Fort Lauderdale Airport

This international airport is growing fast and is very crowded and under construction. The lines at US customs are very long. Our party had 1.5 hrs to make a 7.05 am. connection but missed it due to the slow customs process which had only 3 officers for US citizens. One other employee seemed to enjoy telling passengers who asked if anything could be done to help them make their connections 'Probably not'. Finally he called out 2 or 3 connecting flights but only a handful got to the front of the line. The current state of affairs makes a strong case for an upgrade to Global Entry expedited clearance. If you don't travel often enough to justify the premium avoid this point of entry.

Spirit gates are old dirty congested and lack any comfort. Customs/immigration is a "keystone cop" operation. Security is cramped outdated and lacks customer service.

I've never been in such a dirty airport with very little facilities. The air was thick and things didn't seem to circulate properly. The ceilings are very low for a place where hundreds of people are breathing walking and causing friction in the pathways. The gate we stayed at had minimal facilities between convenient store/food areas. I would absolutely not recommend this for transit and am actually recommending people not to go here if they can help it.

I have traveled all over the world and come into the US in almost every entry point and never have I had to wait over 2 hours to go though customs. What an embarrassment that they can not get US citizens in to their own country with competence. The line for visitors was less than an hour. There we're children screaming and crying. Not a single announcement about delays or the time it was taking.

Terminal 3 arrival and departure. Easy enough to get to consolidated car rental facility. Easy return as well as well marked for each car company. Security a breeze (late afternoon departure) with many open lanes. Be warned there is little in the concourse (US Air/American) so bring anything you need. Seating areas were fine but limited eating and areas with snacks and only 1 bathroom for the entire concourse.

Arrival is painless but departing is the complete opposite. Very cramped check-in area and security is an absolute disaster. If you arrive before 10.00 am they only have two security desks open despite the hundreds of people lined up to get to their departure gates. Air side there are very few amenities. Overall not a great experience.

Though FLL provides an easier outlet for Miami traffic this airport could use some improvement. Firstly the gate areas are slightly unkempt and rather cramped for the amount of people who travel through here. The shops are unspectacular and there aren't that many of them. Security took far longer than it needed too and I found the procedure uncomfortable (I prefer the conventional box method). Next time I'm flying into MIA even if it's seemingly worse.

FLL provides a much more efficient easier and mostly cheaper alternative to Miami International. Signage to/from the airport is very good the terminal (while quite busy) is much easier to navigate than MIA and the rental car facility is a short walk across the terminal by covered walkway. Dining and business facilities in Terminal 1 are very basic but adequate. The terminal wasn't the cleanest but no worse than most U.S. airports. The TSA checkpoint moved very quickly considering it was a holiday weekend.

I have flown from Fort Lauderdale a few times. Mostly no complaints nice and clean airport. Easy signs to follow along with a great choice of restaurants. The Delta Terminal (Terminal 2) has a great variety of restaurants in the great area as well. However I am not satisfied with Terminal 4. There are not enough seats in the gate area a lot of people were sitting on the floor or standing up. There is no variety of restaurants or nice lounges to have a drink in this terminal unlike terminal 2 and 3.

Living only 7 miles from the airport terminal FLL is extremely convenient to me. Fares are sometimes lower than from Miami and the airport is much smaller than MIA. Facilities are simple but beautiful reminding at all times that you are in south Florida. TSA agents are generally courteous and professional and lines for security are never too long. Also there is good dining choices all around.