JetBlue strengthens links with Colombia as airline looks to fill void at FLL

Travel admin October 5, 2026 0 Comments

JetBlue strengthens links with Colombia as airline looks to fill void at FLL

JetBlue’s big bet on Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is also a boost for at least one South American country.

The New York-based airline has started daily nonstop service between FLL and Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport in Barranquilla, a city on Colombia’s Caribbean coast.

The carrier is using an Airbus A320 aircraft for the flights, which started Oct. 1. Passenger capacity is about 162.

Flight 1957 departs daily from Fort Laduerdale at 11:05 a.m. and arrives at 12:55 p.m. Flight 1958 leaves Barranquilla at 2:05 p.m and touches down in Fort Lauderdale by 5:56 p.m. Travelers should still check with JetBlue for changes to the schedule.

Barranquilla is one of two Colombian cities where JetBlue is landing in October. The carrier will start nonstop service between FLL and Cali on Oct. 15, also with an Airbus A320.

Passengers on the Colombia flights get free high-speed Wi-Fi and screens at each seat. “EvenMore” travelers, the airline’s premium economy, get extra legroom.

Barranquilla and Cali become the third and fourth cities in Colombia where JetBlue flies. The airline already has FLL service to and from Medellin and and Cartagena.

The South American nation is vital for South Florida’s economy. In 2025, Florida’s fifth-largest export market was Colombia, accounting for $2.7 billion.

JetBlue sees FLL as important to connecting the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean.

“Fort Lauderdale continues to grow as an important connecting gateway for JetBlue, connecting customers from Barranquilla not only to South Florida but also to destinations across JetBlue’s broader network across the U.S. and beyond,” Daniel Shurz, senior vice president, revenue, network and enterprise planning, said in a statement. “We’re excited to welcome Barranquilla to the JetBlue network and give customers another great option for traveling between South Florida and Colombia.”

JetBlue will certainly face competition. Colombian airline Avianca has daily nonstop flights between Fort Lauderdale and Bogota, Medellin, Cali and Barranquilla. American Airlines has a bevy of flights between Miami International Airport and several cities in Colombia.

But JetBlue seems to be taking the long view. Its new flights come as the carrier has been betting big on the Fort Lauderdale airport, especially following the demise of Broward-based Spirit Airlines. In the days after Spirit shut down on May 2, JetBlue added 11 new destinations from FLL.

By early July, JetBlue operated more than 125 daily departures to over 55 nonstop destinations from FLL, its largest schedule in history at the airport. Daily departures from FLL increased over 75% compared to the same time in 2025.

That growth is on track with what JetBlue President Marty St. George said earlier this year when he forecasted 150 departures out of Fort Lauderdale by February 2027.

“Right now, we’re bigger than we’ve ever been at FLL,” St. George said in an interview in May with the Miami Herald. “And we’re going to get a lot bigger.”

That’s now showing in the official statistics. Long accustomed to finishing second to Spirit at FLL, JetBlue now ranks first in number of passengers. The airline has handled 6.1 million passengers this year through the end of August, the most recent figures available. That marked a whopping 39.8% increase for the airline compared to the same period in 2025. It is first in market share with 28%. Delta Air Lines is in second with 13%.

JetBlue is also making the Fort Lauderdale airport a hub this year, meaning scheduling JetBlue flights in a way that travelers can arrive there and have ample options to connect elsewhere., the airline president said.

JetBlue doing that is something “we’ve not done anywhere else,” said St. George while at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino near Hollywood. He noted that the hub system allows travelers to come into FLL from the north and have the ability to connect to many places in the Caribbean or throughout Latin America.