Airport balances urgency with demand in massive expansion project

Airport executives across Florida are getting top billing these days at civic and business community luncheons and breakfasts — and for good reason: bulging passenger growth counts have forced airports to double as construction zones, with billions of dollars of projects in the works in the region alone. 

One of the the latest airport leaders to get in front of a crowd was Ben Siegel, executive director of the Lee County Port Authority. The airport Siegel oversees, Southwest Florida International, had a record-setting 10.34 million passengers in 2022 — up 0.2% from the previous record set in 2021. Siegel was the keynote speaker at a Real Estate Investment Society luncheon Feb. 14, where he highlighted the expansion projects underway, and ones to come in the future, at Southwest Florida International Airport. “It’s our job to deliver an incredible experience everyday,” Siegel says.