A Half-Million Passengers Through Southwest Florida International Airport During May.

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Nearly 503,000 passengers traveled through Southwest Florida International Airport last month, making it the first May to surpass the half-million-passenger mark. The number of passengers increased by 13.4 percent from May 2003 and boosted the year-to-date total to nearly 3.4 million, 12 percent ahead of the first five months of 2003.

Nationally, passenger traffic increased by 6.6 percent for the month and 5.9 percent year to date, according to the Air Transport Association.

"During the first five months of this year, we served more passengers than during the entire year of 1989," said Robert M. Ball, A.A.E., executive director of the Lee County Port Authority. "The first time in our history that we served a half-million passengers in a single month was March 1990, and we didn't do it again until 1994. So far this year, the airport has accommodated more than a half-million passengers every month!"

Air cargo volume decreased slightly during May, down 2.6 percent. The year-to-date volume of 14 million pounds is nearly 4.5 percent ahead of 2003.

Southwest Florida International Airport opened in 1983 designed to accommodate 3 million passengers annually, a level that was reached in 1988. The airport has served more than 5 million passengers a year since 2000. A new 28-gate terminal, under construction south of the airport's runway, will replace the existing 17-gate terminal in 2005. For more information, log onto http://www.SWFIA.com.