Austin Airport Will Nearly Double Its Gates In Large Expansion Project
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is nearly doubling its gates as part of a large expansion project already underway, according to KUT News.
The expansion will add 32 gates, bringing the airport’s total number up to 66. The project will also create two new concourses.
The airport sits at 3600 Presidential Blvd. on 4,242 acres, about 5 miles southeast of the downtown Austin area.
Airport officials announced the news on Jan. 7 after months of negotiations to finalize new decade-long leases with Southwest, Delta, United, American and Alaska. FedEx and UPS also signed new cargo shipment agreements as part of the expansion.
A new multibillion-dollar, 700K SF midfield concourse will connect to the existing Barbara Jordan Terminal via an underground walkway. The Jordan terminal, which will be redeveloped and modernized, will be dubbed Concourse A, and the new terminal will be Concourse B.
Twenty-six of the new gates will not be usable until Concourse B opens in the early 2030s.
Southwest Airlines, the largest carrier at ABIA, will become the anchor tenant in Concourse B, with plans to lease between 18 and 20 gates, up from the 10 it currently leases.
Delta will become the anchor tenant in Concourse A, with plans to lease 15 gates and spend $250M on a new lounge and terminal upgrades.
ABIA’s third-largest airline, American, will jump from four to nine gates and open a new lounge.
Six gates could open as soon as 2027 in Concourse M, a standalone facility in the middle of the airfield. The new M concourse will boast 35K SF for airlines to board and deplane passengers, though airport officials haven’t finalized the airlines yet.
To make way for new taxiways and infrastructure as part of the renovation, the existing South Terminal will be torn down this spring. Allegiant and Frontier airlines, which currently operate from the South Terminal, will relocate to the main terminal.
Also part of the project is a 600K SF new arrivals and departures hall and the upgrading and expansion of utility features.
This expansion plan came due to the rapid increase of annual passenger totals over recent years, up from 17.3M in 2019 to more than 21M, according to KXAN. This past October, the airport’s 2025 numbers had already surpassed 2019’s full-year total.
The planned expansion will not need Austin taxpayers to pay additional taxes, according to the airport's webpage discussing the project. Seventy-two percent of the funding will come from airport revenue bonds, 22% from airport revenue, 3% from airport facility charges for passengers and 3% from grants.
Funding for the project includes a promise from the Federal Aviation Administration to provide $108M in reimbursements, airport officials announced earlier in December.
However, Austin’s aviation department is seeking additional spending authority from the city council, as the airport’s estimated annual operation budget will swell from $4B to more than $5B, KXAN reported.
