Orlando Sanford Airport

Not Verified | I was wondering why you do not have signs outside for departure and arrival areas that depict location? Like at least, A,B,C or D. When your pick up person arrives you can't give them any notice of your location to pick you up because all the signs say the same thing.

✅ Trip Verified | This airport does not have a designated line for Clear customers. Instead, Clear employees walk their patrons to the front of TSA lines cutting in front of travelers waiting in line. This is especially problematic in the lines closest to the Clear checkpoint. Our line was stalled for at least 30 minutes while well over 30 people were allowed to cut in front of us throughout our wait. It took me a while to fathom why my line was not moving anywhere near as efficiently as other lines. Rather than spread this inconvenience equitably throughout the TSA screeners, the Clear employees used just the closest line and rarely the next few. They were rude and clearly unconcerned about the inconveniencing other travelers waiting in line. This elitism may be tolerated at Disney World but is shameful at a public airport.

✅ Trip Verified | If you like large airports with lots of shops, restaurants and people then Sanford is not the sort of airport you would appreciate. However, if you prefer a small regional type airport that you can pass through quickly both in and out, without stress then I strongly recommend Sanford. We now look at TUI flight options first simply because they use this airport. The staff are friendly (including immigration and security) and yet its only about 30 miles north of Orlando and roughly a 45 minute drive to the Disney resorts. We haven't been here since 2014, but I can confirm from the time we started queuing for immigration, to collecting baggage was only 25 minutes. Compare this to Orlando International where you would probably be held in a holding area due to congestion.

Not Verified | TSA agent asked if I was over 65 years old and they would allow me to keep shoes on. Being 56 and not overweight or gray haired, I feel quite upset about this. Instead of picking out "old" folks, they should have a sign and recording about the shoes. Do not individually pick out people to ask. It's a horrible experience.

❎ Not Verified | Absolutely love this airport. Easy in and easy out. Not jammed with people like the zoo at MCO Orlando. Adequate places to get something quick to eat and comfortable seats to wait. Only 15 min from our place in Oviedo. I just wish more domestic carriers other than just Allgiant flew into SFB. Maybe international travelers don't care for it because it's not a large airport but it;s great for us and I do recommend it.

❎ Unverified | When trying to find Gate 4 at 5.30am, all passengers were walking in circles as area was poorly marked that all Gates 1-5 enter through same gate! I started playing hostess so passengers could stop dragging their bags around! Should be an easy fix with an extra sign or staff directing traffic.

❎ Unverified | Very poor. Would definitely choose Orlando international next time. A lot of security staff, trained to a very basic standard which is quite worrying. Looks good, but hard work to discuss anything with them. Queue in and out was quite long. Clean and tidy, but outdated. So looking forward to getting back to the UK.

❎ Unverified | My sister-in-law, sister, and 83-year-old mother flew into Orlando Airport last night. I picked them up. The flight was on time but my 83-year-old mother is unable to walk. A young man came with a wheelchair to help us get her to the parking area. He rushed ahead of us and got on an elevator as others crowded into the elevator behind him. We were unable to get on, so my sister jumped on the elevator with him with barely any room left for her to fit, and my husband told him to wait on the second floor for us. The rest of us got on the next elevator. The young man took my mother and led my sister somewhere other than where we requested. It took us two hours to find them and the airport staff were little help. When we would ask anyone for help, they'd just quickly tell us a location and go back to what they were doing. By the time we found them we were all very stressed out as my mother's health is not good and she suffers from Alzheimer's disease. I will not recommend this airport to anyone again.

Orlando Sanford airport stinks. There are only 4 places to get food in the entire airport. There is plenty of seating, but every seat at every gate has armrests, so if you're flight happens to be delayed until after midnight, there is no place to lay down except the filthy floor. The gate agents are also all employed by the airport (not the individual airlines) and they are not helpful or friendly. They keep saying SFB stands for Safer, Faster, Better. I seriously doubt it.

I first used this airport in 1997 and it's barely changed since then. Quite a few folk have mentioned how fast it is to arrive and depart from - well, that's not my experience. On my most recent trip (arriving late May 2016), we were on a Thomson Flight from Glasgow. We were at the back of the plane and hence at the back of the queue for immigration. We waited nearly 1.5 hrs. A Thomson flight from Manchester arrived just behind us. I estimate those at the back of the Manchester plane would have waited 2.5 hours minimum to get into the USA. Nearly everyone in the queue had small children - families are the primary demographic for these flights from the UK, so you can imagine the overall stress levels for the bulk of the passengers. On our return, their check-in computers crashed. We waited nearly 2hrs to check in and then our plane was delayed as a result as it had to wait on the other passengers to check in and get through security. Also, airside facilities are dire - if you have a delay here, you better have a good book or fully loaded iPad. The wifi when I was there was flaky at best when we first arrived and had stopped working entirely by the time we were airside and wanted to use it. On the positive sides, it is small and car rental is nearby and walkable. It is well signposted and easy to get to and from using Interstate 4. The ease of getting in and out of the airport complex due to the relative quietness of the surrounding area is offset by the fact it's nearly 30 miles north of Orlando though, so longer journey times all round. I can't recommend this airport. Even if I got an amazing flight price deal, I'd still consider using Orlando International (MCO) before this for its all round "large" airport approach to facilities.