Orlando Sanford Int'l Airport Review

Poorly lit entrance and signs upon driving into airport. .Once one has entered inside of the airport, there is no signage when looking for Gates 1-5. After you have walked down a couple of long hallways, only to find when asking that there is a general seating area for those gates. The attendants sitting at that desk should potentially be standing at the double door entrance informing and directing passengers of this general seating area for those gates. Several passengers continue to walk back and forth looking for these gates.
We travel all around the nation to several different airports, and this is probably the least passenger friendly.

This is a really nice airport easy to get through but their employees are super rude. I ve read it more than once in these reviews. I am a smoker and there is a smoking area located at this airport. I am following the signs and there is an elevator and RIGHT NEXT TO IT it says outside smoking with an arrow pointing up so most normal people would assume that you have to go up the elevator to find this area. There was an airport employee getting on the elevator going up so like a normal person trying to catch an elevator I speed up and I go to throw my arm in the elevator and she got WAY TOO super close to me for my comfort and blocks the doorway and yells at me NO NO NO NO NO YOU CANT GO IN HERE and I said I just want to go smoke ??? And she was very rude in the way she was talking to me If you want to smoke you can go to the outside smoking area. That s all I was trying to do! It may have been an employee only elevator and that was my mistake but I feel like there was a better way to handle that situation rather than yelling in someone s face. She could have said sorry this is an employee elevator only and pointed me in the right direction.

Parking, checking in, and getting through security was a breeze. Our gate was a long walk through a corridor. Once I was at the gate it was confusing since gates 1-5 all boarded through the same door. Lots of space to sit but the restaurants were not open. The other terminal only has two places to choose from for food. I like coming here to fly but the food options are not good.

My mom and daughters fly from Orlando to the Tri Cities. They love it and so do I. Smaller airport, so there's not as many people and my mom doesn't get confused on where to go. I drop them off and pick them up with ease. Plus the baggage claim is right there, no running all over the place to pick them up the pick their baggage up.

First of all, there is a wrong system that they have here at the airport. I had to buy a boarding ticket for $5 instead of downloading the free app. Next the security line was extremely small and a little cramped. Next, all the stores and restaurants are closed on a Saturday at 11 am. Kinda dumb. The last part was when I looked at my ticket, it told me a gate #, but that wasn t the right number. The correct number was on the tv screen, which are tiny. No one works here apparently except a couple of airline attendants and many security (boarder cops guys) members. I would really pay the extra money for a better airline that will give you FREE boarding passes and a clean environment with open stores. Super depressing. I gave it two stars instead of one was because it had good music playing in the background.

TSA pre is agonizingly slow at this airport. There is only 1 line and many customers appear to be inexperienced fliers struggling with mobile boarding apps. Before the airport renovations TSA process was a breeze.

Very rude employees at the gate. Screaming to passengers, I have never seen that before... airport looks very old and the security line is one line... one line??? Haha European airfields are 1000times better. Employees can learn something from it!

Worst seats I've ever seen in an airport. Everytime someone wiggles or sit down it, it feels like you've been kicked hard in the back. Please upgrade your seats! Only pro is they have some sweet facuets the bathroom.

Minus the allegiant front desk personnel, everyone at this airport is friendly. Overall a great little airport.

Smaller airport but they get the job done but if you want to get through security faster due to Disney traffic get TSA pre-check + to avoid the line

Absolutely horrible the way they handle strollers. They just throw them and we have an expensive one and now it's dented up. Ridiculous!!

Confusing little place with teribble internet connection.

The lady at priority check-in was extremely rude, not friendly at all. Next security was a nightmare!! I was traveling with my husband and two children, the security officers, again, were rude and kept barking at everyone, next, I was stopped because they thought the baby formula I had in my bag, was some sort of narcotic and dumped the powdered milk in a bucket and threw it away, they made me take off my shoes twice, patted me down like I was a criminal, then the security lady wanted to go through my bag, but because my husband had it she barked at me that she needed it... she went through my personal bag and baby cooler after scanning both through x-ray, then after they couldn t find anything, I had to ask them if they were finished. Extremely rude!!
We travel through this airport several times a year and the employees are always rude! They need better customer service!!

