Southwest Florida International Airport will roughly double in size under an expansion program anchored by a new $1 billion concourse, as annual passenger traffic at the Fort Myers facility climbed from 8.6 million in 2016 to 11.15 million in 2025.

The Lee County Tourist Development Council, which briefed stakeholders Thursday on the program, framed the buildout as a capacity response to sustained demand growth at the airport, known by its RSW code. The figure marks a roughly 30% increase in throughput over nine years, and the TDC says the growth has created demand for space the current terminal cannot absorb.

Concourse E and a single checkpoint

The centerpiece of the program is Concourse E, a new pier carrying 14 gates, a new checkpoint and associated taxiways. The concourse carries a targeted completion date of 2027 and an estimated cost of $1 billion. Glass installation across the structure is expected to finish by June.

The program also consolidates passenger screening. Plans call for a single central Transportation Security Administration checkpoint, replacing an arrangement in which passengers are effectively confined to the concourse they clear security in. Once complete, travelers will be able to walk between concourses airside — a change with practical consequences for connectivity, concessions access and gate reassignment flexibility.

Carrier count in flux

The airport's airline roster is contracting and consolidating at the same time the facility expands. RSW currently hosts 15 carriers following the shutdown of Spirit Airlines. That number is set to shift again following the recently completed Allegiant–Sun Country merger.

The consolidation does not alter the airport's capacity calculus in the near term, but the carrier changes will reshape which gates and concourses the expanded terminal must serve. The new Concourse E's 14 gates give the airport room to accommodate network adjustments as the merged Allegiant–Sun Country entity and remaining incumbents finalize their schedules.

Concourse B concessions

On the landside and concessions side, Concourse B will gain expanded dining options. Panera Bread, Chick-fil-A, Rocco's Tacos and Vino Volo locations are set to open there. Boat House will also be added, though it sits outside the security zone and will have to close during construction, according to the TDC.

The concessions buildout ties into the checkpoint consolidation: once passengers can move freely between concourses, airside retail and dining locations gain access to the full departing population rather than the share trapped behind each individual checkpoint.

Parking and rental car expansion

The final major workstream covers ground access. A parking and rental car expansion targets 2029 completion and adds roughly 600 parking spaces plus a new long-term lot. The cell phone lot will relocate.

The plan also includes two new buildings: a public safety facility and a dedicated car rental building. That component extends the program's timeline two years beyond Concourse E's 2027 target, meaning construction activity at RSW will run in phases through the end of the decade.

With terminal, airfield, concessions and ground-transport work sequenced across 2027 and 2029 milestones, RSW is positioning its doubled footprint to absorb a passenger base that has grown by more than 2.5 million travelers annually since 2016.