The Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is located 34 kilometres to the north of Miami and serves the communities of Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood and Dania Beach. Its proximity to the cruise line terminals at Port Everglades has made it a popular entry point for those venturing off on Caribbean-bound cruises, while Miami International Airport to the south handles the majority of long-haul and international flights.
The Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport operates across two runways and four terminals, with Terminal 1 opened as recently as 2001 and the other three built during the mid-1980s. Terminal 1 has 18 gates, with domestic flights operated by Southwest Airlines, Alaska, Virgin America and United Airlines, with the latter boasting a United Club within Concourse C. Terminal 2 is used predominantly by Delta Airlines who have their Sky Club here, together with Air Canada and seasonal Condor flights. Terminal 3 services American Airlines, Bahamasair, JetBlue, Spirit and Azul, with all three domestic terminals having food courts featuring popular eateries. Terminal 4 is the main international terminal for non-precleared flights and was inaugurated by a Concorde visit in 1983. There are currency exchange facilities and shops scattered throughout all of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport’s terminals, together with car rental and tourist information in the arrivals area.
A free Tri-Rail shuttle transfers passengers from the airport’s terminal buildings to the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport station, from where trains connect to Miami and West Palm Beach. There are also public bus routes into Downtown Fort Lauderdale and the surrounding beach communities, together with taxi ranks available outside the terminals.
The facility first opened on an abandoned golf course as the Merle Fogg Airport in 1929, before being transformed into Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale at the beginning of World War II. Its military services ended in 1946, with the first commercial flights to Nassau in 1953 as the newly-opened Broward County International Airport.