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Southwest Airlines announced on Thursday that it plans to build its first maintenance hangar in the north-east of BWI Marshall Airport, which further strengthens its links with the airport, and reports stronger growth for the airline. region.
The Dallas-based airline is the main carrier of BWI, with nearly 69% of the airport's passenger traffic, and the airport has decided to upgrade the Southwest terminal for $ 60 million. dollars.
Southwest will pay $ 80 million on the $ 130 million new 130,000 square foot hangar, with the state recovering the remaining $ 50 million, state officials and airlines said. State funding is intended to cover necessary improvements to the infrastructure, including utility works and site preparation, and will need to be approved by the State Public Works Council.
Airport officials expect the panel to review construction contracts in the coming months.
The hangar will provide 120 airline technicians with a three-bay interior workspace to serve more than 240 aircraft crossing the airport each day, providing storage space for tools and equipment and offices. There will be space on the outside for another eight aircraft.
"This will give us an essential maintenance capability," said Gary Kelly, President and CEO of Southwest, who was at the BWI for this announcement. "It's important to have it in Baltimore because it's an important part of our road system."
Currently, the work is done outside, regardless of the weather conditions, throughout the year, officials said the airline.
Southwest has six other maintenance hangars in the country.
The new hangar is scheduled to open in 2019 and open at the end of 2021, subject to the approval of the Federal Aviation Administration. The hangar will be built in the northwestern quadrant of the currently unoccupied airfield, airport officials said.
No new maintenance stations have been announced at the BWI, although more than 450 construction works are involved in the project over the next three years. In the end, the hangar will provide room for more workers as the airline adds more Boeing 737s to its fleet.
Kelly said the carrier plans to have about 750 aircraft by the end of the year, but it could eventually reach 1,200 aircraft, possibly over the next ten or ten years.
Baltimore-Washington International Airport Thurgood Marshall Airport is the second busiest center in the Southwest and the airline employs 4,837 workers at the airport.
Governor Larry Hogan, also at the BWI for the announcement with public transportation officials, said Southwest and the airport were essential for businesses in the area, as well as for residents and tourists alike. He noted that the BWI is the busiest of the three airports in the Washington, DC area.
Support for the airline will continue to stimulate economic development efforts in the state, Hogan said. Already, the airport is allocated billions of dollars in economic activity.
The South West has 243 departures a day to 64 cities and its passenger volume at BWI increased by 4.3% last year.
When Southwest launched its service in the state a little more than 25 years ago, the airport had about 9 million passengers a year, and last year the carrier alone accounted for more than 18 million passengers. The state and the airport have been striving to keep pace, building a new terminal and upgrading services, including parking and baggage handling.
According to the Maryland Aviation Authority, the planned airport improvements of $ 60 million include five new doors and waiting areas for passengers in Terminal A, as well as additional food and retail leases.
Hogan praised Southwest's "great commitment" to BWI with the new shed.
"This is a big deal, the airline is doing a lot for the economic development of the state," he said.
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