Orlando Sanford International Airport
Orlando Sanford International Airport, as seen from the air in 2011
IATA:SFB ICAO:KSFB FAALID:SFB
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Sanford Airport Authority
Operator	Airports Worldwide, Inc.
Serves	Greater Orlando
Location	Sanford, Florida
Opened	November 3, 1942; 82 years ago (1942-11-03)
Operating base for	Allegiant Air
Elevation AMSL	55 ft / 17 m
Coordinates	28°46′40″N081°14′15″W / 28.77778°N 81.23750°W /28.77778; -81.23750
Website	www.flysfb.com
Maps
FAA airport diagram
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 9C/27C 3,578 1,091 Asphalt 9L/27R 11,002 3,353 Asphalt 9R/27L 5,839 1,780 Asphalt 18/36 6,002 1,829 Asphalt/concrete
Statistics (2024)
Aircraft operations 310,074 Total passengers 2,877,526 Based aircraft (2023) 314
Source:Federal Aviation Administration[1][2]

Orlando Sanford International Airport (IATA:SFB,ICAO:KSFB,FAALID:SFB) is a commercial, public use airport inSanford, Florida, United States, nearOrlando. It was built asNaval Air Station Sanford, a Master Jet Base for carrier-based attack and reconnaissance aircraft, and was used by the U.S. Navy until 1969. The airport is owned and operated by the Sanford Airport Authority. It serves as an operating base forAllegiant Air.

Sanford is Orlando's secondary commercial airport and is farther away from downtown Orlando andWalt Disney World than the primary airport,Orlando International Airport (MCO/KMCO). Because of the affiliation with Orlando, passenger traffic at Sanford was once dominated by European charter services.^[3]

Since 2008, however, a majority of its passenger traffic has been domestic; this is attributable to the entrance ofLas Vegas–basedAllegiant Air, for which Sanford is afocus city.^[4] Sanford was also a small focus city for the travel marketerDirect Air until the company's demise in 2012.

Orlando Sanford International Airport started life asNaval Air Station Sanford with the airport codesNRJ andKNRJ. Commissioned on November 3, 1942, the base initially concentrated on advanced land-based patrol plane training. It was used by theUnited States Navy until it closed in 1969.

The City of Sanford assumed control of the former NAS Sanford in 1969 and renamed the facility Sanford Airport, hiring the air station's recently retired Executive Officer, Commander J. S. "Red" Cleveland, USN (Ret.), as the first Airport Manager. The city concurrently established the Sanford Airport Authority. For the next twenty-five years, the airport was a general aviation facility and periodically hosted civilian/military air shows and static displays. Initially an uncontrolled airfield, the control tower was reactivated in the early 1970s as a non-FAA facility, employing a number of retired enlisted Navy air traffic controllers who had served at NAS Sanford.

Additional name changes followed, to include Sanford Regional Airport, Central Florida Regional Airport, Orlando Sanford Regional Airport and the current Orlando Sanford International Airport. Through the 1980s and 1990s the oldest Navy buildings were demolished while those built in the 1950s and 1960s were renovated for civil use. New buildings and hangars were added.

OLF Osceola was transferred to the control of Seminole County, Florida, but was never officially recommissioned as an active airfield. In the 1970s the former OLF began to be used by general aviation drug-smuggling aircraft as a transshipment point. Following a major drug interdiction by local and federal law enforcement agencies, Seminole County placed large speed bumps at various intervals across the runways to deter future illegal use. By the 1980s the county began to use the site as a landfill and dump, demolishing the remaining runways.^[5]

In 1992, parts of the action filmPassenger 57, starringWesley Snipes, were filmed at the then-Orlando Sanford Regional Airport, where it represented a small airport in Louisiana. Shortly after filming, a new control tower was built and air traffic control operations assumed by the FAA. The Navy control tower and the large Navy hangar to which it was attached were demolished.

In the mid-1990s, a new passenger terminal capable of accommodating jet airliners was built. Charter airlines catering to the heavy British tourist demographic that had previously been usingOrlando International Airport were offered greatly reduced landing fees at Sanford, and therefore many carriers relocated their operations.

