RSW expansion enters final year of construction
Southwest Florida International Airport showcased progress on Concourse E to the media on Thursday, Oct. 29.
According to Stephen Hennigan, CEO and executive director of Southwest Florida International Airport, the influx of traffic in the Southwest Florida region prompted the $1 billion 14-gate expansion.
“I think this project and the growth at our airport really shows the state of our region, all of Southwest Florida,” Hennigan said. “It’s the businesses that are coming here. It’s the people that want to vacation here. This facility is that conduit between all of those people, not only in the United States, but globally. I think it shows not only that people want to come here, but our airline partners want to be a part of this.”
During the walkthrough, Hennigan noted the new addition won’t differ stylistically from the existing three concourses.
“So the facility that we’re in now will have a similar look over there,” Hennigan said. “Obviously, it’ll be 20 years younger and brand new, but one of the things we wanted to really keep was that look and feel, as much as we could, while also updating everything in that process.”
Concourse E will have a TSA Checkpoint with up to nine lanes as well as access to all other concourses (B, C and D) once finished. E will also introduce a dedicated club for United Airlines.
Along with the expansion project, existing concourses have received renovations.
“With nothing pre-security, because we closed Shula’s to do this project, we wanted to bring something back as quickly as we could, which is also why we’re done with all the refresh of our concessions on B and D, as well,” Hennigan said. “The only one that will be remaining would be C.”
The physical growth directly answers unprecedented travel demand across Southwest Florida.
“We had a record March a couple months ago, 1.5 million passengers,” Hennigan said. “In October, we had a million seats. You know, it’s almost November. We’ll have a million and a quarter seats and, in December, we’ll have a million and a half seats. So there’s an opportunity for a million and a half people in December to come to our airport. Now, that’s important with the growth, because we know that there’s more, but we’re limited right now.”
Even with the massive expansion, Hennigan emphasized that RSW is focused on retaining the convenience travelers appreciate.
“Most of our passengers fly through a large airport, which is vastly different than our size and scope,” Hennigan said. “There’s not many airports that you can park right across the way, get your rental car right across the way; you don’t have to take a bus to it, you can come right here. So at the end of the day, we want to be that airport that is large enough to serve the needs of our community and those who want to visit us while also maintaining that flexibility and ease of access and that guest experience that you might lose at other airports.”
With room to expand to 19 total gates, Hennigan projects the concourse will open in late 2027.
“Shell’s done,” Hennigan said. “I mean, it’s a year of finish work. All the detail work starts now.”
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