FLL budget & master plan: CPE rises, airlines tentatively back major phase‑1 projects including Terminal 5

Fort Lauderdale‑Hollywood International Airport staff presented the airport’s proposed FY‑26 budget and a multi‑year master plan to the Broward County Board of County Commissioners, and reported a preliminary agreement with signatory airlines to back a multi‑billion‑dollar program that would fund front‑door capacity and terminal expansion projects.

"The airline business is not the same as the cruise business today," Mark Gale, Aviation Director, told commissioners, opening a presentation that covered activity, revenue performance and capital projects. Gale said FY‑25 expected enplanements are down from earlier forecasts and that airport staff set conservative FY‑26 assumptions to reflect airline scheduling and market headwinds.

Staff reported FY‑25 total passenger enplanements projected at about 16.13 million and said FY‑26 is budgeted to decrease modestly; the airport’s budgeted cost per enplaned passenger (CPE) for FY‑26 is $11.02. Staff noted those figures were supported in prior years by federal pandemic assistance; the airport has used CARES, CRRSAA and ARPA funds and carried forward about $5 million of ARPA into FY‑26.

Gale described a FY‑26 capital improvement program totaling about $475 million, of which terminals and the Terminal 5 program are the largest elements. Terminal 5 costs have risen during the project’s design…