Southwest Florida International Airport

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, 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 2009, total passengers numbered 7,415,958. The airport is one of the busiest for passenger traffic in the state of Florida, as well as one the busiest single runway use airports in the U.S. The airport is also a U.S. Customs and Border Protection port of entry.

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 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. 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

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[1] 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.

Current and future projects

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. 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 and its anticipated completion date is 2020. Other projects include the Madden Research Loop, a 25 acre 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. [2]

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].

Facilities

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.

Airlines and destinations

Southwest Florida International Airport has one terminal with three concourses: Concourse B (gates B1-B9), Concourse C (C1-C9), and Concourse D (gates D1 - D8, D9A&B, 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. The airport serves as a focus city for AirTran Airways.

Crashes and incidents

Southwest Florida International Airport picture

(Click on the photo to enlarge)

Location & QuickFacts

FAA Information Effective:	2007-01-18
Airport Identifier:	RSW
Airport Status:	Operational
Longitude/Latitude:	081-45-18.6000W/26-32-10.2000N -81.755167/26.536167 (Estimated)
Elevation:	30 ft / 9.14 m (Surveyed)
Land:	3431 acres
From nearest city:	10 nautical miles SE of Fort Myers, FL
Location:	Lee County, FL
Magnetic Variation:	04W (2000)

Owner & Manager

Ownership:	Publicly owned
Owner:	Board Of Com Lee Co Port Auth
Address:	Po Box 398 Fort Myers, FL 33902
Phone number:	239-590-4400
Manager:	Robert M. Ball
Address:	11000 Terminal Access Rd. Fort Myers, FL 33913
Phone number:	239-590-4400

Airport Operations and Facilities

Airport Use:	Open to public
Wind indicator:	Yes
Segmented Circle:	Yes
Control Tower:	Yes
Lighting Schedule:	DUSK-DAWN
Beacon Color:	Clear-Green (lighted land airport)
Landing fee charge:	Yes FEES FOR ALL CHARTER AND TRAVEL CLUBS AND REVENUE PRODUCING ACFT.
Sectional chart:	Miami
Region:	ASO - Southern
Boundary ARTCC:	ZMA - Miami
Tie-in FSS:	MIA - Miami
FSS Phone:	305-233-2600
FSS Toll Free:	1-800-WX-BRIEF
NOTAMs Facility:	RSW (NOTAM-d service avaliable)
Certification type/date:	I D S 05/1983 CLSD TO UNSKED ACR OPNS WITH MORE THAN 30 PSGR SEATS EXCP PPR CALL AMGR (239) 590-4810.
Federal Agreements:	NGY

Airport Communications

CTAF:	122.950
Unicom:	122.950

Airport Services

Fuel available:	100LLA
Airframe Repair:	MAJOR
Power Plant Repair:	MAJOR
Bottled Oxygen:	HIGH/LOW
Bulk Oxygen:	HIGH/LOW

Runway Information

Runway 05/23

Runway 06/24

Radio Navigation Aids

Remarks

Major Carriers Serving This Airport