ASK LOIS: Fort Lauderdale airport has ranked among the worst. What can be done?
Q: I’m writing regarding Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. FLL has been on the decline for years with worsening congestion when you drop and pick people up, more and more delayed flights, and significant loss of routes such as European routes. The congestion I’ve experienced has occurred three to four times from December to now, one time on a Saturday morning around 9 but most of the time between 7 and 8 p.m. on a weeknight as I was picking people up. Also, if you land at the airport and call an Uber, sometimes you end up waiting close to 30 minutes because the car is stuck in airport traffic.
It was great having the option to fly to Europe from FLL, especially for those of us that don’t want to go to Miami. As a whole, the airport is underperforming and it’s not clear why. I look at an airport like Tampa International and I see an airport that’s run exceptionally well. I recently flew to Zurich from Tampa and it was an amazing experience.
Who holds the administrators at FLL accountable for how the airport is being run? FLL continues to be ranked one of the worst airports. — Anil Nasta, Fort Lauderdale
A: Anil, I have been frustrated for years by the traffic pattern at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, which requires drivers to pass through every terminal before exiting. The pace is often excruciatingly slow.
However, I didn’t know that FLL was ranked one of the worst airports in the country. Among the reports you sent were surveys from GeneraliTravelInsurance.com, which ranked FLL in the top 10 for airports with the most delays, and SimpleFlying.com, which listed the airport as being the most delay-prone in the United States, with about a third of flights late in 2023.
I forwarded these to Arlene Satchell, public information officer for the Broward County Aviation Department. She explained that the department, which runs FLL and North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines, is responsible for maintaining safe airport environments — that includes runways, hangars, airfield surfaces and terminal buildings. She said flight delays and cancellations are out of the department’s control.
“As an airport, FLL itself does not operate flights (that’s the function of the airlines) nor does it have responsibility for managing the airspace in which aircraft operate; that’s the responsibility of the Federal Aviation Administration. As such, many factors outside of FLL’s control can contribute to flight delays and cancellations, which result in the unfavorable reliability scores in the surveys mentioned above, including weather, FAA air traffic control management initiatives and airline operational issues (staffing, crew time-outs, etc.),” Satchell said. “That said, BCAD is taking a closer look by doing preliminary research on these types of ‘unfavorable’ surveys/lists/rankings to try to ascertain if there are any steps we can take as an airport operator with our partners on the federal or state level to help mitigate this trend.”
Let’s take a look at the other airport problem spots you mentioned.
CONGESTION
The airport’s popularity may be a boon for employment and local businesses, but drivers are feeling the pain as they attempt to drop off guests or find them outside terminals that are often thick with travelers and two- or three-deep with cars. In 2004, the airport hosted 20.8 million passengers; in 2023, there were about 35 million, according to Satchell.
“Similar to trends in the surrounding off-airport communities, FLL’s terminal roadway system has seen increasing vehicular traffic over the years,” Satchell said. “Additionally, post-pandemic FLL has seen an uptick in onsite parking demand, which contributes to the overall traffic flow/congestion, especially at the airport’s exit. However, the timeframe highlighted by the reader is during the typical peak annual winter holiday/spring travel season, when it’s not unusual for our airport roadways to be congested due to the increased volume of passenger drop-off/pickup activity.”
Satchell said the “airport’s older 1980s roadway system wasn’t designed to accommodate this peak volume of vehicle traffic activity.” That’s for sure! Fortunately, Satchell said help is on the way through several upcoming projects, including a reconfiguration of the exit roadway leading out of the parking garages on to Terminal Drive, widening of the Terminal Driveway at the east end of Terminal 4, installation of new traffic control devices, and a new Bus Slip ramp for authorized vehicles.
INTERNATIONAL ROUTES
It is true that the airport has lost several international routes. Norse Atlantic Airways left for Miami International Airport last year, citing the need for a deeper customer pool. And Southwest Airlines is abandoning its FLL nonstops to the Caribbean and Costa Rica, moving them to Orlando beginning this summer.
According to Satchell: “While FLL enjoys a very healthy international air service portfolio, it is always disappointing to lose any international service. As FLL’s operator, BCAD has doubled its efforts to regain these service routes and attract others. Additionally, in the case of Southwest Airlines’ relocation of the majority of its FLL international service to Orlando International Airport, we plan to continue working with and encouraging the carrier to inaugurate/reinstate international flight activity in the future.”
ACCOUNTABILITY
Although it is Broward County-owned and operated, Satchell points out that the airport is a self-supporting agency and does not use local tax dollars for its operations. It relies on fees paid by the airlines that use the airport and rent revenues from tenants such as restaurants and retailers, as well as on aviation-related businesses that operate on the grounds.
Mark Gale is the chief executive officer of the county’s airports. He’s at mgale@broward.org. He reports to Monica Cepero, county administrator. Her email is mcepero@broward.org.
HOW TO COPE
As a frequent traveler and airport picker-upper myself, I’ve discovered several strategies that make these visits a little easier. Here are a few.
Take Tri-Rail or Brightline. You will have to make a connection by bus or car, but at least you won’t have to worry about parking or getting stuck in traffic.
Drop off passengers at “Arrivals” and pick up at “Departures.” The theory is that crowds of cars pile up at “Departures” as flights are getting ready to leave, making the “Arrivals” terminal potentially less crowded at that moment. This strategy is not discouraged by airport officials.
Travel on off days. At FLL, that’s Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Bring carry-on luggage. This can help you avoid long waits at baggage claim.
The full list of hacks I came up with is at SunSentinel.com/airporttips.
Some of us love to travel, some of us just endure it to get to where we want to go. Whatever your attitude, we have to deal with the airports we have. All we can do is get there early and pray that our plane is leaving on time that day. The rest is out of our control.
Got a question about life in South Florida? Send to Lois at AskLois@sunsentinel.com.
