Airport reports busier month

FORT MYERS — If the Fort Myers airport seemed busier than usual in October, the numbers confirmed it.

Southwest Florida International Airport reported 535,921 passengers passed through the airport in October, a 6.5% increase over the same month one year ago. Through Oct. 31, passenger traffic is up 4.3% compared with the first 10 months of 2014.

Hospitality industry executives watch airport traffic numbers carefully as a gauge of business, and a robust September and October presages a busier winter travel season.

The airline with the most passengers passing through the airport in October was Delta, with 111,135 passengers. Other top airlines included Southwest (88,977 passengers), JetBlue (78,790), USAirways (56,222) and American (47,938).