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","post_title":"RSW ranks among country\u2019s top 25 busiest airports","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"rsw-ranks-among-countrys-top-25-busiest-airports","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-04-18 15:05:49","post_modified_gmt":"2022-04-18 19:05:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.gulfshorebusiness.com\/?p=25448","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":25386,"post_author":"461","post_date":"2022-04-11 14:32:59","post_date_gmt":"2022-04-11 18:32:59","post_content":"Punta Gorda Airport became the first Southwest Florida airport to join the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Transportation\u2019s Blue Lightning Initiative to combat human trafficking by training and educating frontline airport workers. It\u2019s the latest push by area airports over the last decade to combat the growing issue.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe Charlotte County airport\u2019s involvement with the initiative will start with 100 airport authority employees taking part in the training program, with plans to expand the training to the entire airport community, according to Punta Gorda Airport officials. Miami International Airport was the first airport in the state to implement the initiative in November 2020.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nMeanwhile, Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers had two days of training in 2015 for Lee County Port Authority employees, in collaboration with Lee County Port Authority Police Department, Florida Gulf Coast University, Southwest Resource Center and the Department of Justice on how to recognize human trafficking and the proper way to report it, Lee County Port Authority Chief Communications & Marketing Officer <\/span>Victoria Moreland said. The port authority police also work with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Customs and Boarder Protection on continuous training.\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nTo further their education, RSW employees must take part in online training consisting of eight courses, including human trafficking, each year and must post a perfect score on the test following each course to be recertified.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nNaples Airport provides training to all employees, focusing on educating employees about human trafficking as well as ways to identify signs of human trafficking and prevention tools, Naples Airport Community Engagement and Communications Manager Zachary Burch said. \u201cThe Department of Homeland Security\u2019s Blue Lightning Initiative is something that the Naples Airport Authority is also looking into as we work to further strengthen our human trafficking prevention efforts.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nGary Duncan, chief operating officer at Punta Gorda Airport, started the process of bringing the Blue Lightning initiative to PGD several months ago with the airport\u2019s commercial carriers, Allegiant Air and Sun Country Airlines, already having established Blue Lightning Initiative partnerships with the Department of Homeland Security. \u201cIf we can help stop just one incident, then all the training will be worth our while,\u201d Duncan said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe online program comprising four 20-minute lessons educates aviation employees on how to recognize the indicators of human trafficking and how to appropriately report what they see. Objectives include expanding training to reach partners in large and small airport settings, improving the training by using specific, scenario-based teaching, and enhancing efforts to get critical counter-trafficking information to employees working in the air and on the ground.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nAs of March, Blue Lightning Initiative\u2019s 88 partners have trained more than 200,000 aviation industry personnel and actionable tips continue to be reported to federal law enforcement.\u00a0<\/span>","post_title":"Southwest Florida airports prioritizing employee training on human trafficking","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"southwest-florida-airports-prioritizing-employee-training-on-human-trafficking","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-04-12 11:25:26","post_modified_gmt":"2022-04-12 15:25:26","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.gulfshorebusiness.com\/?p=25386","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":25014,"post_author":"391","post_date":"2022-03-24 13:34:04","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-24 17:34:04","post_content":"Southwest Florida International Airport served over a million passengers for the third straight month. It saw 1,149,618 passengers travel through its gates in February, a 58% increase over February 2021. Year-to-date, the south Fort Myers airport has seen a 55% increase in passenger traffic over last year, the Lee County Port Authority reported.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nAt the same time, RSW experienced a 7.4% decrease in traffic compared to pre-pandemic February 2020 and a 7.5% decrease compared to the first two months of 2020. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nWith a total of 10,032 aircraft operations in February at RSW, a 27% increase over February 2021, RSW reports Delta led the way with 210,182 passengers with Southwest (198,162), United (159,276), American (141,073) and Spirit (132,475) rounding out the top five airlines.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nPage Field in Fort Myers saw 13,194 operations which was a 23% increase from February 2021.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>","post_title":"RSW serves more than a million passengers for third consecutive month","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"rsw-serves-over-a-million-passengers-for-third-consecutive-month","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-03-25 08:30:27","post_modified_gmt":"2022-03-25 12:30:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.gulfshorebusiness.com\/?p=25014","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":24794,"post_author":"430","post_date":"2022-03-08 10:11:23","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-08 15:11:23","post_content":"Southwest Florida International Airport is adding nonstop service to two highly sought destinations. New low-fare airline Breeze Airways will debut service on June 11 to Las Vegas and Charleston, South Carolina.\r\n\r\nRSW now has routes to 60 destinations through 14 carriers with the addition of Salt Lake City-based Breeze Airways, which was started by JetBlue founder David Neeleman in 2021. Breeze already has served more than 500,000 travelers from 18 cities across 14 states, never charging change or cancellation fees.