Central Florida's second-largest airport plans to capitalize on its "simpler, faster and better" facility and its military heritage as focus turns toward expansion and remodeling. Sanford International Airport made the announcement last week that it hopes to spend $43 million in expanding and improving facilities for passengers and airlines.

The airport, situated to the north of Orlando, is relatively new. Only 20 years ago it was a quiet, private airfield known for executive jet and light aircraft movements. However, through a dedicated focus on attracting airlines to service the booming Florida tourism industry, Sanford has grown to 2.5 million passengers per year in 2015.

Having experienced a growth in passenger numbers for almost every year since 1995, the airport authority is planning for the upgrades it needs to continue handling this growth, which is anticipated to reach 2.7 million passengers by 2018.

"We have to look ahead, and we think this will carry us forward for the next 8 to 10 years," Diane Crews, president and CEO of the airport, told the Orlando Sentinel.

The focus of the expansion will be in the passenger terminal, which will see four extra gates added, taking the total to 16. Additionally, extra baggage carousels will be added for the extra incoming passengers, and more security screening lanes for the outgoing passengers. The landside exterior of the terminal will also be remodeled, rerouting the access roads and roadside areas to enable easier access especially for those dropping off and picking up passengers.

Further back in its history, Sanford Airport was a Naval Air Station, and this heritage will form part of the expansion plans. A restored PV-1 Ventura bomber aircraft will be positioned on a mezzanine level within the terminal check-in area as an interesting focal point for those passing through. "It's going to be a real unique visual for visitors," Crews said.

Sanford is not in the same league as Orlando International, which handled 36 million passengers last year and has many more airlines and destinations. However, Sanford hopes to capitalize on its easy access with less time spent waiting in crowded departure areas.

In the past, Sanford did attract some of the transatlantic holiday airlines who switched from Orlando International, but some of these have since reverted back to the larger airport, which is closer to the resorts — the most recent to move away was Icelandair.

The expansion may be unlikely to attract any of these airlines to come back, especially with a $4.50 passenger handling fee, which is being used to help pay for the work. However, it will likely benefit the largest customer, Allegiant Air, which thrives on providing low-cost flights to the region from secondary airports across the country.

It is hoped that the expansion plans will be completed by 2020. At present, the finer details are still to be ironed out, and Federal Aviation Administration approval has still to be sought on the project.