Dozen flights diverted due to faulty transormer on RSW runway

FORT MYERS, Fla.- WINK News is learning more about what caused a section of the runway to go dark at Southwest Florida International Airport Sunday night.

According to an airport spokeswoman, edge lighting along the runway failed because of a faulty transformer.

About a dozen flights were cancelled or diverted to other cities.

“They came from several carriers.  So basically, to put it into perspective, a lot of the flights did operate normally yesterday,” said Victoria Moreland, with the Lee County Port Authority.

WINK News asked, if you were a passenger on a cancelled flight stuck in another city with a hotel bill due to a flight cancellation because of an airport lighting malfunction, who pays?

“At some point, somebody has just got to step up and say I’ll be responsible,” said traveler Alan Miller.

According to the Lee County Port Authority, it’s neither the carrier nor the airport who pays that hotel bill.

“Some airlines may have made some accommodations transporting people, but generally with something like this, it would be incumbent upon the traveler,” said Moreland.

The Port Authority says RSW was open, it was up to the carrier to decide whether or not to land without edge lighting.  However,
an airline employee, speaking anonymously, said some airplanes are prohibited by the U.S. Department of Transportation from landing on runways that don’t have edge lighting.