Orlando International Airport

See also: McCoy Air Force Base

The airfield was originally constructed as a U.S. Army Air Forces facility and military operations began in 1942 as Orlando Army Air Field #2, an auxiliary airfield to Orlando Army Air Base, now known as Orlando Executive Airport. Orlando Army Air Field #2 was renamed Pinecastle Army Airfield in January 1943. At the end of World War II, Pinecastle was briefly used for unpowered glide tests of the Bell X-1 from B-29 aircraft before the program moved to Muroc Army Airfield in California– now Edwards AFB – for the world's first supersonic flight. With the establishment of an independent U.S. Air Force in 1947, the airfield was briefly placed in caretaker status, until being reactivated during the Korean War as a Strategic Air Command (SAC) facility for B-47 Stratojets and KC-97 Stratofreighters and renamed Pinecastle AFB.

In the 1950s, the base began hosting SAC's annual Bombing and Navigation Competition. A B-47 Stratojet crashed during the 1958 competition, killing Colonel Michael Norman Wright McCoy, commander of the 321st Bombardment Wing, which was the host wing for Pinecastle AFB. The following year the base was renamed for McCoy. The base later was home to the 306th Bombardment Wing operating the B-52 Stratofortress and the KC-135 Stratotanker. It was also used by EC-121 Warning Star early warning aircraft of the 966th Airborne Early Warning and Control Squadron, a tenant unit at McCoy assigned to the Aerospace Defense Command.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, McCoy AFB became a temporary forward operating base for more than 120 F-100 Super Sabre and F-105 Thunderchief fighter bombers and the primary base for U-2 reconnaissance aircraft flying over Cuba. One of these U-2s was shot down by Soviet-operated SA-2 Guideline surface-to-air missiles near Banes, Cuba. Its pilot, Major Rudolf Anderson, Jr., USAF, was the crisis' only combat death. Following the crisis, McCoy AFB hosted a permanent U-2 operating detachment of the 100th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing until 1973.

McCoy AFB was identified for closure in early 1973 as part of a post-Vietnam reduction in force. The following year, McCoy's 306th Bombardment Wing was inactivated, its B-52D Stratofortress and KC-135A Stratotanker aircraft reassigned to other SAC units and most of the McCoy AFB facility turned over to the city of Orlando by the General Services Administration (GSA) in late 1974 and early and mid 1975. USAF responsibility for the airfield's air traffic control tower was turned over to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the airport established its own crash, fire and rescue department, initially utilizing equipment transferred by the GSA.

In the early 1960s, when jet airline flights came to Orlando, the installation became a joint civil-military facility.

Early jetliners such as the Boeing 707, Boeing 720, Douglas DC-8 and Convair 880 required longer and sturdier runways than the ones at Herndon Airport (now Orlando Executive Airport). Nearby lakes and commercial and residential development made expansion impractical, so an agreement was reached between the City of Orlando and the United States Air Force in 1962 to use McCoy AFB under a joint arrangement. The military offered a large AGM-28 Hound Dog missile maintenance hangar and its associated flight line ramp area in the northeast corner of the field for conversion into a civil air terminal. The city would then cover the cost of building a replacement missile maintenance hangar on the main base's western flight line. The new civil facility would be known as the Orlando Jetport at McCoy and would operate alongside McCoy AFB. This agreement became a model for other joint civil-military airports in operation today.[7][8]

Airline flights to the Orlando Jetport began shortly after an agreement was signed by the city and USAF in October 1961.[9] Over the next few years airline flights shifted from the old Herndon Airport (renamed in 1982 as the Orlando Executive Airport (IATA: ORL, ICAO: KORL, FAA LID: ORL)). In 1971 scheduled airlines were Delta Air Lines, Eastern Air Lines, National Airlines and Southern Airways.

When McCoy AFB closed in 1975, part of the facility stayed under military control to support Naval Training Center Orlando and several tenant commands.

There are only a few enclaves on the original McCoy AFB site that the military still uses such as the 164th Air Defense Artillery Brigade from the Florida Army National Guard in the former McCoy AFB Officers Club complex, an Army Reserve intelligence unit in the former SAC Alert Facility, the 1st Lieutenant David R. Wilson Armed Forces Reserve Center supporting multiple units of the Army Reserve, Navy Reserve and Marine Corps Reserve that was constructed in 2002, and a large Navy Exchange for active, reserve and retired military personnel and their dependents.

