AUSTIN, Texas — There's a lot going on at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS).
Lots of bags, lots of people, lots of noise.
“I look at these long lines and I go, ‘I'm glad I have TSA PreCheck,'" said Jeremy Hunt, an Austinite who was dropping his wife off at the airport on Monday.
There’s a lot going on just out the terminal, too. Work is getting underway on an expansion project.
“Welcome to Austin-Bergstrom Airport and our groundbreaking for the West Infill project,” Austin Airport CEO Ghizlane Badawi said Monday.
She said she knows how busy the airport gets.
“We have all experienced those hectic days when lines stretch beyond the terminal doors,” Badawi said. “With this project, we are adding over 70,000 square feet of terminal space."
The $241 million project is called the West Infill and TSA Checkpoint 3 Expansion Project.
Austin airport spokesperson Sam Haynes said it's goal is to keep up with Austin's massive growth.
“So, last year was our busiest year on record with 22 million annual passengers,” Haynes said.
Haynes said airport officials never expected Austin would outgrow the airport so quickly. So they're making TSA Checkpoint 3 bigger and better.
“It will have six to eight lanes in total, which is more than double the size of the previous checkpoint,” she said.
The expansion project also includes a new baggage handling system and more ticket counters. Haynes said airport officials are working as fast as possible to make it all happen.
“Before the pandemic, we were considered a medium-sized airport, and we very quickly became a large-sized airport far sooner than we could have ever have predicted," Haynes said. "And so, the beauty of this project is that it was in the works just a few years ago. We're breaking ground today [April 22], and we will open it in 2026, with more room for both customers and our partners at TSA."
Hunt said he's all for it.
“Please, yes. as soon as possible,” he said.
Hunt said he flies out at least a dozen times a year and said the airport has been busier than ever.
“The first time I ever flew into this airport, I thought to myself it was too small. And that was 15 years ago,” he said.
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He said whatever airport officials can do to accommodate more people, he welcomes.
“It’s exactly what we need. It's just us arriving right here that is just not going to work for a city as big as we are," he said.
The expansion project is set to be completed in 2026.
With other construction projects in the works, airport leaders are reminding travelers to plan ahead and arrive early.
Editor's note: The original version of this story stated that the total cost of this project was $16 million. This article has been edited to accurately reflect the total cost of the project is $241 million.
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