Orlando Sanford Airport

Speed of Immigration procedures is the main benefit of Sanford. We got through in half the time it has taken us at other US airports. We saw rather too much of the departure lounge due to a broken 747 and whilst we were killing about 15 hours there on two successive days made the following observations. Very little to do in departures terrible choice of overpriced ghastly food & beverages precious few shops. Virtually every airline using Sanford seemed to be seriously delayed for a variety of reasons none of which was the weather in Florida our Excel flight to Gatwick was 25 hours late due to a broken rudder. Some of the people working in the airport are very professional efficient and polite. The majority are ignorant morons who delight in exercising whatever pathetic authority they have as brusquely as possible. If using Sanford you might do well to book one of the executive lounges in advance (which costs less than the $25 on-site) because you might be seeing more of the airport than you think.

Arrived SFB September 42006. Speedy immigration procedures unlike busy US hubs luggage swiftly deliveredno lines at Car Hire and on our way in no time. However returning to SFB on our return food court is expensive and hot food is cold by the time one has stood in line to pay for it. Bar is woefully understaffed and very very smokey. Fortunately our flight got away on time but I would not like to spend any time here due to long delays.

Manchester to Sanford and back. The arrival was fine and security staff were efficient and polite. However the return was not so pleasant. The food court is basic and overpriced - even by airport standards - and the staff in both the duty free shop and the newspaper shop were rude and unhelpful. The assistant in the newspaper shop was the rudest shop assistant I have ever had the misfortune to come across. I bought just over $20 worth of goods and gave her a $100 bill as payment (the only note I had left) she looked at it swore loudly in front of my 2 children and then turned to her colleague to show her the note and comment loudly "who does she think we are - the Bank of Sanford" she then slammed my change onto the counter without looking at me or saying another word! I have to say that we had a wonderful holiday and almost all of the American people we met were lovely but our treatment by the staff at this airport did sour the last day of our holiday. Just a final comment - the PA system is still so quiet as to be almost inaudible despite comments on this site over one year ago about this problem.

Travelled through this airport 4 times in the past 2 weeks. Arrival from Glasgow saw us outside within 30 minutes the only flight arrival at that time. Then travelled on an internal flight to Worcester MA all with no problems. The departure to the UK delayed following the security alert. Departure lounge was busy with at least 4 flights waiting for delayed aircraft but not uncomfortable. Security checks through but comparatively quick for both departures. Looking at the international arrival area I can guess it gets cramped at times especially when 4 incoming UK flights arrive within 10 minutes as happened on 19th August.

Arrival at Sanford was great immigration and baggage collection went quicker than I am use to. Now for the down fall the return journey checked in at Sanford just fine but then asked where we could get something to eat before going through to departures only to be told there was nothing until your in the departure hall. Once in the departure hall all we found there was this tiny food court selling sandwiches burgers hot dogs and chicken curry. We settled for burger fries and a soft drink each and were expecting to pay between $10 and $15 for the food but when the cashier asked for almost $33 we were a little dumb struck. As for the rest of the departure hall if your not in to buying duty-free or over priced newspapers there is not a lot else to do. So as a word of warning to any future traveler If you have to travel through Sanford-Orlando Airport then take your own food and drink in with you but if you can use Orlando International Airport and avoid Sanford-Orlando all together you will have a better experience.

Arrived Sanford from Glasgow progress through immigration was as expected; thorough but efficient. Baggage reclaim was a bit slow but no worse than that encountered at Glasgow International on return journey. Car hire pickup was a dream; was in Dollar hired car and on the road within 15" of receiving luggage. On return Check In was quick & efficient screening was thorough but quick departure lounge was perfectly adequate. A great wee airport. 9 out of 10.

Pleasantly surprised by this airport. Inbound we were through immigration and the car hire process within 45 mins of disembarking - it helped that we were one of the first pax off our flight which was the only one in at the time. Immigration and Customs staff were fine - not pleasant but not unpleasant! Road links to the tourist areas are good but check your map first to avoid taking a wrong turn! On the return leg the $3 dollar charge for a luggage trolley to transport your cases from the car hire drop off to the terminal (about 200ft) is a bit tacky. Priority check-in was good with polite staff. The departure lounge is OK with a reasonably stocked duty free shop. Didnt use the food outlets but they didnt look horrendously expensive. The one really stupid aspect of this airport is that all the gates appear to be in one corner of the departure lounge so there is a scrum the moment that a flight is announced - if your row is called first you basically have to walk to the front of the amassed crowd which makes it look as though you are queue-jumping. They do have TV monitors asking people to remain seated until called but nobody seems to take heed. The PA system doesn't help as most people hear "blah blah blah flight number blah blah blah" and immediately jump up. Other than this a good experience and would use again.

Every one has there luggage screened on the way out of Orlando Int'l airport and we are US citizens. Lighters are banned on carry on as well as other items - no big deal. I lost a pair of expensive needlework scissors once by not remembering they were in my needlework bag - goodbye scissors or fill out a form. We have not used Sanford airport - I did get concerned with one of the former comments and wished to let them know that life is like that now in and out of the US. No one likes it but we have to deal with it. Hopefully they will encounter some pleasant US citizens - there are many of us out there. And we do love living in Florida! But love to travel!

Passed through Sanford 11/19 November with ten people in our party. I was very impressed with the service we got and by the layout of the airport and car rental etc. Much easier and better located than Orlando International.

I am a check in agent at Sanford and I am glad to hear some positive feedback from passengers. Orlando Sanford International started to receive a lot of international charters in 1996 with close to 614000 passengers during this year. Today we handle around 1 million international passengers and close to 800000 domestic passengers a year. That is a lot for such a little airport especially are the international numbers since we mainly have passengers from March through October only. On most airports in the US the airlines have to pay a penalty if the aircraft arrive early or late based on the scheduled slot time they hve been given. Our airport does not charge for that. As the slots have been prepared so that everything will run pretty smooth problems occur as the aircraft diviate from their slots. When suddenly 6-8 aircrafts arrive at their gates within 30 min things takes time to process. It may take you up to 45 min to 1 hours sometimes to be checked in. Again congestion happens due to late/early busses. It can within 15 minutes arrive 6 busses or 360 passengers and check in time increases. One airline offer check in at a facility in Orlando/Kissimmee opening 7am 'til 1230pm for a small fee. Then you can arrive at the airport 90 minutes before departure. This airport is a good option for an airline to use since it offers low rates for landing and ground handling. These days airline-industry is very competitive and with high gasoline prices still offer UK passengers fares to Florida starting at 200-300 US dollars which often also includes a rental car.