Two Delta Air Lines Boeing 757-200s parked at MCO

Orlando International Airport
Parking Garage A Airside 1 (Gates 1–29) Airside 2 (Gates 100–129) Airside 3 (Gates 30–59) Airside 4 (Gates 70–99) Parking Garage B Virgin Trains USA to Miami (planned) Parking Garage C Intermodal Terminal Virgin Trains USA to Tampa via Meadow Woods (proposed)

In 1975, the final Air Force contingent departed McCoy AFB and the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) was established as a state-chartered local governmental agency and an enterprise fund of the city of Orlando. GOAA's mission was to operate, manage and oversee construction of expansions and improvements to both the Orlando International Airport and the Orlando Executive Airport. The airport gained its current name and international airport status a year later in 1976, but retained its old IATA airport code MCO and ICAO airport code KMCO.

The airport became a U.S. Customs Service Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) in 1978, said zone being designated as FTZ #42. In 1979, the facility was also designated as a large hub airport by the FAA based on flight operations and passenger traffic.

In 1978, construction of the current Landside Terminal and Airsides 1 and 3 began, opening in 1981. In 1983 a small chapel was opened memorializing Michael Galvin who died during the construction of the airport's expansion.[10] The original International Concourse was housed in Airside 1 and opened in 1984. Funding to commence developing the east side of the airport was bonded in 1986, with Runway 17/35 (now 17R/35L) completed in 1989. Airside 4 opened in 1990 and also contains an International Concourse for the processing of international flights. Airside 2, which filled out what will become known as the North Terminal complex, was completed in 2000, with the last additional gates added in 2006. Runway 17L/35R was opened in 2003, providing the airport with a total of four runways.

In 1978, the airport handled 5 million passengers. By 2018, that number had risen to 47 million.[11] Today it covers 51 square kilometers (19.7 sq mi) and is the fifth-largest airport in the United States by land area after Denver International Airport which covers 136 square kilometers (52.4 sq mi), Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport which covers 70 square kilometers (26.9 sq mi), Southwest Florida International Airport which covers 55 square kilometers (21.2 sq mi), and Washington Dulles International Airport which covers 53 square kilometers (20.3 sq mi). MCO has North America's fourth tallest control tower at 345 feet, replacing two earlier Air Force and FAA control towers.

Orlando was a designated Space Shuttle emergency landing site. The west-side runways, Runway 18L/36R and Runway 18R/36L, were designed for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and due to their proximity to NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center, were an obvious choice for an emergency landing should an emergency return to launch site (RTLS) attempt to land at KSC have fallen short. The runway was also an emergency divert site for NASA's Boeing 747 Shuttle Transport Aircraft when relocating orbiters from either west coast modification work or divert recoveries at Edwards AFB, California or the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.[12]

Eastern Air Lines used Orlando as a hub during the 1970s and early 1980s, and became "the official airline of Walt Disney World." Following Eastern's demise, Delta Air Lines assumed this role, although it later pulled much of its large aircraft hub operations from Orlando, and focused its service there on regional jet flights, specifically with Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Comair and Chautauqua Airlines – all part of the Delta Connection system. All Delta Connection service ended September 30, 2008. After the merger with Northwest Airlines, Delta Connection service to Grand Rapids started. Delta Connection service to Raleigh/Durham also started and service to Miami began on March 27, 2011, but service to Miami has since ended. In recent years, Delta Air Lines has increased its service at Orlando to many places around the U.S., as well as seasonal service to Cancun, Mexico.

On February 22, 2005, the airport became the first airport in Florida to accept E-Pass and SunPass toll transponders as a form of payment for parking. The system allows drivers to enter and exit a parking garage without pulling a ticket or stopping to pay the parking fee. The two toll roads that serve the airport, SR 528 (Beachline Expressway) and SR 417 (Central Florida GreeneWay), use these systems for automatic toll collection.

In October 2006, a 100-space Cell Phone Parking Lot for drivers to use while waiting for passengers to arrive was opened. The lot is set up as a free Wi-Fi Hotspot, enabling drivers to use their mobile devices to access the Internet, check e-mail, and monitor flight status. Around the same time an Express Pickup service at each terminal allowing drivers to park their vehicles temporarily at a secure location just outside the baggage reclaim area in order to meet their arriving party in person was opened. A fee is charged for this service and is only available to E-Pass and SunPass users.