In 2010,Allegiant Air announced it was moving many flights to the larger and more centrally located Orlando International Airport in order to compete withAirTran Airways. Owing to passenger feedback, all flights have returned to Orlando Sanford.

In 2014,Thomas Cook Airlines moved their operations back to Orlando International Airport after almost a decade of serving Orlando Sanford with the operations ofAirtours,JMC Air &My Travel. In September 2019,Thomas Cook ceased all operations.

Icelandair moved to Orlando International Airport in 2015.^[6]

In October 2017,Monarch Airlines ceased operations after entering administration, therefore resulting in the termination of their flights to Sanford. All flights were operated using theirAirbus A330 and servedLondon Gatwick,Manchester andGlasgow International.

In April 2016,Interjet operated flights toMexico City. It later switched operations to the main Orlando airport from May 2018.^[7][8]

In 2017,Thomson Airways (nowTUI Airways) began operating routes to UK airports. This was the largest international airline at the airport having served eight destinations around the UK. However, in November 2019, TUI Airways announced that, from 2022, it would switch their Orlando operations from Sanford toMelbourne Orlando International Airport, including the daily flights to/from those 8 British airports. This will bring their operations nearer toPort Canaveral, whereTUI Cruises will operate from in coming years. The decision has angered many TUI passengers who fly with the company to visit Orlando forWalt Disney World andUniversal Orlando Resort.^[9]

In July 2021, Canadianlow-cost carrierFlair Airlines announced they would launch service between Sanford and five Canadian destinations beginning in winter 2021.^[10]

In 2025, the airport announced it had attracted $300 million in proposed development to expand its services and offerings.^[11]

The airport covers 3,000 acres (1,214 ha) and has four runways:^[1][12]

• Runway 9L/27R: 11,002 x 150 ft. (3,353 x 46 m), asphalt
• Runway 9C/27C: 3,578 x 75 ft. (1,091 x 23 m), asphalt
• Runway 9R/27L: 5,839 x 75 ft. (1,780 x 23 m), asphalt
• Runway 18/36: 6,002 x 150 ft. (1,829 x 46 m), asphalt/concrete

The dominant runway is 9L/27R. This was built from the naval air station's original Runway 9/27, which was 8,000 ft (2,400 m) x 200 ft (61 m) with overruns of 2,145 ft (654 m) and 1,985 ft (605 m). A project to extended runway 9L/27R by 1,400 ft (430 m) to 11,000 ft (3,400 m) was completed on April 1, 2013. Parallel Runways 9C/27C and 9R/27L were built later, the former on a previous taxiway and the latter all-new, for small aircraft. The airport also has Runway 18/36, another Navy runway, for rare northerly fronts in the winter, but this 6000-ft runway is rarely used by airliners.

In 2024, the airport secured a $13 million loan to improve on key infrastructure projects to enhance operations. Plans include an extension to runway 9L/27R as well as a rehabilitation of the terminal ramp, with both planned for completion in late 2026. The plan also includes expansions to car parking lots, which would see 1,000 additional spaces.^[13]

On December 31, 2019, there were 326 aircraft based at this airport: 221 single-engine and 53 multi-engineairplanes, 48jet, and 4helicopters.^[1]

The airport is home toAcron Aviation Academy, formerly variously known as L3Harris Airline Academy (owned byL3Harris, formerlyL3 Technologies), Aerosim Flight Academy, and Delta Connection Academy (owned byDelta Air Lines). It providesab initio flight training for prospective airline pilots. TheSeminole County Sheriff's Office has a hangar and support facility for aviation elements of the agency's Special Operations Division.

