Southwest Florida International Airport - Definition and Overview

Southwest Florida International Airport is an airport located near Fort Myers, Florida. Its IATA airport code is RSW.

History

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, along with Page Field's two carriers National and Eastern, 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 in 1983, despite a sinkhole that cropped up in the middle of the runway during construction. Delta Air Lines performed 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 Canada as well as a few charter flights to Europe.

Terminals

Southwest Florida International Airport has one terminal with two piers, one with eight gates and one with eleven gates. Construction of a new terminal, dubbed the Midfield Terminal Complex, began in February 2002. The new terminal will have 28 gates, compared to 19 in the current terminal, and can eventually be expanded to 65 gates. Construction is expected to be complete in April 2005 and the airlines will move into the new terminal in June, after which the old terminal building will be demolished. A second runway south of the midfield terminal will be built around 2010.

Concourse A

• Air Canada (departures) (Montreal (Trudeau), Toronto)
• AirTran (Atlanta, Baltimore/Washington, Philadelphia, Washington National)
• American Airlines (Austin, Chicago O'Hare, Dallas Ft. Worth, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Newark, Philadelphia, St. Louis)
• American Trans Air (Chicago Midway, Indianapolis)
• Executive Air dba American Eagle (Miami)
• Independence Air (Service begins Feb. 17, 2005) (Washington Dulles)
• JetBlue (Boston, New York Kennedy)
• LTU International (departures) (Dusseldorf)
• Thomas Cook-Powered by Condor (Frankfurt)
• United Airlines (Chicago O'Hare, Orange County (Santa Ana), Portland,
• USA 3000 (Baltimore/Washington, Chicago O'Hare, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, Newark, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Richmond, St. Louis)
• US Airways (Albany, Baltimore/Washington, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Columbus, Hartford, Minneapolis St-Paul, Newark, Norfolk, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Providence, Washington Reagan)

Concourse B

• Cape Air dba Continental Connection (Daytona Beach, Key West, Sarasota, Tampa)
• Chautauqua Airlines dba Delta Connection (Columbus, Orlando)
• Comair dba Delta Connection (Orlando)
• Continental Airlines (Cleveland, Houston Intercontinental, Newark, San Francisco)
• Delta Air Lines (Atlanta, Chicago O'Hare, Cincinnati, Columbus, Manchester, Nashville, Phoenix)
• Frontier Airlines (Denver)
• Jetsgo (Toronto)
• LTU International (ticket counter) (Dusseldorf)
• Midwest Airlines (Milwaukee)
• Northwest Airlines (Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis-St.Paul, New York La Guardia)
• Spirit Airlines (Atlantic City, Chiacgo O'Hare, Detroit, Providence)
• Song (Boston, New York Kennedy)
• Sun Country (Minneapolis-St. Paul)

International Arrivals Building

• LTU International (arrivals) (Dusseldorf)
• Air Canada (Arrivals) (Montreal {Trudeau), Toronto)

External Links

• Southwest Florida International Airport (http://www.flylcpa.com)
• Midfield Terminal Complex Information (http://www.flylcpa.com/rsw/mtc/mtcabout.php)