Saturday, July 25, 2015

It should be easy to take SunRail to the airports

It’s actually pretty easy to take SunRail to Orlando International Airport.

You just ride SunRail to its last stop at Sand Lake Road and use your SunRail ticket for a free transfer to Lynx Route 11 for the short trip to MCO.

But what about riding SunRail to the area’s other international airport?

What other airport?

Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB), of course.

Sanford airport
Seems as though you should be able to ride SunRail to the Sanford station and transfer to a Lynx bus to cruise over to the airport. That makes too much sense.

The sad reality is there is no Lynx bus that would take you from the SunRail station to the airport. As a matter of fact, there’s no Lynx bus from anywhere that will take you to Sanford’s airport. That’s awful for both travelers and airport employees.

Mind you, Orlando Sanford International Airport isn’t exactly a tumbledown shack next to a dirt landing strip. Far from it.

Last year more than 2 million passengers flew in and out of SFB. It serves as a major hub for Allegiant Air, which offers non-stop flights from Sanford to more than 50 destinations ranging from Fargo, N.D. to New Orleans.
Sanford airport terminal

There are also 4,000 people who work at the airport and its nearby air commerce park.
About 10 years there was public bus service to the airport, but it was discontinued due to lack of ridership.

Ten years ago, SunRail did not exist. Back in 2005 Allegiant Air just began serving SFB with flights to 4 destinations. Times have changed and our transportation providers need to be nimble to take advantage of new opportunities.

SunRail offers a reliable conduit to the Sanford area. It’s up to Lynx and others, such as the airport and the Central Florida Zoo to figure out how capitalize on that service to boost their bottom line.


Not having public transit available to an airport serving one of the world’s top vacation destinations is ridiculous and sad.

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