| Southwest Florida International Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Terminal | |||
| IATA: RSW – ICAO: KRSW – FAA LID: RSW
RSW
|
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| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Owner | Lee County Port Authority | ||
| Serves | Fort Myers, Florida | ||
| Location | South Fort Myers, Florida | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 30 ft / 9 m | ||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 6/24 | 12,000 | 3,658 | Asphalt |
| Statistics (2009, 2010) | |||
| Aircraft operations (2009) | 83,120 | ||
| Passengers (2010) | 7,514,316 | ||
| Source: Lee County Port Authority | |||
Southwest Florida International Airport (IATA: RSW, ICAO: KRSW, FAA LID: RSW) is a public county-owned airport located in the South Fort Myers region of unincorporated Lee County, Florida, United States. The airport's service market is Southwest Florida, particularly Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Sanibel Island, Marco Island, Captiva Island, Bonita Springs and Naples.
The designator RSW was originally assigned for "Regional South-West" (for Southwest Florida Regional Airport). In 1993, the Lee County Port Authority renamed the airport as Southwest Florida International Airport.
In 2010, total passengers numbered 7,514,316. The airport is one of the busiest single runway use airports in the country. It is also a U.S. Customs and Border Protection port of entry.
LeeTran bus #50 serves the airport.
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RSW was first conceived in 1973, when it became apparent that the existing airport in Fort Myers, Page Field, would not be able to accommodate new aircraft and increased traffic. The government of Lee County selected a site near Interstate 75, which was under construction at the time. Groundbreaking was held in 1980, and Southwest Florida Regional Airport opened on schedule, May 14, 1983, with a single 8400-ft runway. Delta Air Lines operated the inaugural flight.
The airport was renamed Southwest Florida International Airport in 1993, although it had hosted international flights since 1984 and U.S. Customs since 1987, primarily for services to Germany. Also in 1993, the runway was lengthened to 12,000 ft (3,658 m), designed to accommodate increased international traffic. However, while the airport has hosted Boeing 747s (and notably, the U.S. President's Air Force One), as of 2009, the largest aircraft to use the airport for regularly scheduled service are the Airbus A330-300s operated by Air Berlin on non stop flights to Düsseldorf.
In 1988, the airport exceeded its annual capacity of 3 million passengers; by 2004, the airport was serving nearly 7 million passengers annually. The original terminal featured 19 gates on two concourses.
With the original terminal operating at more than double its intended capacity, construction of a new terminal dubbed the Midfield Terminal Complex began in February, 2002. The $438 million[2] terminal opened on September 9, 2005. The terminal has three concourses holding 28 gates, and can eventually be expanded to five concourses with 65 gates. Demolition of the former terminal, located north of the airfield, was completed in the spring of 2006.
Currently, a new $16 million airport rescue and firefighting facility is in the works and is scheduled for completion in late summer 2011. In addition, a new 9,100 ft (2,800 m). parallel runway project is in the planning stage. The project will also include a relocated air traffic control tower, apron expansion, crossfield taxiway system, mitigation activities and FPL electrical line relocation. The project is estimated to cost $454 million. Other projects include the Madden Research Loop, a 25-acre (100,000 m2) project consisting of a research complex for the fields of science, technology and medicine. This project is being developed by Gulf Coast Technology Center, Inc.
Plans are in place for Skyplex - a commercial and industrial park in the location of the old terminal. Other airport-related businesses, such as hotels and a retail gasoline outlet, are in the planning stages.[3].
Southwest Florida International Airport occupies 3,431 acres (13.88 km²), 10 mi (16 km) southeast of Fort Myers.
For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2009, the airport had 83,120 aircraft operations, an average of 228 per day.
Southwest Florida International Airport has one terminal with three concourses: Concourse B (Gates B1-B9), Concourse C (Gates C1-C9), and Concourse D (Gates D1-D10). Customs and Immigration services for international flights are located on the lower level of Concourse B. "Concourses A and E" designations have been reserved for the planned future expansion of the terminal.
| Airlines | Destinations | Concourse |
|---|---|---|
| Air Berlin | Düsseldorf | B |
| Air Canada | Toronto-Pearson Seasonal: Montréal-Trudeau |
B |
| AirTran Airways | Akron/Canton, Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Columbus(OH), Flint, Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Rochester (NY), Washington-National | D |
| American Airlines | Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth | D |
| American Eagle operated by Executive Airlines | Miami [ends January 31, 2012] | D |
| Cape Air | Key West | D |
| Comefly operated by Monarch | Aalborg | B |
| Delta Air Lines | Atlanta, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-LaGuardia | C |
| Delta Connection | Seasonal: Memphis | C |
| Frontier Airlines | Denver Seasonal: Kansas City |
B |
| JetBlue Airways | Boston, Buffalo, New York-JFK, Newark, White Plains | D |
| Southwest Airlines | Baltimore, Boston,Chicago-Midway, Hartford/Springfield [begins February 12, 2012], Long Island/Islip, Nashville [begins January 8, 2012], Orlando, Philadelphia, Providence [begins Febraury 12, 2012], St. Louis |
D |
| Spirit Airlines | Atlantic City, Chicago-O'Hare, Detroit | B |
| Sun Country Airlines | Seasonal: Minneapolis/St. Paul | B |
| Sunwing Airlines | Seasonal: Toronto-Pearson | B |
| United Airlines | Cleveland, Houston-Intercontinental, Newark | C |
| US Airways | Charlotte, Philadelphia, Washington-National | D |
| WestJet | Toronto-Pearson | B |
| Rank | City | Passengers | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlanta, GA | 520,000 | AirTran, Delta |
| 2 | Detroit, MI | 292,000 | Delta, Spirit |
| 3 | Charlotte, NC | 220,000 | US Airways |
| 4 | Chicago, IL (O'Hare) | 200,000 | American, Spirit, United, USA3000 |
| 5 | Newark, NJ | 195,000 | Continental, JetBlue |
| 6 | Boston, MA | 186,000 | AirTran, JetBlue |
| 7 | Chicago, IL (Midway) | 171,000 | AirTran, Southwest |
| 8 | New York, NY (JFK) | 168,000 | JetBlue |
| 9 | Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN | 160,000 | Delta, Sun Country |
| 10 | Philadelphia, PA | 147,000 | Southwest, US Airways |