The original terminal building, a converted hangar, was described as inadequate for the task at hand even when it was first opened as Orlando Jetport. After its closure in 1981, it passed through several tenants, the last of which was UPS. It was demolished in May 2006.[13]

On February 1, 2010, Allegiant Air began operations at the airport. The company moved one half of its Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB) schedule to Orlando to test revenue at the higher cost airport. After evaluating the routes out of Orlando, the carrier decided to consolidate and return its Orlando area operations to Sanford citing an inability to achieve a fare premium at Orlando as anticipated, passenger preference for Orlando Sanford International Airport, higher costs at Orlando than expected and a more efficient operating environment at Sanford.[14]

By the end of 2015, the airport handled 38.8 million passengers, surpassing its previous record of 36.4 million in 2007. In 2017, the airport reached 44.6 million passengers, surpassing Miami International Airport to be become the busiest airport in the state of Florida.[15]

On May 18, 2016, the airport launched its own radio station, FlyMCO 105.1 HD2, an FM HD Radio subchannel of WOMX-FM.[16] With the goal of "keeping passengers informed, entertained and aware" FlyMCO 105.1 HD2 provides quick access to up-to-date airport information, local weather, and adult contemporary / top-40 pop music. The radio station can be heard across 11 Central Florida counties (Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Volusia, Brevard, Lake, Marion, Flagler, Polk, Sumter and Putnam), and through WOMX's owner Entercom, is streamable via the Radio.com website/app outside of central Florida.[17]

Terminal A consists of the northern half of the main terminal, with tramway systems to Airside 1 and Airside 2. Airlines operating check-in and baggage facilities within Terminal A generally operate out of Airside 1 and Airside 2, but that is not always the case.

• Gates 1–29
• Secondary International Arrivals Concourse
• Part of original terminal, opened in 1981
• Airlines operating scheduled flights from Airside 1: Aeroméxico, Avianca, Azul, Copa Airlines, Frontier, JetBlue, Silver Airways
• Charter airlines operating from Airside 1: Magnicharters, XTRA Airways, World Atlantic Airways
• Gates 20, 22-28 are capable of handling international arrivals.
• The Club at MCO

• Gates 100–129
• Airlines operating scheduled flights from Airside 2: Alaska Airlines and Southwest[21]

United Airlines at Gate 41 getting ready to depart to Newark Liberty International Airport

Terminal B consists of the southern half of the main terminal, with tramway systems to Airside 3 and Airside 4. Airlines operating check-in and baggage facilities within Terminal B generally operate out of Airside 3 and Airside 4, but that is not always the case. Airside 4 also houses the primary international arrivals concourse used by many European airlines.

• Gates 30–59
• American Airlines Admirals Club
• United Airlines United Club
• Part of original terminal, opened in 1981
• Airlines operating scheduled flights from Airside 3: American, Spirit and United[21]

• Gates 70–99
• Primary International Arrivals Concourse
• The Club at MCO
• Delta Air Lines Sky Club
• Airlines operating scheduled flights from Airside 4: Aer Lingus, Air Canada, Air Canada Rouge, Air Transat, Bahamasair, British Airways, Caribbean Airlines, Delta, Edelweiss, Emirates, Icelandair, LATAM, Lufthansa, Norwegian Long Haul, Sun Country, Sunwing Airlines, Swoop, Virgin Atlantic, Volaris and WestJet
• Gates 80-87 are capable of handling international arrivals, and gates 92, 94, and 96 are nearing completion to be used as "swing" gates. Gate 90 was updated in the summer of 2018 to be able to handle the Airbus A380, having two airbridges for the lower deck (gates 90A and 90B), and one airbridge for the upper deck (gate 90C). This is despite the lack of a regular A380 operator as of March 2020[22]

Delta Air Lines was the first airline with jet flights, with DC-8 'fanjet' 'Royal Service' flights.

Eastern Airlines 'the wings of man', became the first 'official' airline of the Walt Disney World Resort, and sponsored an attraction in their 'Tomorrowland' called: 'If You Had Wings'. Later when Eastern closed Delta took the attraction over, it was called Dream Flight.

In the early 1970s Delta, National, and Eastern Airlines began 'widebody' flights to MCO, National with the DC-10-10 and −30 and Delta and Eastern Airlines with the L-1011. Eastern had wide-body, intrastate service with L-1011 flights to Miami.

