Miami's Airports Compared: MIA vs Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood vs Palm Beach

South Florida is home to Miami (MIA), Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood (FLL), and Palm Beach (PBI) International Airports. Let's compare their history, statistics, flights, and more.
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About my channel:
Hey, I'm Gavin! I make GeoGuessr and geography videos. Welcome to the channel :) I'm a 22 year old University of Chicago alum aiming to turn content creation and urban planning into my career.
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Media Credits, Sources, and Further Reading:
2022 MIA’s busiest year: news.miami-airport.com/mayor-...
History of Miami International Airport: www.miami-airport.com/history...
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport Early History: www.sun-sentinel.com/2017/03/...
Timeline of FLL History: www.broward.org/Airport/Busin...
Historic FLL Images: golldiecat.tripod.com/fll.html
Merle Fogg history article: janeshistorynook.blogspot.com...
History of Palm Beach International Airport: www.pbia.org/about/history/
Palm Beach Post Article - Facts about PBIA: www.palmbeachpost.com/story/n...
MIA Airline Directory: www.miami-airport.com/airline...
Miami modernization projects: www.miamidade.gov/chambergaze...
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood 5th Terminal approval: www.airport-technology.com/ne...
Various Miami / Airport / Airplane stock videos: Pexels, Videvo, Pixabay, and Mixkit
MIA Terminal: Sharon Hahn Darlin // Wikimedia Commons
FLL welcome sign: www.starmark.com/work/fll-und...
PBI welcome sign: / 1214508111919894
MIA 50 million passengers cake: news.miami-airport.com/mayor-...
South Florida population density: mtgis-portal.geo.census.gov/a...
Miami Airport in 1950s and 1960s: www.miamiherald.com/news/loca...
FLL early history: journals.flvc.org/browardlega...
Merle Fogg: www.iamlasolas.com/merle-fogg-...[3841]/0/
Merle Fogg Field construction in Ft Lauderdale Daily News: www.sun-sentinel.com/2017/03/...
NAS Fort Lauderdale: www.nasflmuseum.com/nasfl-his...
FLL as Broward County International Airport: community.infiniteflight.com/...
FLL 1959 terminal and 1980s aerial shot: golldiecat.tripod.com/fll.html
Palm Beach Air Force Base: military-history.fandom.com/w...
Miami Intermodal Center: / the_miami_intermodal_c...
Dania Beach - Fort Lauderdale Airport station: Phillip Pessar // Wikimedia Commons
West Palm Beach Station: Jhw57 // Wikimedia Commons
MIA Stations image: Potato7268 in our Discord community / discord
MIA American Airlines planes: news.miami-airport.com/americ...
MIA Mover: Sharon Hahn Darlin // Wikimedia Commons
Spirit Airlines at FLL: runwaygirlnetwork.com/2019/03...
FLL Brazil plane image: Carpographer in our Discord community / discord

[@ChicagoGeographer]

I can't wait to continue making videos like this again! Thanks for watching this one and I hope you enjoyed it. Which city's airports should I compare next? Maybe something outside the US?

[@rumilb]

london airports

[@oopsgeo]

Maybe Tokyo?

[@ChicagoGeographer]

@@rumilb if only there weren't like 10,000 London airports hahaha I would. Best I can do (for now) is recommend that everyone watch Jay Foreman's video about them kzbin.info/www/bejne/d5Okkp9tn66Kh5Y

[@Norton-]

Stockholm would be timely! They have 4 with commercial service.

[@Norton-]

also Gwangju would be on-brand

[@Norton-]

As a kid from Indiana in the 1980s it was mindblowing the first time we flew down to Florida and arrived at MIA. It was the first time I was in a place where people were speaking a foreign language in public and 9-year-old me was awestruck. (now I fly like 100 times a year lol)

[@jamisonr]

Random fact, but in 1999 into 2000, I drove a limo in the Miami area and visited all three airports regularly. FLL was nice being right off 595 and near the ports, but it was always under construction.

[@CrystalClearWith8BE]

Finally, another airport comparison since the Bay Area. Also, what's interesting is that all those 3 major commercial airports in Metro Miami are not in the city limits of the county seat but are in the unincorporated area of the county bordering the county seat.

[@gil1989ify]

MIA, for instance, is west of Miami city limits. FLL is just south of Fort Lauderdale city limits.

[@Crickeyy]

Fun Fact: PBI is currently undergoing a major overhaul, which will introduce a new runway where the GA runway exists currently which will be used by commercial aircraft. The diagonal runway (32/14) will be demolished and in place a big GA parking apron/area. And there will be a 3rd large terminal to the right of concourse C.

