FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – For the first time in several decades, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is getting a major upgrade.
The groundbreaking was held on Monday for what will be Terminal 5.
It will be a two-level domestic terminal with five gates, to include baggage, processing and a security screening checkpoint, as well as retail and food concessions. The total cost will run a little over $400 million.
The state-of-the-art facility will connect the Cypress Parking Garage and Terminal 4 via pedestrian bridges and walkways. The goal is to get FLL ready for the future as demand grows at a facility that has become a popular alternative to Miami International Airport.
Forecast models project FLL will grow from its current 35 million annual passengers to nearly 52 million passengers in just two decades.
Tamara Edwards lives in Atlanta, but uses FLL often.
“It’s a little cheaper and it’s not as congested,” she said. “It costs a little more to get to Miami, but it’s so much more convenient to travel through. I guess more people are coming and finding out about this airport, so it would lessen up some of the congestion as well.”
Off camera, airport workers told Local 10 News’ Hatzel Vela that while a new terminal is something they can embrace, they’re concerned about traffic and parking.
The site where the airport currently sits dates back to 1929. In 1942, it becomes a naval air station, training pilots like former President George HW Bush.
In 1959, it became Broward International Airport and was renamed to its current name in 1963.
Once completed, the new terminal will employ approximately 1,200 people. Construction is expected to be completed sometime in 2026.