More passengers are using RSW to travel than they were last year

More people are traveling through the Southwest Florida International Airport than last year. In fact, it’s the first increase in the number of passengers since April of 2022.

Last month, over 560,000 passengers traveled through RSW, a 9% jump from September 2022. The last time passenger traffic rose was back in April of 2022, when over 1.2 million people had traveled through RSW that month.

While the numbers aren’t back at pre-Hurricane Ian levels, RSW is seeing a surge as the holidays near. Many find the airport to be an easy and convenient location to travel to and from their destinations.

“Tampa was like two and a half, three hours away, and Miami’s two and a half hours away, and so it’s super easy getting in and out, so I can work all day and then come get to a late flight and be home,” Chance Livingston, flying in from Mississippi, said.

Now RSW communications team says the spike could have been caused by the storm Southwest Florida faced last year. Hurricane Ian forced them to close for three days in September and the first four days of October, but they are hopeful things are getting back to normal for travelers.

Watch WINK News at 6 p.m. for the latest information in this article.