Destinations map

Appleton Orlando/Sanford Portsmouth Allentown Syracuse Harrisburg Cincinnati Belleville/ St Louis Clarksburg Pittsburgh Dayton Flint Huntington Fort Wayne Lexington Newburgh Louisville Kansas City Niagara Falls Plattsburgh Albany Indianapolis Columbus-Rickenbacker Hagerstown Roanoke Owensboro Bloomington-Normal Cedar Rapids/ Iowa City Concord Chattanooga Chicago/ Rockford Des Moines Evansville Elmira Fargo Fayetteville/ Bentonville Grand Forks Grand Rapids Greenville/ Spartanburg Knoxville Memphis Norfolk Oklahoma City Omaha Peoria Richmond San Antonio Sioux Falls South Bend Bangor Toledo Traverse City Blountville Akron/Canton Tulsa Bangor Bismarck Minot El Paso McAllen Moline Shreveport Nashville Wichita Springfield/Branson Key West Asheville Little Rock Rapid City Provo Columbia Atlantic City Huntsville class=notpageimage| Destinations from Orlando Sanford International Airport Red = Year-round destination Green = Seasonal destination Blue = Future destination Pink = Destination being terminated

Busiest domestic routes from SFB (July 2024 – June 2025)^[20]

Rank	City	Passengers	Carriers
1	Allentown, Pennsylvania	103,480	Allegiant
2	Knoxville, Tennessee	93,750	Allegiant
3	Asheville, North Carolina	643,710	Allegiant
4	Grand Rapids, Michigan	62,700	Allegiant
5	Cincinnati, Ohio	50,240	Allegiant
6	Flint, Michigan	48,700	Allegiant
7	Harrisburg, Pennsylvania	41,720	Allegiant
8	Appleton, Wisconsin	37,600	Allegiant
9	Bangor, Maine	35,610	Allegiant
10	Indianapolis, Indiana	33,950	Allegiant

• On March 29, 2007, Allegiant Air Flight 758, aMcDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft that took off fromPease International Airport inPortsmouth, New Hampshire, experienced a hydraulic failure that prevented the noselanding gear from deploying. The plane made a safe landing at Orlando Sanford International Airport, with only one minor injury sustained in the aircraft evacuation.^[21][22][23]
• On July 10, 2007, aCessna 310, originating fromDaytona Beach International Airport, Florida, en route toLakeland Linder International Airport, Florida, crashed into two homes in Sanford, Florida, killing five people: the pilot, his passenger, and three people inside the houses. The pilot reported smoke in the cockpit and attempted an emergency landing at nearby Orlando Sanford International Airport. NASCAR said the pilot of the plane was Michael Klemm, a senior captain with NASCAR Aviation. His passenger was Dr. Bruce Kennedy, husband of International Speedway Corporation president Lesa France Kennedy, herself the daughter of the longtime head of NASCAR Bill France, Jr., who had died a month earlier in June 2007.^[24][25] They were the only two people on the plane, according to both NASCAR and the NTSB. Four people also were injured, three of whom were critically burned, authorities said.^[26] TheNTSB factual report dated December 2007 indicates that the accident was caused by an electrical malfunction, including smoke in the cockpit, that occurred on the previous flight and that was not rectified prior to the accident flight, resulting in the subsequent fire. The accident pilot was informed about the known problem prior to flight but elected to fly the aircraft regardless.^[26]
• On March 30, 2018, aCessna 650 Citation III (N126MT) of 2M LeasingLLC experienced a hydraulic issue en route to Sanford fromMacon, Georgia. The aircraft circled the airport for 1 hour and 5 minutes, and the crew lost directional control upon landing. The Citation collided with two parked aircraft and took substantial damage; there were no fatalities.^[27]
• On March 14, 2019, a Cessna 650 Citation III (N220CM) of RP Sales and Leasing Inc. took substantial damage while taxiing after landing at Sanford fromCharleston, West Virginia. The pilot took an alternate taxiway due to other aircraft being present, and was driven onto grass due to a miscommunication between the pilot and co-pilot, causing the nosewheel to strike concrete. The aircraft was written off.^[28]

Media related toOrlando Sanford International Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Orlando Sanford International Airport
• FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective October 2, 2025
• FAA Terminal Procedures for SFB, effective October 2, 2025
• Resources for this airport:
  • FAAairport information for SFB
  • AirNavairport information for KSFB
  • ASNaccident history for SFB
  • FlightAwareairport information andlive flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS weather observations:current,past three days
  • SkyVectoraeronautical chart,Terminal Procedures

• Airports in Florida
• Airports established in 1942
• Transportation in Orlando, Florida
• Transportation buildings and structures in Seminole County, Florida
• Sanford, Florida
• 1942 establishments in Florida

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