Ft. Lauderdale airport question
 

Hi,
How big is the airport?
I want to book a flight from Newark to the Bahamas. There's one stop with a change of plane in Ft. Lauderdale. We have 1/2 hour to do so on the way to Freeport and 40 minutes on the way back.
I'm worried we won't have enough time for the change. Is the airport big and might we have to run from one end all the way to the other..? or is it a small airport?
Anyone done this on a short time change over? Is it feasible?
Thanks.

FLL is a mid-sized airport, nothing like Miami. ou should have no problem making your connection with the 30 or 40 minutes you will have time to spare.

I was recently at the FLL airport. My question would be what airlines are you going from & to??? That might make a difference of whether they are in a different concourse. They are still under some construction, but I believe there are four concourses. Delta practically has it's own concourse.

As long as your plane isn't late and you don't have to go through security, you shouldn't have any problems making the flights.

The airport is absolutely beautiful! They have made some very good changes in the decor and shopping areas.

Here is the link for the map of the FLL airport.

http://www.fll.net/avi01200.htm

This map also gives a list of which airlines are located in each terminal.

I'd say if you had to walk all the way from one side of the airport to the other with minimal baggage and a small child, it would probably take you about 10 minutes just in walking time, depending on the time of day and how many people are standing outside the terminal waiting for cabs, rides, etc. Here's a tip: If you come into Terminal 1, I'd suggest walking through the garage as a shortcut if you have to go to Terminal 4. Also, I understand there might be a trolley to take you around, but it might make loads of stops and hold you up in getting where you need to be.

Most of the people working in the airport are very helpful if you explain where you need to be and how little time you have to get there.

Considering planes start loading approximately 20 minutes before take-off, that doesn't leave much "flex" time in case your flight is late landing, etc. It CAN be done, but you might want to check with the airline and see what they suggest - sometimes they will tell you if they think it's do-able or a bit of a problem. Good luck!

Carib:

To me Ft. Lauderdale's Airport is small compared with the one I deal with (Pittsburgh International) so it should be quite easy as most of the airlines were concentrated in one area.