[@heatherdemar]

Nice video! We are blessed here to have so many airports within a short distance of each other! We live in Port Saint Lucie so to the north we have Orlando international (MCO) and Sanford too far from us as.

[@Acc0rd79]

Lived in Hollywood as a kid in the 80s, my dad had a part time job behind the airport there on some nights and I'd go with him. I always loved driving down 95 and having the big jets fly overhead. I said One day I will fly planes which I finally did a few decades later! I've actually landed a small plane at Palm beach on that short runway! There are tons of small planes based there doing touch and goes. Loved living in South FL in the 80s but I sure wouldn't live there now, we left in 88 and moved to North FL.

[@AllanJTaylor]

I freaking LOVE airports. Hell yeah.

[@alk61695]

I'd have to say FLL. Less chaotic than MIA. Also I frequently travel to the city of Fort Lauderdale so that is my go to area airport as it is most convenient.

[@Jo30307]

hell yeah! a combination of my two fav subjects. Aviation and Geography! I would love to see this become a full blown monthly/weekly series :)

[@GeoAlaska]

Glad to see this style of video from you again! Long overdue!

[@ninaeleonore]

very happy to see these videos back!

[@sfg3x]

I grew up in West Palm about one and a half miles due east of PBI. My memories are of our windows rattling like crazy every time a jet would fly over.😅

[@craigj2966]

I like the look of the new intro and I'm glad to see you are getting back to this kind of informational content.

[@oopsgeo]

love these videos! great to see them back

[@Lee247Jamaica]

I've been waiting on these for so long

[@potato7268]

been looking forward to this video!! i’ve only been to MIA out of the 3 so i don’t know how the others hold up. from the one time i was departing from MIA, i thought that getting to and going through security wasn’t very smooth though the unpleasantness of the experience was probably exacerbated by how busy it was. however, i loved the view of the beach and the city flying into and out of MIA. thanks for the video, loved the editing!

[@jaredgott1804]

Great vid CG. PBI was my home airport for a bit. Super small and very convenient for those who live close by.

[@lexiiemaae]

Love these videos!

[@Guessther]

that was fun! the picture at 2:17 immediately transported me back to the movie Catch Me If You Can 😆

[@DoiInthanon1897]

Your voice is perfect for these types of videos, great to see them return :)

[@dannyu3526]

Great informational video. Very different from the normal Geoguesser videos. Have you considered doing things like train stations as well? That would be fun.

[@gwendyp125]

Very cool and informative video. What about a comparison between the busiest airport of all time and the most inactive one. Or the most remote vs the most accessible one. Or the largest vs the tiniest.

[@rappcu]

You could add commentary about the Brightline train that has shuttles to all three airports and runs trains up to Orlando (and Tampa in the future)

[@whotyjones]

One thing that I think would really add to these comparison videos is to talk about travel times via the transit options listed. How long does it take to get to and from the airport to the city center (maybe even what the cost is).

[@andyjay729]

MIA was where I left for my first trip out of the country, to the Cayman Islands. I was 8 years old, and this was 1990, and I have memories of seeing Pan Am planes (little did I know they would disappear just a year later) as well as the Concorde.

[@vrgnofephrata]

Would love to see a video maybe on the 3 Tampa Bay airports...(TPA, PIE, SRQ)

[@coffeeguyd]

I think you meant to say Tri-Rail instead of Tri-Link, but this was a really cool dive into the South Florida air travel system!

[@jaspinko]

✈ Yay, another airport video! I've only been to PBI out of these three, and I was like 5 years old so I really couldn't tell you what it was like other than... beige? 😅

[@links212]

you left out Kazakhstan

[@FrankGevaerts]

When you said you were going to talk about Key stats, I was hoping you'd go over flights to the Florida Keys! Looks like further away places take all the glory 😁

[@exoressdelivers70]

I fly into FLL when I visit Miami. It's less congested than MIA and easier to get around inside the terminal. The MIA passenger mover hasn't worked in months, so you have to walk nearly half a mile to get between gates depending on where your gates are when transferring flights.

[@toddhoward1111]

Palm Beach is my "home" airport (and favorite of the three) I have flown at all 3 of these airports, so this was interesting. I'm going to watch the NYC airports video now. Also, random fact, but Ubers from West Palm airport to Downtown WPB or Palm Beach Island are pretty reasonable.

[@thatfloridian5719]

I live in south dade county and always fly out of FLL it’s just less crazy and much easier for where I need to go

[@switch_lp1386]

Can you please do one for the Los Angeles area?

