Fort Myers airport traffic jumps

FORT MYERS — Airport traffic is confirming this year's tourism season will be better than last year as the industry recovers more fully from the recession.

Passenger traffic at Southwest Florida International Airport rose 9.9% to 854,953 in January compared with the same month one year ago. Already, December broke the airport's record for passenger traffic.

In addition, airlines added more service to Fort Myers. The Lee County Port Authority reported a 7.3% jump in takeoffs and landings at Southwest Florida International.

The traffic leader in January was Southwest with 190,870 passengers traveling to and from Fort Myers. Other top passenger airlines were Delta (169,760 passengers), JetBlue (90,928), US Airways (88,669) and Spirit (87,928).