Orlando Sanford International Airport | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Owner | Sanford Airport Authority | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Operator | Airports Worldwide, Inc. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Serves | Orlando and Sanford, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | Sanford, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Focus city for | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 55 ft / 17 m | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 28°46′40″N 081°14′15″W / 28.77778°N 81.23750°WCoordinates: 28°46′40″N 081°14′15″W / 28.77778°N 81.23750°W | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Website | orlandosanfordairport.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Maps | |||||||||||||||||||||||
FAA Airport Diagram |
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Location of airport within Florida / United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Statistics (2016) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Federal Aviation Administration
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Aircraft operations | 289,759 |
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Total Passenger | 2,752,410 |
Orlando Sanford International Airport (IATA: SFB, ICAO: KSFB, FAA LID: SFB) is in Sanford, Florida, near Orlando. It was built as Naval Air Station Sanford, a Master Jet Base for carrier-based attack and reconnaissance aircraft until 1969. The airport is owned and operated by the Sanford Airport Authority.
Due to flight training, the airport is consistently in the top 30 busiest airports in the world in terms of total flight operations (takeoff and landings). It is the Orlando area's secondary commercial airport, but is farther away from downtown Orlando and the major theme parks (Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort, and SeaWorld Orlando) than the primary airport, Orlando International Airport (MCO/KMCO). Because of that affiliation, passenger traffic at Orlando Sanford International Airport was once dominated by European charter carrier service. However, since 2008 a majority of its passenger traffic has been domestic; this is attributable to the entrance of Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air, for which Sanford is a focus city. Sanford was also a small focus city for the travel marketer Direct Air until the company's demise in 2012.
Orlando Sanford International Airport started life as Naval Air Station Sanford with the airport codes NRJ and KNRJ. Commissioned on November 3, 1942, the base initially concentrated on advanced land-based patrol plane training. It was used by the U.S. Navy until it closed in 1969.