Sanford Airport helps send, welcome home veterans on Honor Flights

Orlando-Sanford International Airport spent April doing more than clearing runways and boarding gates. It coordinated two Honor Flights that carried Central Florida veterans to Washington, D.C., then turned the terminal into a welcome-home space for families, volunteers and neighbors who came to salute them.

The airport announced the pair of missions on April 6: Villages Honor Flight on April 15 and Honor Flight Central Florida on April 25. The Villages flight was scheduled to leave Sanford at 6 a.m. on Allegiant Flight 4915 with 153 veterans, guardians and support staff aboard, then return at 9 p.m. on Allegiant Flight 4916. The second mission, Honor Flight Central Florida, was scheduled to depart at 7 a.m. on Allegiant Flight 4900 with 60 veterans plus guardians and support staff, and come back at 10 p.m. on Allegiant Flight 4901.

The airport said its role went well beyond handing off a departure board. Staff coordinated terminal operations, accessibility services, hospitality and the welcome-home activities that made the return flights feel like public ceremonies instead of routine arrivals. The public was invited to gather in the terminal lobby on the first floor for the homecoming reception, giving Seminole County residents a place to see veterans receive the kind of recognition many have long said comes too late.

Nicole Martz, president and CEO of Orlando Sanford International Airport, framed the effort as part of the airport’s civic mission. “Our airport is more than a place of travel, it’s a gateway for moments that matter,” Martz said, adding that supporting Honor Flights is one of the most meaningful ways the airport can thank veterans.

Honor Flight Central Florida, a registered hub of the Honor Flight Network, said it has operated since 2012 and has flown more than 1,000 Central Florida veterans. The organization serves veterans in Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Polk and Lake counties and uses both Orlando International Airport and Orlando-Sanford International Airport, making Sanford part of a broader regional network that links remembrance to logistics.

For Sanford, the flights underscored how an airport can function as a community asset, not just a transportation hub. A 2025 Sanford report noted that the first all-women Honor Flight from Florida also departed from Sanford with 109 female veterans, reinforcing the airport’s role as a launch point for some of the region’s most visible tributes to military service.