Gala opening

At a cocktail party held May 12, 1983 celebrating the new airport's grand opening, more than 5,000 invited guests toured the 300,000-square foot, two-level terminal, noting that comfort, convenience and safety were high priorities. Clutching gold embossed invitations, they attended the semi-formal gala.

Although the invitations read 7 p.m., by 6:30 p.m. cars were six deep at the parking lot entrance. By 7 p.m. fifty people were waiting in line for champagne. A lavish buffet included 400 pounds of boiled shrimp and 200 pounds of crab claws. A dessert table six feet long held a tempting array. Lee County had come a long way from the days when celebrations were observed with a barbecue or a fish fry.

At 8:10 p.m. on May 13, 1983, less than 6 hours before the first plane was to arrive, FAA Certification Specialist Bill Ward issued the certificate of operations.

The long-awaited moment finally arrived and at 1:40 a.m. on Saturday, May 14, 1983, Delta flight 1677, nicknamed the "Owly Bird" because it was a night-owl flight, became the first commercial flight to land at Southwest Florida Regional Airport.

Capt. Charles Winstead was the pilot of that first flight and officials from the Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce presented him with a key to the city.

Roger Sitkins of Fort Myers, returning from Atlanta, was the first passenger off the plane. He was presented with a bouquet of flowers, champagne and other commemorative items. The remaining passengers received red carnations and souvenir cards commemorating that first flight into the new airport.

By the end of that first day, commercial flights numbered 60 ending at 10:48 p.m. when Continental flight 714 arrived from Houston, Texas.

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