Possibly the most over priced and backward airport in the world. Food allergies not understood, so safe to assume they were not catered for. Duty free has got their calculations wrong, appeared to added tax twice as opposed to taken tax off. On the upside their was a Michelin restaurant...my mistake, that was just the pricing! Leave it as late as possible to check-in for your flight!

Small airport, easy to drop & pick up travelers. There is a Starbucks inside

One of the easiest airports as far as traffic. Very good flow of traffic inside and out. Employees are very helpful and courteous. I've always had good experiences flying in and out of this terminal. I have to say it's my favorite.

There were only few people in the waiting area. The bookstores were selling magazines from April and May .

This is a great airport. Clean, convenient with friendly staff. Renovations make this airport one of the nicest airports in the southeast.

Quick in and out- no waiting to check bags or go through security.

Paid and went through a process to get TSA PreCheck.... but they don't really do PreCheck here, so I stood in line with the rest of them. They didn't make me take my shoes off.... but everything else was the standard "strip" search. Their TSA agents need training and a better system.

If I could give zero stars I would, This place is not accessible, They have removed just about all of the pay telephones making it nearly impossible for someone like me to place a phone call, I have two flights for 2020 and I will NOT be taking them through this airport.

First time visiting from this airport & flew Allegiant, no complaints. This airport is on the smaller side but that makes it easy to find your way around

Airport has rude employees, during screening I had just purchased a Starbucks coffee only took a couple of sips out of it and was told that I could get my drink once it was passed through the screening. Once I was passed screening I come to find my drink in the trash after paying $5 for the drink itself!! I asked to speak with a manager and was left standing there for at least 15 minutes which led me to leave this review!! I will never travel again with Allegiant as long as I m alive! They charge for everything separate and God forbid you miss your flight!!!!

TSA employees are Extremely rude and not helpful at all. Expect us to know everything about their airport. Our family was having a good time laughing together about our trip to Universal. When we got up to scan our boarding pass the man was rude to my boyfriend and I saying to pay attention to the people in front of us. We tried handing him our boarding pass like we have at every other airport I have been to and he said it was it was not that hard. After being tired of him being rude, I smiled and said, "Im glad you think so". He told me I should have been paying attention to how my boyfriend did it in line but mind you I am a little over 5 foot and he is 6 ft. Tall. I couldnt see around him and just needed a little guidance and patience. Also, the lady at he front when I was checking my luggage was so stressful and confusing while getting our tags. Telling us we where doing it wrong. All in all my experience at this airport has been the worst one yet. I give them a little empathy considering it is 9:30 in the morning... however this place needs employees that are going to be kind and helpful to their paying customers.

Parking was easy security was quick to go through terminal layout was nice

Not my favorite airport but it's great in a pinch when I can't find other flights

Always efficient in getting through check-in, security, and on board.

Great! Great! Great! With reasonable prices. Use this Uber code for a discount tj2uwe or for Lyft use Helen57643 and if you're hungry Ubereats use code eats-tj2uwue or eats-helenw3800ue to get $10 off first order.

Poor customer service. Extremely rude and unhelpful. Parts of the ceiling were falling down.

Nice airport for everything BUT photography. You arent gonna get a ton of amazing shots, maybe a few though.

Great airport , far less busy than Orlando international, nice staff , great for arrival and departures , relaxed area and lounges for a final meal and drinks before a flight. Great pick up and very easy drop off points, great car hire collection and delivery area , airport is disabled friendly.

I fly from this airport multiple times a year, I love how small and quaint it is. I never have to do the awful "arrive 2-3 hours before your flight" because it takes 10 minutes to walk through and get to your gate. It's great.