Lufthansa's and Virgin Atlantic's Boeing 747-400 are currently the largest airliners at the airport. Virgin Atlantic has multiple daily flights from the UK, including London Gatwick, Manchester, Glasgow, and Belfast, along with Lufthansa's one daily flight to Frankfurt am Main in Germany. During peak seasons, up to five Virgin Boeing 747s may be at Orlando's gates at once. British Airways competes with Virgin to London Gatwick with up to ten Boeing 777s a week.[23]

The inaugural Emirates flight at Gate 84, operated with an Airbus A380 aircraft (this was one-time as the flight is operated by a Boeing 777-300ER)

In March 2015, Emirates announced that they would begin daily service to the airport from Dubai International Airport beginning September 1, 2015.[24] The airport had tried to attract Emirates for five years before the service was announced.[25][26] Orlando International was the first airport in Florida served by Emirates. The airline expects three major markets for the flights: leisure and corporate travelers along with locals of Asian heritage traveling to Asia, which is well-served by the airline.[27] Greater Orlando Aviation Association Chair Frank Kruppenbacher called the new service "without question the biggest, most significant move forward for our airport"[26] and estimates that the local economic impact of the new service will be up to $100 million annually.[28] The inaugural flight was made with an Airbus A380. Regularly scheduled flights operate with Boeing 777-300ERs.[29][30]

British Airways utilizes one of their Boeing 747 aircraft to transport ill/disabled children to visit Orlando to go to Walt Disney World under the moniker "Dreamflight", which occurs annually.

On September 23, 2019, Thomas Cook Airlines operated their final three flights into Orlando.

Following the collapse of Thomas Cook Airlines, Hi Fly operated their Airbus A380 to rescue some passengers.

On December 5 and 10, 2019, Air France operated a Boeing 777 to Orlando.

On January 19 and 24, 2020, Qantas operated their Airbus A380 to Orlando as a charter service from Sydney via Los Angeles for winners of a sweepstakes by Woolworths Supermarkets[31]

Two state of the art car rental facilities were recently completed on both the north side Terminal A and south side Terminal B. Select car rental agencies currently operate on-site car rental pickup on the ground level of the main parking garages. The new facilities have relocated the car rental pickup process to the new facilities and have allowed additional space for off-site agencies to relocate to the on-site airport facilities.

The South Airport Intermodal Terminal is currently under construction approximately one mile due south of the main airport terminal. The new station, which is partially being funded by the Florida Department of Transportation, will serve as the Orlando station for the Virgin Trains USA higher speed regional rail service to South Florida,[32] possibly Sunrail, and a link to International Drive. The station, which will be connected to the main terminal via an automated people mover (APM) system, is mostly reusing plans from the original Florida High Speed Rail Orlando Airport station, which would have been northern terminus of the initial Orlando-Tampa route along the Interstate 4 corridor, a project that was killed. As part of the estimated $684 million price tag for the intermodal terminal complex,[32] the airport authority is building a new 2,500 space parking garage.

A future connection to the SunRail commuter rail service is also being explored. The route to the current SunRail line would travel along a Orlando Utilities Commission rail spur, before either branching off to the intermodal station, or have an intermediate transfer point on to light rail to complete the journey to this station.[33][34] Multiple options are being considered for the link to I-Drive, either an elevated maglev train system built by American Maglev Technology, connecting the airport to the Orange County Convention Center, the Florida Mall, and the Sand Lake Road SunRail station,[35][36] or a light rail link running along a similar route as the maglev alternative between the airport and International Drive.[37]

Proposed design for the South Terminal

In May 2015, the Board of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) voted unanimously to approve construction of the $1.8 billion South Terminal Complex (STC), which will be located directly south of the existing terminal.[38] The STC will be built adjacent to the South Airport Intermodal Terminal, which was completed in early 2018, and both will be connected to the existing terminal via a new Automated People Mover (APM).[39] Phase I (which will be known as "Terminal C") will encompass approximately 300 acres (120 ha) and will include new aircraft taxiways and aprons, a 2.7-million-square-foot (250,000 m²) terminal building with 16-24 gates, and a 6-story 5,000 space parking garage. Construction of the STC began in 2017, and it is expected to be operational by 2021.[40]

In June 2018 GOAA approved the expansion of Phase 1, known as Phase 1X, which will add another six gates to the South. The construction firms building the new South Terminal are Hensel Phelps (airside), and Turner-Kiewit Joint Venture (landside). Vanderlande Industries will be providing the new high-tech ICS haggage handling system.

^a Flights from Brasilia to Orlando have a stopover in Punta Cana for refueling due to the Boeing 737 MAX groundings. However, GOL does not carry local traffic between Punta Cana and Orlando. This flight is flown by an Boeing 737-800.