If you saw the 1992 film Passenger 57 starring Orlando’s Wesley Snipes, you probably view the Orlando-Sanford International Airport in Sanford as a backwater country airport.  You would be very wrong.

The Airport, owned by the international firm of ADC & HAS, is, due to flight training, one of the 30 busiest airports in the world in total flight operations each year.  While it handles all of Allegiant Air’s flights into Central Florida, the airport is primarily the landing point for dozens of charter flights from Europe headed to Walt Disney World.

In the busy winter and summer travel months destinations and flights are added.  Arkefly goes to Amsterdam.  Thompson AIrlines operates charters to London and Birmingham.  Starting in October, Jetairfly will deliver passengers from Brussels.  Monarch flies to Glasgow and Manchester.

I was impressed to see SSTAIR flights arriving from Rio and Sao Paulo, Brazil.  More interesting to me was the fact I could take an Icelandair  plane to Rekjavik and than hop over to Paris, Frankfort, and Amsterdam.

The Airport hardly resembles its original role as a Naval Air Station and a Master Jet Training Base.  While you’ll land further away from Disney, you will be closer to the beaches of Daytona and Saint Augustine.