Naples Daily News
The following information comes from a May 2023 article by Mark H. Bickel in the News-Press, on the 40th anniversary of RSW.
If the Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Naples-area had a front door for the world, Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) would be it.
It was May 14, 1983, when certified operations began at the 3,500-acre site southeast of Fort Myers, marking the beginning of a new era in aviation for the region.
RSW has continued to grow in the last four decades and that includes the number of passengers traveling to and from Southwest Florida.
May 14, 1983
The current airport opened at a cost of $90 million. It featured a 350,000-square-foot terminal and 14 gates. There were 3,600 parking spaces.
The airlines serving RSW when it opened? Nine domestic – Continental, Delta, Eastern, Finair Express, Northwest, Ozark, Pan Am, Republic, United. There were seven nonstop destinations: Atlanta, Houston, Orlando, Miami, Sarasota, Tampa and West Palm Beach.
Babcock Ranch, Southwest Florida
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