Airport Guide

(History of Orlando International Airport

Orlando's bustling airport can trace its origins back to the Second World War, when the site was home to the Pinecastle Army Airfield and used solely for military purposes.

Following the end of this conflict, the base saw action again in both the Korean War and then the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Under an agreement made between the US Air Force and the City of Orlando, the airport was converted to joint military-commercial use, with the facilities including the main runway extended and the new site, known as the Orlando Jetport, opened in 1962.

With the military leaving as part of a post-Vietnam cost-cutting measure in 1973, that decade saw the construction of new passenger facilities, such as an international concourse and domestic terminal.

Thanks largely to its location close to Walt Disney World, the airport was welcoming five million passengers a year by 1980, with the following years seeing further expansion to cope with both international holidaymakers and domestic flyers making use of the recent boom in bargain flights.

Now that NASA is retiring the Space Shuttle, Orlando's status as one of the few airports in the world capable of handling the space craft is to be consigned to history.

Travelling to Orlando International Airport

As befits a major international airport welcoming millions of pleasure-seeking tourists every year, transport links to and from Orlando International are excellent.

For those travellers looking to connect with downtown Orlando, the Lynx part of the city's metro area public transportation system offers quick and affordable services.

Meanwhile, those passengers heading to Florida for tourism purposes are well-catered for by specialist transportation links.

A complimentary Magical Express, for example, whisks passengers booked in at the Walt Disney Resort to their destination, while most of the cruise operators offering services from Florida, including Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Disney, also offer free shuttles aimed at coinciding with passenger arrivals.

In addition, plans are currently in place to extend the Orlando-Tampa route of the new Florida High Speed Rail project to the airport.

Airlines Flying to Orlando International Airport

Since the late 1970s, Orlando International has welcomed a number of international airlines carrying mainly holidaymakers, though also some business flyers, to the Sunshine State.

Today, British Airways offers flights from London, while Virgin Atlantic offers direct services from London, Glasgow and Manchester.

Meanwhile, Aer Lingus flies in from Dublin, Lufthansa from Frankfurt, Martinair from Amsterdam, Copa Airlines from Panama City, Aeromexico from Mexico City and Air Canada from Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto.

At the same time, the airport welcomes dozens of domestic services a day, operated by airlines including Continental, American, Alaska Airlines, Delta, United and US.

Over recent years, these older carriers have been joined by a new generation of low-cost airlines, including Volaris, Sunwing, Spirit, the budget giant Southwest, JetBlue, Interjet and Allegiant Air, as well as Air Transat and WestJet which offer cheap flights to and from Canada.

As such, passengers are able to benefit from bargain flights to Orlando from dozens of US cities, with popular routes including those to Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlantic City, Washington, Detroit, New Orleans and New York City.