After operating out of a temporary passenger annex for over a decade, Gateway Airport in Mesa is upgrading to a permanent terminal structure that will provide an additional 30,000 square feet of terminal space.
The new terminal is currently under construction at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport and due for completion in 2024. The completed facility will feature five gates, along with new retail and food and beverage concession services, storage space, and airline support offices.
Gateway Airport is served by two airlines and offers nonstop flights to over 45 popular destinations. The terminal expansion is a result of Gateway Airport’s rapid growth since the start of its commercial passenger service in 2007; when at the time, ticketing, security screening, arrivals and departures, and baggage claim functions were all conducted out of a 24,000-square-foot former Air Force building.
Since then, the airport has become one of the fastest-growing commercial service airports in the country, welcoming nearly two million passengers each year. To accommodate for the early increase of flights, Gateway Airport expanded its operations into a portable 10,000-square-foot annex in 2008 that was intended to serve as a short-term passenger terminal until a permanent solution was possible. Fourteen years later, Gateway Airport received a $14.4-million grant under the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), enabling the airport to upgrade to a permanent terminal structure.
According to Gateway Airport, the new 30,000-square-foot facility will provide much-needed space and meet all eight criteria in the BIL Airport Terminal Modernization Program, which include:
- Increased capacity and passenger access
- Replacing aging infrastructure
- Achieving compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and expanding accessibility for persons with disabilities
- Improving airport access for historically disadvantaged populations
- Improving energy efficiency
- Improving airfield safety through terminal relocation
- Encouraging actual and potential competition
- Good-paying jobs
To learn more, visit gatewayairport.com.
Renderings courtesy Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport
