PHOENIX — Major expansion efforts and improvements are in the works for both Phoenix Sky Harbor and Phoenix-Mesa Gateway airports.
Both airports have put up record travel numbers in the past fiscal year, and both are eyeing new projects to accommodate the continued growth.
At Sky Harbor, construction of a new concourse with six new gates in Terminal 3 is expected to be completed by 2027.
“We need those gates yesterday,” said Jay DeWitt, Sky Harbor’s assistant aviation director and chief development officer. “2027 those will be coming online but those will be the last gates we can add to terminal 3 or 4.”
As they run out of room to expand in terminals 3 and 4, Sky Harbor is looking to build a new terminal to the west, near where the old terminals 1 and 2 used to sit.
“We’ve got land to accommodate it and we’d start construction around 2030,” DeWitt said, though first flights aren't expected to begin until 2035 or 2036.
Final funding numbers are not yet available, but it will cost billions of dollars, all funded by airline fees - basically rent airlines are charged to be at Sky Harbor.
“Something like this would be paid entirely by airline fees here at the airport there are no tax dollars,” DeWitt said.
Another project slated for the future is an underground walkway tunnel between Terminal 3 and Terminal 4. Currently, if you have a connection between the two, particularly common for international travelers, you have to exit one terminal, take the SkyTrain to another and then go through security again.
The new walkway option, slated for 2027, would be quicker and eliminate the need to go through security a second time.
“It also opens up a lot of opportunities for us to have different airlines at different gates at different terminals and really make use of the capacity we have,” DeWitt said.
Phoenix-Mesa Gateway says they too are running out of room.
“We've basically done all of the expansion we can here on the west side of the airport,” said Ryan Smith, Gateway’s director communications & government relations.
They are eyeing a brand new airport just to the east
“Right now, our estimates are somewhere in the $800 to $900 million range,” Smith said.
They’re still securing funding for the project, which is at least 10 years away from phase 1 which would feature 14 gates with jetways.
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