New terminal at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport on track to open in February 2024
Aug 8, 2023, 4:05 AM
A $28 million terminal expansion project at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport recently celebrated its topping-out milestone and is on track to be completed in February 2024. (McCarthy Building Companies and Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport Photos)
(McCarthy Building Companies and Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport Photos)
PHOENIX – A new terminal building at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport is expected to be finished in time for next year’s spring travel rush.
The $28 million expansion project recently celebrated its topping-out milestone and is on track to be completed in February 2024, contractor McCarthy Building Companies said in a press release Monday.
“This terminal addition is critically important as Gateway Airport continues to set new commercial passenger growth records,” J. Brian O’Neill, the East Valley airport’s executive director and CEO, said in the release. “The topping-out ceremony means we’re that much closer to opening our new terminal space.”
What is changing at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport?
The 30,000-square-foot expansion will add five permanent gates, replacing a 13-year-old temporary four-gate structure.
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The new terminal will be connected to the airport’s ticket counters and security checkpoint by a glass pedestrian walkway. It will feature new retail and food concessions and provide additional space for storage and airline support offices.
The expansion plan is energy efficient and complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“We remain focused on eliminating disruption of airport operations to ensure an uncomplicated passenger experience throughout this construction project, and we look forward to completing the project on time and on budget,” Thomas Assante, McCarthy Building Companies project director, said in the release.
The project is being paid for, in part, with a $14.4 million federal grant awarded through the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
How busy is the East Valley airport?
Gateway brought commercial passenger service to southeast Mesa in 2007 and set annual traffic records each of the last two years.
Its two carriers served more than 1.9 million passengers in the recently completed 2023 fiscal year.
The airport’s primary carrier is Allegiant Air, which provides nonstop service to more than 45 destinations. Sun Country Airlines also operates out of Gateway.
To accommodate growth, the airport opened the John S. McCain III Air Traffic Control Tower last year. The tower, which took 18 months to build, stands 199 feet tall and provides twice as much space for air traffic controllers as the structure it replaced.
