San Antonio International Airport moves up timetable of improvements

Work would add new gates, upgrades to baggage handling system

SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio City Council has signed off on a plan that will jump-start some improvement projects at the San Antonio International Airport.

Airport officials plan to upgrade the baggage handling system and do some renovation work to Terminal A as well as a building that would house more law enforcement K-9 units, according to a council memo.

They want to get a head start on design work, as passenger traffic at the airport has rebounded a bit faster than originally projected following pandemic-related declines.

In a report released Thursday afternoon, the airport said the number of passengers in April exceeded 500,000 for the first time since the pandemic began and was up 13.5% compared to March 2021. The increase was driven by leisure travel as more people get vaccinated. The airport also said routes to Phoenix, Miami, Salt Lake City and Phoenix have also added capacity because of increased demand. However, the figure of 546,548 passengers was down 36.6% compared to April 2019.

The airport is asking for $1.35 million to start design work on the projects. Otherwise, the funding would have come out of the Aviation Capital Budget for Fiscal Year 2022.

The Terminal A renovations would add one new gate to accommodate more flights as well as a new boarding gate area and passenger boarding bridge. Terminal B was already set to get two new gates under an existing capital improvement plan.

The baggage system would see $35 million in upgrades to meet current and future passenger demand.

The airport also plans to renovate the old Avis building to accommodate an expansion of canine units. The TSA has told the airport it is adding four new canine units to the airport, so more space is need to house those units as well as those of the Airport Police.

The projects together cost $45 million, which would be funded in future years.

In a report released Thursday afternoon, the airport said the number of passengers in April exceeded 500,000 for the first time since the pandemic began and was up 13.5% compared to March 2021. The increase was driven by leisure travel as more people get vaccinated. The airport also said routes to Phoenix, Miami, Salt Lake City and Phoenix have also added capacity because of increased demand. However, the figure of 546,548 passengers was down 36.6% compared to April 2019.

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About the Author:

Samuel King anchors traffic during GMSA and reports on transportation and mobility issues across the San Antonio region. He joined the KSAT 12 news team in 2020 from KUT in Austin. Samuel was born in Queens, spent time growing up in South Alabama and graduated from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.