The airport is very nice and clean. My biggest problem is that there's NO off-site parking like most airports!! If you park at the airport, you have a choice of 2 outside lots or the parking garage. The garage is $17 or $18 per day and it's connected to the terminal (most convenient as I'm disabled & can't walk far!) The 1st time we flew Allegiant Air from there, parked in the garage, & when we returned to our vehicle & got to the exit, we owed more than $200 for parking That was more than the cost of one airline ticket!!!! The lots are $1 less depending on how far from the terminal you park. Not sure but the website says there's a shuttle from the lots to the terminal. Someone who has the money could do well to open an off-site parking lot like all those near OIA!!

I arrived at the airport at 6:10 am my plane departed at 7:10 am they would not let me or my husband and my 5 year old son on the plane. We are not from any parts of Florida we are from Memphis, TN so they had no consideration for us everyone was so rude to us and was not giving us any other options they tell us the next flight will be Friday and it was Monday we had our jobs to get back to and they didn't care so we was stuck with no hotel no food or car cause we returned everything. But, now I know thanks for nothing.

Easy to navigate. There is alot of construction right now, but not bad

Security are in a rush when going through the security area. Not clear of instructions.

This is a great little airport. Check in and security check is fast and efficient. The food options are limited but good for a quick meal. You do not get the OIA food option, but you also don't get the OIA nightmares. Win-Win.

They were extremely understaffed and it took over an hour to get pass the TSA checkpoint which resulted in us missing our flight. They were Ill prepared to handle the amount of passengers and unapologetic for any inconvenience they caused us. This will be the last time I fly out of there.

People are confused about what gate they need to be at and are walking back and forth between either side of the terminal

Easily accessible, security moves fast. But this place gets crowded and hot. Needs more food options but I believe they are expanding so hopefully they will add some

We were fortunate enough to have the use of the Royal Palms lounge. The service is excellent. The food menu is as expected in an airport.
It is pleasing to see refurbishment work underway within the departure area.
This work had no impact on the functionality of the airport.
Duty free is not large, however all the usual suspects are there for sale in abundance.
A pleasant time spent in the Royal Palms lounge, relaxing in comfortable chairs, awaiting the long journey home.

Poor signage and like no air conditioning. It was awful

Small airport, but I got a cheap flight of here. Nothing particularly special about this airport, but the TSA is particularly rude here. Not sure if that falls more on the fact that TSA sucks as a whole or if the airport has anything to do them.

Once we got through dealing with TSA, the rest was fine and the trip was smooth. I'd be okay with recommending this airport.

Like most airports, the parking garage gouges you because they know you have to leave your car somewhere.

What a joke of an airport. Me and my wife had an early morning flight to PA and the first experience we had was a terrible one beingwbeing told that we would be charged an additional $50 fine because my wife's suitcase was 4ibs over the 40ib. Which is $10 more than it would have been for us to bring another suitcase. We then are going through the security where we were yelled at to move to a longer line because no one else was going to one of the other lines. On top of this we were yelled at and rudely treated putting our stuff on the belt where my nintendo switch case was damaged by one of the security personnel by pulling it out of my bag and running it through again. Also, they scratched up my sunglasses by tossing them in the bin on top of my backpack and hoodie. I would recommend just paying the extra to fly out of Orlando International if you are able to. Will not be coming back if we don't have to.

It's a very large and overwhelming place but I'm so glad I could get off the plane and go straight to the car pickup area without any delay.

The staff at check in were rude, the staff at security were rude, and the flight attendants were short and sarcastic. Very displeased.

Easy to get in and out if. Very well laid out, small enough that you don't have to walk very far to get to your gate, yet large enough to have many flight options.

Nice little airport. Security was easy and so was parking. Everyone I encountered was nice, friendly and helpful.

Leave extra time allowance for baggage check in, not enough agents to process the line, today

Air show 2020 Sanford. Orlando international Airport.

The flight price is great, then the extra ' s kick in, the Web site needs improvement, when I tried to download my boarding pass, it told me that the server was down, so that cost me another charge.

I would give this 0 stars if i could. This place was once a great small airport with not many flights or people. But now this airport is a madhouse. They are trying to expand the airport but they are doing a terrible job. Bathroom is from the 80 s and the staff is rude as could be. Never coming back. Going back to Orlando international airport.

