Southwest Florida International Airport
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| Southwest Florida International Airport | |||
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IATA: RSW – ICAO: KRSW – FAA LID: RSW
 RSW
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| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Owner | Lee County | ||
| Operator | Lee County Port Authority | ||
| Serves | Fort Myers, Florida | ||
| Location | South Fort Myers, Florida | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 30 ft / 9 m | ||
| Coordinates | 26°32′10″N 081°45′19″W / 26.53611°N 81.75528°W | ||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 6/24 | 12,000 | 3,658 | Asphalt |
| Statistics (2011) | |||
| Aircraft operations | 83,385 | ||
| Passengers | 7,537,745 | ||
| Total Cargo (Lbs) | 32,539,320 | ||
| 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 2011, total passengers numbered 7,537,745. 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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History[edit]
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.
Midfield Terminal Complex Expansion[edit]
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 terminal opened on September 9, 2005. The terminal. which was designed by Spillis Candela/DMJM Aviation,[1] 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.
Current and future projects[edit]
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.[2]
Facilities[edit]
Southwest Florida International Airport occupies 3,431 acres (13.88 km²), 10 mi (16 km) southeast of Fort Myers.
- Runways
- Runway 6/24: 12,000 x 150 ft (3,658 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt Airport IQ 5010
- Aircraft[3]
For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2011, the airport had 83,385 aircraft operations, an average of 228 per day.
- Terminal
- 798,000 sq ft (74,100 m2)
- Design capacity is 10 million passengers per year, with 28 gates on 3 concourses (current B,C and D). The terminal buildings can be expanded incrementally to 65 gates on 5 concourses (A-E).
- Parking
- 11,250 spaces for hourly/daily parking
- 30-space "cell-phone lot" for customers picking up arriving passengers
- Awards
- J.D. Power & Associates Airport Satisfaction Study - Ranked 2nd among North American airports with under 10 million annual passengers
- Florida Department of Transportation 2008 Commercial Airport of the Year
- Airports Council International-North America Excellence in Marketing and Communications 2008: 1st Place Special Events for Aviation Day
- Airports Council International-North America 2008: 1st Place for Concession Convenience and 2nd Place for Food Concessions
- Airports Council International-North America 2009: 2nd Place Newsletter - Internal or E-mail and 2nd Place Special Events - Berlin Airlift
- Federal Aviation Administration 2009 Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Advocate and Partner Award
- Florida Airports Council 2008 Environmental Excellence Award for Mitigation Park
- Airport Revenue News 2008 Best Concessions Award for top Concessions Program Design
Airlines and destinations[edit]
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.
Statistics[edit]
| Rank | City | Passengers | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlanta, GA | 550,000 | AirTran, Delta |
| 2 | Detroit, MI | 256,000 | AirTran, Delta, Spirit |
| 3 | Charlotte, NC | 224,000 | US Airways |
| 4 | Boston, MA | 194,000 | JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit |
| 5 | Newark, NJ | 185,000 | JetBlue, United |
| 6 | Chicago, IL (O'Hare) | 179,000 | American, Spirit, United |
| 7 | Chicago, IL (Midway) | 175,000 | AirTran, Southwest |
| 8 | Philadelphia, PA | 153,000 | Southwest, US Airways |
| 9 | Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN | 151,000 | Delta, Spirit, Southwest, Sun Country |
| 10 | New York, NY (JFK) | 146,000 | Delta, JetBlue |
Accidents and incidents[edit]
- November 28, 2007 - A single-engine fixed wing aircraft crashed about 9:20 a.m. one mile (1.6 km) west of Runway 6. The crash killed the pilot. This is the first reported crash on airport property since the airport opened 25 years ago.[7]
- April 13, 2009 - A Beech King Air 200 (N559DW) was carrying four passengers when the pilot went unconscious and later died. Doug White, a passenger, was guided into the airport by air traffic controller Brian Norton, assisted by controller Dan Favio. It was later reported that White was a single engine private pilot with about 130 hours of experience in single engine aircraft. All passengers aboard survived and the plane was not damaged.[8]
- On April 19, 2011, JetBlue Flight 464 bound for Boston Logan International Airport landed safely, then had its left wing clipped by a truck being escorted by an airline employee on a ramp, forcing the aircraft out of service.
References[edit]
- ^ "Ready for Takeoff?". Southeast Construction. 2001-09-11. Retrieved 2012-07-20.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Southwest Florida International Airport". Flylcpa.com. Retrieved 2012-06-15.
- ^ http://finance.yahoo.com/news/jetblue-expands-hartford-flights-fort-130000191.html;_ylt=AudL.bkk3s_ar6yBqirziQXQtDMD
- ^ westjet.ca - Sun-sational winter ahead.
- ^ "RITA | BTS | Transtats". Transtats.bts.gov. Retrieved 2012-06-15.
- ^ [2][dead link]
- ^ "Passenger lands turboprop plane after pilot dies". CNN. April 13, 2009.
External links[edit]
- Southwest Florida International Airport (official site)
- Lee County Port Authority
- Page Field General Aviation Airport (formerly the primary airport in the area; now a general aviation airport)
- Southwest Florida International Airport PDF brochure from CFASPP
- FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective May 30, 2013
- FAA Terminal Procedures for RSW, effective May 30, 2013
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for KRSW
- ASN accident history for RSW
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KRSW
- FAA current RSW delay information