[@ReidsAviation]

we are going to need to see a comparison of london airports

[@shitpostWJ]

Suggestions for airports you could compare: 1. Houston (IAH and HOU) 2. Tokyo (HND and NRT) 3. Beijing (PEK and PKX) 4. Hampton Roads (ORF and PHF) 5. Columbus (CMH and LCK) 6. Los Angeles (LAX, SNA, BUR, and LGB) 7. Toronto/Hamilton (YYZ and YHM) 8. London (LHR, LGW, STN, LTN, LCY, and SEN) [Not all of them, 2 or 3] 9. Paris (CDG and ORY) 10. Moscow (SVO, DME, VKO, and ZIA) 11. Stockholm (ARN, NYO, BMA, and VST) 12. Sao Paulo (GRU and VCP) 13. Tampa (SRQ, PIE, and TPA) 14. Dubai (DXB and DWC) 15. Buffalo (BUF and IAG)

[@nathanjw940]

Live in the west Palm Beach. PBI is very fast and convenient but very expensive like 10x the I have booked a $40 domestic flight out of FLL and it would be 3-400. FLL is super cheap for a domestic getaway and Miami is for international flights for the most part.

[@SIX_GAMES001]

I Have Been to all 3 Airports

[@Presbuildscities]

Same my favorite is fort Lauderdale

[@brobb00]

MIA is usually where my family and I fly out of because it's closer to me, but FLL is a better, easier airport to deal with. It's so cool having two major airports within an hour of me that have direct flights to so many different places around the world (especially MIA). Being from South Dade, I've never really had a reason to fly into or out of PBI though. MIA is also about to have a new soccer stadium (where Messi will play) built right next to it.

[@swift8821]

I live in the area and have experience with all 3. Since I live near PBI, if I need to fly somewhere I beg they have a flight otherwise it’s an hour drive to FLL. And if I have international friends visiting it’s almost guaranteed they are at Miami. PBI is really nice because it is so chill and easy. Also the tri rail system is awesome. When I drive by PBI I see trumps plane usually. Also FLL gets traffic because a lot of cruises leave there. Another fact is that south floridas population doubles in the winter from snow birds. So many old white people from Quebec or New Jersey

[@helmuthvonmoltke6733]

Flew into MIA in 2012, dont remember any of it though 😂

[@Slyther_]

Forgot Gilboa, OH smh

[@GarlicDogDOTA]

Great video! As a native south Floridian seeing PBI as a “Miami” airport is funny even if it totally is. FLL used to be the easy local small airport for locals to fly. Nowadays it is MUCH more crowded than it was, with majors flying many flights a day it’s a hub of sorts in and of itself. PBI is still very small and more expensive (relatively), PBI is becoming more popular and gets extremely packed during the times when snowbirds come and go

[@Lee247Jamaica]

A Los Angeles Compared would be nice like LAX,Burbank and John Wayne Compared

[@nonstops_aviation]

Long Beach has left the chat

[@jayd5694]

i believe you have left out Henderson Field! very important american airport, sad to see it left out 😢

[@CrystalClearWith8BE]

MIA Int'l Airport is a mega world class airport, FLL-Hollywood Int'l Airport is a mega mid class airport, and PBI Airport is a medium regional airport. I heard when Briggs said that FLL is the worst airport in Metro Miami in the Top 10 worst airports in the US, he said that MIA is the best option to fly to.

[@realtalk1310]

FLL ftw ✈️

[@kevingilottecheveryout]

Orlando Airport

[@andrewstevens2364]

Compair Austin tx and SanAntonio tx airports.

[@iceandflames]

Miami Airport Plam beach airport cant compare Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood is getting better.❤

[@patrickloveday8749]

As a resident of the country where 2 are located Fll and PBI are NO WHERE CLOSE TO MIAMI AND ARE NOT MIAMI AIRPORTS

[@NW255]

I haven’t flown into Miami in a very long time I have only recently flown into Fort Lauderdale and it was a good airport but I hear MIA sucks

[@kharris0465]

Miami International has the best massage chairs.

[@markanthony1004]

Dear Lord I hate MIA so much. Idk but I can't stand that airport. I'll take Newark, SFO, and Logan over MIA any day

[@sliferxxxx]

I loathe flying out of MIA.

[@Avg-Usr]

As someone who have grown up flying ohare, Heathrow, Kai tak, SFO, and JFK, I will say FLL is a very comfortable airport and MIA is the worst airport in the universe.

[@Tornnnado]

I can't believe all the hype around metal birds... Back in my day, we just hunted birds (like _real_ americans). 🦆🔫🙄 🦆🔫🙄

[@cadensmith2982]

miami florda

[@tonypapas9854]

FLL is terrible! Bad terminal, bad service, and simply ugly on the inside.