Lakeland Linder International Airport Guide

Lakeland Linder International Airport sits about 8 km southwest of downtown Lakeland, roughly halfway between Tampa and Orlando along the Interstate 4 corridor. The field began as the World War II training base Drane Field and became a municipal airport in 1960. The City of Lakeland owns it.

Passenger airline service returned in June 2024, when Avelo Airlines flew its first route to New Haven, Connecticut. Avelo now operates a base here and serves about 10 destinations, each two to four times a week. Passenger numbers have grown several times over since the relaunch. A second passenger holding area is planned to handle more than 300 travelers at a time, backed by about $13 million in federal funding.

Most of the activity is not airline traffic. The FAA counted 158,830 aircraft operations in 2025. The airport hosts the Sun 'n Fun Aerospace Expo each spring, a six-day fly-in and airshow. Amazon Air runs a southeast regional cargo hub on the field, and Draken International has its headquarters here. The airport also holds a Class 1 FAR Part 139 certificate and has a U.S. Customs and Border Protection general aviation facility. The longest runway, 10/28, measures 8,500 feet.