Orlando International Airport
The Orlando International Airport was once the base for the American Air Force. It began in 1928 as the Orlando Municipal Airport with flights being serviced by PanAm. In 1940 the airport was renamed to the Orlando Air Base, after which the airport was returned to the control of Orlando City in 1946, with the building of the airport terminal in 1951. The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority was created in 1975, with greater support from the city to facilitate the airport. The airport was renamed in 1978 to the Orlando International Airport. In the following years, the Orlando Airport built another terminal, established the Orlando Tradeport and saw the first international flight take off in 1984. Within twenty years of establishing the airport, the once deserted site started building confidence in passengers, until it was seeing approximately 30 000 000 passengers per year.
As the Orlando International Airport is situated in Florida, traffic was increased by the flock of tourists to the Walt Disney World that had become a popular attraction for visitors from across the world. The pressure started to mount as aircraft started lining up for access to the airport. By the 1980s passenger numbers had grown and the international and business traffic increased dramatically. It was this boom in air and passenger traffic that led to the construction of a third runway to accommodate the incoming and outgoing flights. Passenger traffic had shot to over twenty million by 1992 and was still increasing. The Orlando International Airport had to remain up to speed with development programs and new initiatives. Nursery stock, flowers and plants had become lucrative industry in Florida and the Orlando Airport was called upon to ensure the safe export of these items, and therefore developed a Department of Agriculture at the airport to inspect this precious cargo and keep operations running smoothly.
The Orlando International Airport also has sufficient parking available, convenient transport systems to and from the airport that includes shuttles, taxis and buses. The parking area caters for valet parking, satellite and garage parking, an Express Pick-up zone and Cell Phone Lot. Car Rental is also available at the airport, with snack bars, coffee bars, pizza parlors, fast food outlets, pet stores, jewelry shops, bars, health shops, gift shops and restaurants available within the airport building.