$1B terminal expansion to start at Fort Myers airport

The terminal expansion project at Southwest Florida International Airport will launch its second phase Oct. 1, marking the start of what officials expect will be a three-year process. It involves creating a brand-new concourse that could support 33 gates, among other improvements.

More than $1 billion is budgeted for this phase of the project, which officials say will enable the Fort Myers airport — which served more than 10 million passengers in 2023 — to meet an anticipated increase in demand.

“Southwest Florida International Airport is the front door to our community and supports travel, business and tourism in our region,” Executive Director and CEO of the Lee County Port Authority Steven Hennigan says in a statement. "We … are ready to start this essential project to expand and enhance RSW’s capacity, which will be critical to our ability to meet the air service demands of Southwest Florida for many years to come."

By 2041, RSW officials forecast that nearly 17.5 million passengers could travel through the airport, according to master planning documents.

The scope of this phase of the project includes expanding the airport terminal on all three levels to include a new ticketing lobby and baggage claim area; implementing a new baggage handling system; and creating a brand-new Concourse E with 14 gates and infrastructure that could support 19 future gates. 

Work on Concourse E will include the following: Transportation Security Administration checkpoint, expanded concessions, airside improvements, chiller plant building upgrades, and road and curbside improvements that will reconfigure and expand terminal access roads, according to a statement from the Lee County Port Authority, which oversees the airport.

To support the expansion, port authority commissioners approved the budget of nearly $1.07 billion for phase two of the project at its Sept. 5 meeting, as well as an amendment to the construction management services contract with Suffolk Construction Company for almost $760 million that will extend it through Feb. 1, 2029.

Funds for the project come from airport revenue bonds, passenger facility charges and grants from the Federal Aviation Administration and Florida Department of Transportation. No ad valorem (property) taxes are used for airport operations or construction.

This marks the second phase of the airport’s expansion. The first phase, which started in 2021, was projected to cost $331 million. Its goal was to increase the airport’s efficiency by consolidating security checkpoints and to provide passengers with more amenities by adding seating, concessions space and a business lounge. Phase one work was expected to take three years but its completion has been delayed, according to a spokesperson for the port authority, who says more information will be available by January 2025.

While work on the second phase of the project will begin Oct. 1, passengers will not be impacted for a few months, a port authority spokesperson says.