For years, Rick Strong and his wife, Michelle, have regularly flown in and out of the Orlando Sanford International Airport from Indianapolis for what they call a few days of “rest, relaxation and recuperation” in Central Florida.
“It’s quick and easy, and we like that it’s a small airport and less chaotic,” said Rick Strong, of DeMotte, Ind., about the Sanford airport as the couple stood in a security line waiting to board their direct flight back home.
The Strongs aren’t alone. Year after year, a growing number of air travelers prefer using the smaller airport in north Seminole County rather than the much larger and more sprawling Orlando International Airport in south Orange County.
In 2019, the Sanford airport saw a record 3.3 million passengers go through its gates. That’s a nearly 6.3% jump from 2018 and a 93% increase from 2009, when the airport handled 1.7 million passengers.
By comparison, Orlando International Airport had a passenger count of just over 50 million in 2019, making it the nation’s 10th-busiest airport.
Diane Crews, Sanford airport’s president and chief executive officer, said the booming economy means more travelers taking to the skies more often. A big attraction for the Sanford airport is that it’s a breeze to get through.
“People want to fly more, and they are finding it more convenient and affordable, especially out of SFB,” Crews wrote in an email, referring to the airport’s code letters. “There has certainly been a growing awareness of SFB…. I would also say that our growth is influenced by people becoming more savvy in their selection of travel alternatives when considering the elements of convenience, time, and of course, cost.”
Sanford airport officials said they anticipate an average increase in passengers of at least 3% per year over the next two decades.
To accommodate that surge in travelers, the airport is in the midst of a nearly $62 million expansion and renovation project that will add new gates, baggage carousels, parking spaces and an extended exterior canopy to accommodate passengers when they’re being dropped off. The project also will add more ticket counters, eateries and nearly 50,000 square feet of space.
The project is about 70% complete and on track to be wrapped up by the end of the year.
“Passengers who haven’t been in the airport in a while are pleasantly surprised at the new look,” said Lauren Rowe, the airport’s communications director. “We’re trying to accommodate larger crowds in a simpler, faster way.”
There are also plans by a developer to construct a hotel on a 6.2-acre parcel southwest of Marquette Avenue and Red Cleveland Boulevard on airport property.
Airport officials wouldn’t comment on plans for the hotel. Messages left for Oscar Juarez, president of SOJAC LLC and Palmetto Property Managers LLC, which owns the land, weren’t returned.
But Seminole commissioners said the county has long wanted a hotel on the airport property to accommodate business travelers, tourists and athletes using the county’s nearby Boombah Sports Complex on East Lake Mary Boulevard.
“I want a hotel there,” Commissioner Lee Constantine said. “I think everyone wants a hotel there, and I’m excited that Mr. Juarez and others have brought forward this idea of having a hotel there.”
Commission Chairman Jay Zembower agreed.
“We need a hotel in this area,” he said. “The airport needs a hotel. Our whole sports complex hinges forward with a hotel in that area.”
While a hotel would be a feather in its cap, the the airport is gaining additional exposure through other means.
Earlier this month, it hosted thousands of students — from kindergarten to college, who are interested in science, engineering and aviation — at Aerospace and Aviation Day 2020.
More attention to the airport will come this fall, when the airfield stages a U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds show that will include the popular squadron and other aircraft.
The event — which is expected to draw throngs of spectators — is sponsored by Lockheed Martin and will take place Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.
And as more and more people flock to Orlando Sanford International, the airport also is working to attract more airlines.
Currently, the airport’s dominant airline is Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air, which flies directly to smaller destinations in the U.S, Canada and Puerto Rico.
“We continue to work with numerous carriers on future plans for additional service,” Crews said. She said she couldn’t comment further on those discussions.
For travelers such as Dave Burlingame of Mount Dora, the small airport is handier and less crowded than Orlando’s giant airport.
“You don’t have the congestion of a larger airport,” Burlingame said as he sat in the terminal waiting for a relative to arrive on a flight.
mcomas@orlandosentinel.com
