arrival punctuality to be of primary concern to passengers.
The On Time Performance displayed on our website is calculated as follows:
- On Time: Flights that arrive within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival time, or earlier. In the absence of data for a specific flight, we assume the flight arrives on time, to avoid penalizing airlines for data unavailability.
- Moderate Delay: Flights that arrive with a delay of 15 to 30 minutes.
- Significant Delay: Flights that arrive with a delay of 30 to 60 minutes.
- Major Delay: Flights that arrive with a delay exceeding 60 minutes.
- Average Delay: The average delay is calculated by considering flights that arrive early as having a delay of 0 minutes. Early arrivals do not contribute to reducing the average delay calculation
Some Stats
Annual Passengers Evolution
Airlines with more flight operations (last 3 months)
28% (Total flights analyzed: 8298)
19% (Total flights analyzed: 5676)
9% (Total flights analyzed: 2837)
9% (Total flights analyzed: 2724)
6% (Total flights analyzed: 1678)
Airlines with best on-time performance at Fort Lauderdale Airport (last 3 months)
Considering all airlines:
93% (Total flights analyzed: 107)
93% (Total flights analyzed: 98)
92% (Total flights analyzed: 26)
91% (Total flights analyzed: 355)
90% (Total flights analyzed: 52)
Considering only airlines with more than 10 flights/week:
91% (Total flights analyzed: 355)
84% (Total flights analyzed: 2837)
81% (Total flights analyzed: 1678)
80% (Total flights analyzed: 2724)
79% (Total flights analyzed: 8298)
78% (Total flights analyzed: 5676)
75% (Total flights analyzed: 226)
75% (Total flights analyzed: 299)
75% (Total flights analyzed: 1237)
74% (Total flights analyzed: 571)
Routes with more flights from Fort Lauderdale Airport (last month)