RSW sets record for passenger traffic: 1,000,000-plus traveled to, from here in December

Mark H. Bickel, Fort Myers News-Press
Updated ·2 min read

If there's any question whether Southwest Florida is steadily making its comeback from Hurricane Ian, look no further than Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW).

The Lee County Port Authority announced on Wednesday (Jan. 24) that the Fort Myers airport had the best December in its 41-year history for number of travelers coming to and departing from RSW. The passenger count for December was 1,094,783 passengers. This was an increase of 27% compared to December of 2022, only three months after Ian slammed the region. Total passengers in December 2022 was 862,368.

RSW finished 2023 with 10,069,839 passengers, which was a 2.6 percent decrease compared to 2022 — again, the aftermath of Hurricane Ian being the No. 1 factor.

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RSW has crossed the 1,000,000 passenger mark in December only twice before in its history — in 2021 (1,089,569) and 2019 (1,077,818).

For some perspective, in 1983 when RSW opened, there were 115,955 passengers counted in December.

“December 2023 was the busiest December at Southwest Florida International Airport in its 41-year history, and RSW served more than 10 million passengers for the year,” said Ben Siegel, CPA, C.M., executive director of the Lee County Port Authority. “This marks a tremendous year of recovery for Southwest Florida following Hurricane Ian. We are appreciative of the outstanding performance by all of our employees, airlines and airport business partners who support the traveling public every day. We are also grateful for the passengers who support us by making RSW their airport of choice."

By the numbers: December's commercial airline traffic

By the numbers: Aircraft operations

  • Southwest Florida International Airport had 9,873 aircraft operations, an increase of 27 percent compared to December 2022.

  • Page Field, also in Fort Myers, saw 14,584 operations, which was an 8.6 percent decrease compared to December 2022.

  • Page Field annual operations finished with a record-breaking 203,503, an increase of 19 percent more than 2022..

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: RSW in Fort Myers sets passenger record for month of December