Orlando-Sanford Airport Reports Record Number of Passengers
Monday, January 13, 2014
By: Nicole Creston

January 13th, 2014 | WMFE - Orlando-Sanford International Airport served a record-breaking number of passengers last year. Officials say more than two million travelers departed and arrived through its gates in 2013, up 12% from the previous year.

Orlando-Sanford’s main domestic carrier Allegiant Air brought in more than three quarters of the total traffic, according to airport records. Allegiant now has more non-stop destinations on its roster than any other airline in Central Florida.

Economic analyst Hank Fishkind says that’s a win for the region. 

“Allegiant has been very savvy in providing low-cost, point-to-point service. They can make good profit by filling those planes and they provide a great service,” Fishkind says. “So, it does have a very significant economic impact because it promotes more travel to our area and it opens up markets to air travel that normally would not be cost-effective.”

Fishkind says Sanford could build on those profits by having more tourist-oriented development, like hotels and restaurants, close to the airport.