History
Established in 1942 as Naples Army Airfield by the United States Army Air Forces. Assigned initially to the Southeast Training Center (later Eastern Flying Training Command). Provided basic (level 1) flight training to flight cadets by Embry-Riddle Co; Fairchild PT-19s were the primary trainer used. Along with the flight training, was a sub-base to Buckingham Army Airfield for flexible gunnery training. Inactivated on November 1, 1945, being turned over to the War Assets Administration for conveyance to civil control as a public airport.
Provincetown-Boston Airlines began scheduled service to Miami International Airport in the 1950s, and managed the airport for several years until a municipal airport authority was created in 1969.
Although the airport served more than 100,000 passengers per year through 2000, geographic factors limited its capacity, and the opening of the much larger Southwest Florida International Airport in nearby Fort Myers drew medium-haul traffic away from Naples. Passenger numbers dipped when American Eagle ceased scheduled Miami service in 2001, and dipped even further following the September 11, 2001 attacks Scheduled airline service to Naples ended in 2003 when US Airways Express ceased service to Tampa International Airport.
Read more about this topic: Naples Municipal Airport
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