JetBlue increases FLL flights after Spirit shutdown

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]for that. Also, developing right now, more places to fly to or come into Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

[00:00:06]>> When Spirit Airlines was shut down earlier this year, it gave flyers fewer options. Local 10's Sela Boehm joins us live at the airport with other airlines adding flights to pick up the slack.

[00:00:14]Sela.

[00:00:17]>> That's right, Janise and Kristi. That will be happening this summer, but it has been exactly a month since Spirit Airlines went out of business, and this is what Terminal 4 looks like here at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. The signs are still up. It is a sea of yellow here, and it's unclear what the county will do with this space and what potential air carriers might occupy it in the near future.

[00:00:46]Terminal termination.

[00:00:48]>> Spirit and what happened basically showed that you can't operate on the margins like that in the airline industry today.

[00:00:55]>> What was once a bustling and busy Spirit Airlines Terminal 4 at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport now sits desolate. Empty kiosks with full service and priority check-in all gone.

[00:01:06]>> This is a very difficult summer and time for all airlines, but especially the situation Spirit was in with minimum fares and rising fuel costs.

[00:01:17]>> We basically flew on Spirit a lot.

[00:01:19]Travelers like Deanna Allen, who was a member of Spirit's Savers Club, has been forced to find another carrier, and she's adjusting to rising airfare costs due to the war with Iran spiking up the price for fuel.

[00:01:30]>> I still won't be able to fly as much because it costs too much.

[00:01:33]>> Airport officials say that since Spirit's shut down, airlines like Allegiant, Avianca, and JetBlue are expanding services, and you can see it.

[00:01:40]What a difference the next terminal over is. A bustling Terminal 3, currently home to JetBlue, is now the airport's leading commercial airline. Their counters are busy, and the air carrier will ramp up operations this summer with the addition of 11 new destinations out of FLL, along with increased frequencies on existing routes. There's also a plan to fly to Caracas, Venezuela at the end of the year. They sent us this statement reading in part, "We are stepping up for a community that has been a part of our story since day one at an important moment, adding service where customers need it, strengthening our relevance across South Florida, and making FLL an even more powerful gateway across the US, Latin America, and the Caribbean."

[00:02:21]Broward County's Mayor Mark Bogen is excited about the JetBlue flight expansion texting me, "I hope to call JetBlue our hometown airline in the near future."

[00:02:32]>> So, more than 40% of flights that fly in and out of FLL are JetBlue flights, and they will be expanding their operations early next month. That is the latest.

[00:02:43]Reporting live out of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Cinella Sabovic, Local 10 News.