Southwest Florida International Airport

RSW originated in the 1970s. Although the Southwest Florida region had originally been served right Page Field, by the 70s, it became clear that the existing airport would need to be increased to handle the increased demands of commercial aviation in the region. A number of sites were contemplated, and the location at the end of Daniels Road was selected due to its proximity to Interstate 75. On May 14th, 1983, RSW opened with a single 8400-foot runway. At the time of its opening, the airport was named Southwest Florida Regional Airport, and the terminal building included two concourses with 14 gates. RSW added a U.S. Customs facility in 1987, and in 1993 the airport was renamed Southwest Florida International Airport to better reflect the change. At that point in time, the runway was also lengthened to 12000 feet to accommodate larger aircraft better. In 1998, a new wing was added to Concourse B with three new gates, bringing the airport total to 17 gates. As Southwest Florida has a prominent German American community, Lee County made an effort to encourage tourism to the area from Germany. As such, the first non-stop flights from Europe to RSW took place in April 1994, as LTU International flew in from Munich via Düsseldorf. In 2000, Condor also began a route to Germany, with a direct flight from Frankfurt. By the 2000s, terminal traffic had far exceeded capacity, which brought about the construction of a new Midfield Terminal Complex. On September 9th, 2005, the new terminal opened with three concourses and 28 gates. Furthermore, the $438 million terminal has the option for expansion to five concourses with 65 gates. Although the old terminal was demolished in 2006, its parking lot and other infrastructure are still in use.
2007, Condor's service to RSW ended. Furthermore, in 2009 LTU was replaced at RSW by Air Berlin following the two airlines' merger. However, Air Berlin ceased operations at RSW in 2017. Within a year, flights to Germany resumed through Eurowings, although these, too, were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, flights to Frankfurt returned in March 2022 with a new Lufthansa brand, Eurowings Discover. In 2015 direct access to Interstate 75 was created when Terminal Access Road, the airport's main entrance road, was extended. Furthermore, the road was expanded to six lanes in late 2016. A $454 million project was slated to be completed in late 2020, including a new 9,100-foot parallel runway and a new air traffic control tower.

The airport is located just southeast of Fort Myers. 

• RSW is the second-busiest single-runway airport in the U.S. (after San Diego). Moreover, it is the third-largest airport in the U.S. regarding land size, as 6,000 acres of land have been set aside as swamp lands (as part of environmental mitigation). 
• Plans are in place to create a commercial and industrial park known as Skyplex on the site of the old terminal building. Other plans include building a hotel on airport premises. 
• RSW has received many awards, including being ranked 2nd amongst North American airports with less than $10 million annual passengers in a J.D. Power & Associates Airport Satisfaction Study.