The History and Growth of Fort Lauderdale International Airport - FLL The Late 2000’s to Today In 2007 Fort Lauderdale Airport management decided to increase business revenue via passenger fees. The fee was basically tacked onto any aircraft coming in or going out of Fort Lauderdale Airport. At the time, the charge was nominal: a basic $10 per air vehicle landing on the tarmac. The increased cost was not wasted; runway expansion was approved by Broward County, adding another 8,000 feet to the length of the takeoff and landing run. The construction itself was not going to be immediate, however. Planned work was expected to last five years to lay down all of the additional cement. Three years later, Fort Lauderdale Airport reached a level of 22.4 million passengers moving through the port annually. A sub-portion of this population included almost 3.5 million international travelers. However, the traffic was not the latest high point in the Airport's history. 2007- 08 saw at least 200,000 more passengers travel through Fort Lauderdale. Main airlines operating out of the Airport in 2010 included many of the same players from the 1990s. Spirit, Southwest, Jet Blue, Delta, and U.S. Airways made Fort Lauderdale Airport home for 2010. All of this traffic almost put FLL in the top 20 of the country's busiest airports. Fort Lauderdale Airport today runs flights in and out with a total of 30 different airline companies today. This includes 621 commercial flights as well as one-sixth of that number for private aircraft. The reach of the airport extends north to Canada, south to the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, South American and east to Europe. There's no shortage of parking for travelers leaving either; 12,000 parking spots are laid out to handle temporary vehicle storage. Additionally, shuttles connect both the Port Everglades and the Port of Miami to the airport for sea cruise traffic. Economy-wise Fort Lauderdale Airport is a financial power-house for the regional area and Broward County. 14,000 people are employed at the airport in one form or another. Additionally, a separate 25,000 work in indirect employment driven by the airport's business. In terms of dollars produced, annually gross revenues reach as much as $2.6 billion. Again, due to demand, the Airport again has to expand its facilities in 2011. A new planned expansion costing as much as $800 million has been approved for breaking ground. Titled the Capital Improvement Program, the work is expected to last until 2014 when the Airport will be operating with an additional runway and infrastructure facility improvements. Home - The Beginnings 1970’s - 1990’s Early 2000’s FLL Airport Today Privacy Policy