Looking up: South Florida airports add flights, services

Future world: a rendering of the MIA Mover station at the Miami Intermodal Center

By Mark Chesnut

With new rail service, expanded facilities and a variety of new flights, South Florida’s two biggest airports are making it easier than ever to travel to the Sunshine State.

They may be just a few miles apart, but Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport offer very different travel experiences — and both facilities are working to improve their appeal with travelers as well as the airline companies that serve them.

Fort Lauderdale flights
The Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood airport is preparing for growth, as it invests some $791 million to extend its south runway by 2014, in preparation to handle increased demand. In addition, the airport has begun wetland restoration at West Lake Park, in nearby Hollywood, as well as a noise mitigation program.

Among the newest nonstop domestic service at Fort Lauderdale is offered by Alaska Airlines, which launches nonstop flights to Seattle on July 16. Carriers ramping up new international service include JetBlue Airways, which recently started flying to Bogota, Colombia, and Kingston, Jamaica.

Miami flights
Officials at Miami International Airport report a 7.1 percent increase in passengers between 2010 and 2011, with more expected this year. The facility’s Capital Improvement Program, scheduled for completion in 2013, is already showing results, with the ultimate goal to connect therelatively new South Terminal with the brand-new North Terminal.

Also new is the MIA Mover, an automated people mover system that debuted in 2011 to transport passengers to the Rental Car Center as well as the Miami Intermodal Center, a ground transportation hub being developed by the Florida Department of Transportation. When complete, it will allow travelers to connect with all forms of ground transportation in the county, including Amtrak, regional rail systems, Greyhound, city buses, shuttles and taxis.

Miami’s airport has added several new airlines and routes in recent months, including new service to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Lisbon and Monterrey, Mexico.

Related resources

• Florida vacations
• Fort Lauderdale hotels
• Miami hotels
• Mexico hotels

Mark Chesnut is a travel writer, editor and publisher of LatinFlyer.com, which focuses on travel to Latin America. As a teenager, he collected boarding passes.

Tagged: Florida