JetBlue adds 14 nonstop routes from Fort Lauderdale airport

JetBlue added 14 nonstop routes at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, giving Broward travelers new direct options to Baltimore, Charlotte, Cleveland, Nashville, Detroit, Houston, Chicago and Ponce, Puerto Rico, with six more cities set to follow in the coming months. The expansion pushed the airline to more than 125 daily departures from FLL, its biggest schedule ever at the airport, and JetBlue said it expected to surpass 150 daily departures by the end of 2026.

For local travelers, the immediate payoff is simpler trips to major business, family and leisure markets without a connection through another hub. The expansion also raises the odds of fare pressure on routes where Spirit Airlines once dominated, as JetBlue moves into a market that has been reshaped by Spirit’s collapse.

Spirit had been the dominant airline at FLL, carrying about a third of passenger traffic and generating 13% of Broward County’s aviation revenue, while other local reporting put its share of the airport market at roughly 24% as recently as April 2026. JetBlue Chief Executive Joanna Geraghty said the company had been preparing for months and saw Fort Lauderdale as a major opportunity, and the carrier has been hiring former Spirit employees as it grows its South Florida operation.

The first wave of daily nonstop service from FLL now reaches Baltimore, Charlotte, Cleveland, Nashville, Detroit, Houston, Chicago and Ponce. Additional service to Indianapolis, San Diego, Columbus, Cali, Barranquilla and Caracas is scheduled to begin in the coming months, extending JetBlue’s reach deeper into the U.S. Midwest and West and into Latin American markets that matter to Broward’s international travelers.

The timing matters for an airport that remains one of South Florida’s biggest economic engines. Broward County’s airport statistics page shows FLL handled 32.2 million passengers in 2025, down 8.5% from 2024, after ranking 19th among U.S. airports for overall passenger traffic in 2024. JetBlue’s move adds seats, jobs and route depth at a time when FLL is trying to refill the space left by Spirit and keep more South Florida travelers flying nonstop out of Broward instead of driving to Miami or connecting elsewhere.