The slowest airport in the world. You need all the time you can get both coming and going. Departures is terrible. No water fountains. Little choice of restaurants. Very un-American.

Allegiant employees wonderful. Security was absolutely terrible and rude! They were making fun of people and holding personal items in the air making examples out of them . Hollering and treating passengers like prisoners. Horrible and I ve never seen anything like it!

My husband is handicap not very helpful. 1 person sort of helped me.

Everything was very easy to access. The airport wasn't congested with tons of people so it was easy to walk around each time that I came. The staff were very friendly and understanding as well as outgoing. I will definitely be back.

Was about to book premium seats for a return flight and a check in desk handler took the seat off of us despite us being there first

Signage is terrible. You can self check bags for drop but signs make it appear like you can use a separate (much shorter) line to drop bags when in reality, you just wanted tone at the self service bag drop kiosk and still have to go get in one of two long lines for regular check in. Oh and parking... No long term parking options (like you'd find at nearby hotels) beyond the $14/day parking lot at the airport. Super disappointed

Small airport that is actually slower than MCO. Took almost an hour to get through security on a Tuesday. Almost every flight out is delayed regardless of weather.

Easy ride...only issue cell phone wait lot hard to find in the dark..first time here.

like the small airport experience of this airport I always try to get flights from here rather than international airport. People were nice and lines were fast. However, you can't call or talk to anyone if you have questions. I called reservations there times and was on hold for two plus hours every time work no answer. Customer service is big zero!!!

Turns out the TSA is not running their security, but a private contractor group who are
unprofessional, rude and take glee in random searches where rights to your belongings have to suddenly be subverted with no explanation. When I complained about my rights being violated and wanted to know the process, one of the men simply started yelling at me and telling me it was a privilege to fly rather than a right. He had no explanation for why my rights were being subverted and I was surrounded by 5 people, mostly men, going through my belongings acting like I was a criminal. Since when do people become treated like a criminal in this country simply because a random search was triggered. It was also clear that the guy that was doing the test was in training. I don t mind being used for a training exercise, but I mind being treated like a criminal for no reason without being mirandized or any kind of sensitivity to my rights. This was an outrageous, aggrievous use of the system. And they took glee in it rather than saying that it was something to keep us safe. I have been flying for 30 years and have never seen or experienced such an unprofessional behavior. As a woman, usually such searches are also done by other women. Not five other people mostly men. Which also felt threatening. There has been a couple other occasions when a random search happened for me during a flight since 2001, but the TSA people could not have been nicer, more kind and not threatening in anyway.

I just read an article that this airport did not choose to go with private contractors because of cost, they thought it might make a better experience for passengers and nothing could be further from the truth. If you read all the remaining reviews in recent months and the TSA at this airport, know that they are private contractors and I truly hope this group gets fired!

Poor traffic control. People smoking right near exits.

If there was 0 stars this would have it. I had a flight scheduled for 12:21 the plane arivved and hour late. Then we were told to board, but then we were not let on the plane standing in the loading port. The port had cracked windows and the staff didn t look qualified at all and showed verbal bickering between each other. They then waited and told we couldn t boded because of weather. This was at 1:50, we waited and hour before it was cancelled. It is now 3:30 and hasn t dropped a bit of rain, thundered or lightning. I have to return home soon. The air traffic controllers were to busy for our flight. This is the most aggravating experience I have ever had. I then went to buy food and the empolyees would handle the money and then make food withought switching gloves or anything. The a/c vent wast dripping of fluid. Almost everyone who was employed here looked like they had no idea what they were doing whatsoever.

Customer service is beyond impeccable! Of I could give 10 stars I would! Great Job to the Allegiant Team!

Rudest TSA staff ever! Yelling at people. Two employees looked like kids and talked to people like they were idiots. One was scanning items and one was running the precheck scanner. Will never use this airport again. Went through TSA at about 7pm on 7-14-2019.

Crazymad house! Rushing people through like cattle. I will go to daytona if at all possible. Sorry

This was by far the rudest set of people I ve ever encountered in my life. It was a stressful and anything but enjoyable experience. I will never fly here again.