\r\n\r\nThe routes to Vegas ($99 one way) and Charleston ($39 one way) will be operated with Breeze\u2019s fleet of Airbus A220s.\r\n\r\n\u201cThe A220-300 is a game-changer for us as we now add long-haul flights and transcontinental service,\u201d Neeleman said. \u201c \u2026\u202fWith the A220, Breeze is giving our guests the widest cabin, highest ceiling, largest windows and biggest overhead stowage in this class, while still managing to burn 25% less fuel, with half the noise footprint of past generations.\u201d\r\n\r\nTravelers can choose from three price bundles that are offered as Nice, Nicer and Nicest service. Guests may choose a Nice ($20 per carry-on bag, $20 per checked bag) or Nicer (includes a carry-on and checked bag) bundle and buy an upgrade to a first-class seat.\r\n\r\nA standard economy seat on the A220s is 30 inches, 29 inches on the E-190 aircraft and 31 inches on the E-195s while seat pitch for extra legroom is 32 inches on the A220s, between 33 and 39 inches on the E-190s, depending on the row selected, and between 34 and 39 inches on the E-195s. First-class seats feature 39-inches of seat pitch, 20.5-inches of seat width and special features, such as a footrest for added comfort.\r\n\r\nIn addition to travelers being able to book through Breeze\u2019s mobile app and flybreeze.com, the airline does not have a traditional call center. Instead, it handles traveler requests through text message, Facebook Messenger and email.","post_title":"New low-fare airline adding nonstop service from Fort Myers to Las Vegas, Charleston\u202f","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"new-low-fare-airline-adding-nonstop-service-from-fort-myers-to-las-vegas-charleston%e2%80%af","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-03-09 14:30:10","post_modified_gmt":"2022-03-09 19:30:10","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.gulfshorebusiness.com\/?p=24794","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":24483,"post_author":"430","post_date":"2022-03-01 05:35:16","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-01 10:35:16","post_content":"The perfect intersection of Northerners escaping to Southwest Florida for winters and holiday travel has been a boon for airlines over the years. Carriers ramp up flights into Southwest Florida International Airport with myriad seasonal routes from October to May.\r\n\r\nWith population growth in the region, however, RSW has experienced an upswing in full-time routes in the last five years, said Victoria Moreland, Lee County Port Authority chief communications and marketing officer. The airport\u2019s new daily nonstop flights to the West Coast with new United Airlines full-time routes to Los Angeles and San Francisco, as well as Alaska Airlines\u2019 Seattle route\u2019s transition from a five-month route to a full-time one, gives the biggest indication that the top-50 airport for passenger traffic in the country is poised for an influx of new full-time routes.\r\n\r\nAviation consultant Michael Boyd said RSW, which broke passenger records in December with 1,085,569 passengers and served more than 10.3 million in 2021, is already in the midst of a boom.\r\n\r\n\u201cA place like Fort Myers, it\u2019s about quality of life and quality of venue, it\u2019s going to attract those dollars,\u201d says Boyd, who is president of Boyd Group International and has spent 38 years in the industry. \u201cIt used to be if you\u2019re going to Florida, Tampa, Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando was it. Anywhere else, enjoy your connection in Atlanta. That\u2019s not the case anymore. A place like Fort Myers can easily support San Francisco and Los Angeles.\u201d\r\n\r\nFrom 2019 to 2020, Charlotte, Collier and Lee counties saw a 2.3% gain in population (30,597 people). The University of Florida\u2019s Bureau of Economic and Business Research projects Lee\u2019s population to grow 38.4% in the next 23 years, trailing only Lake and Osceola counties for biggest gains in the state. In the same projections, Collier is expected to grow by 34%.\r\n\r\nMeanwhile, RSW began a $331 million project to expand its terminal, which includes consolidating Transportation Security Administration checkpoints into a new 16-lane configuration to improve efficiency. Additional seating, concession spaces and a business lounge are also part of the 164,000-square-foot remodeling. The project is expected to be completed in less than three years, and also will have 117,000 square feet of new walkways and concession space.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nMoreland and Boyd agree more foot traffic will lead to adding more destinations to the airport\u2019s resum\u00e9 that already includes 58 cities, including four international destinations. RSW\u2019s January Air Service update lists 44 of its 58 destinations as having full-time routes.\r\n\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s going to adjust based on demand,\u201d Boyd says of the dynamic situation of seasonal versus full-time routes. \u201c[Airlines] already are viewing it as a prime destination. That\u2019s why you have West Coast service. That\u2019s why you have Denver service. And another thing they\u2019re going to have to deal with is more international service once this (COVID-19) thing dies down.\u201d\r\n\r\nAlso working in RSW\u2019s favor is declining business traffic that was already taking a hit before the pandemic, Boyd said. The vast increase of leisure traffic means more fares headed toward the area\u2019s tropical weather and beautiful beaches.\r\n\r\nNewer airplane technology, such as the Airbus 150-seat A220, also could be a game-changer for carriers. \u201cIt can fly between any two points in the United States and make money. It can go from Fort Myers to Jacksonville and make money and go from Fort Myers to L.A. and make money. That kind of flexibility gives airlines a huge amount of ability to mix and match where they fly,\u201d Boyd says.\r\n\r\nWith RSW housing all but one domestic carrier, Moreland said she expects even more domestic nonstop routes to be announced from existing carriers. While seasonal routes will continue to be a factor, Southwest Florida residents and visitors can expect fewer layovers in their itineraries over the next decade.\u00a0<\/span>","post_title":"Direct connections: Nonstop growth in airport routes","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"direct-connections-nonstop-growth-in-airport-routes","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-03-02 10:52:43","post_modified_gmt":"2022-03-02 15:52:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.gulfshorebusiness.com\/?p=24483","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_14"};

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