Nov. 21--WEST BAY -- With passenger traffic expected to double in the next 20 years, officials at Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport examined a series of growth concepts at a workshop Wednesday to get ready for it.
As development of the ECP's first full-scale master plan continues, airport planners presented the board with several options to address deficiencies in the airport's terminal building and parking areas as demand increases.
Once completed, the master plan will provide staff with 5, 10 and 20-year planning horizons for ECP.
Project manager Paul Puckli presented six layout concepts for terminal expansion that would remedy critical deficiencies in concession space, public space, passenger screening areas and baggage areas.
"We're at a critical point in the master planning process now that what we really need to do is start focusing on the vision for this airport, and where this airport will be heading in terms of growth," Puckli said.
The concepts also map out two new terminal gates and reconfigure the seven existing gates to allow ECP to accommodate new airlines coming in.
"We expect that to happen, certainly, in the planning horizon, and you need to be prepared for it," Puckli said.
ECP currently has seven passenger gates, but only utilizes four. The three remaining gates, Puckli said, are not functional and cannot sufficiently accommodate most commercial aircraft.
Beyond the 20-year planning horizon, any expansion of the terminal building will be to the north.
The airport board will conduct another workshop Dec. 13 and tour the terminal to better visualize the concepts. They will then narrow down the concepts and airport planners will come back with a recommendation.
"We can pick and choose the best of each one," Puckli said. "It will probably be a hybrid of what we've shown you today."
The number one project to come out of the master plan, however, will be the construction of a new crosswind runway, which is needed to provide better wind coverage for smaller aircraft.
With plans in place to complete the runway by 2017, Puckli said ECP's airfield capacity should suffice beyond the 20-year planning horizon and into the future.
The next step in the master planning process will be to create an implementation plan, financial plan and updated airport layout plan and conduct a third public workshop before the board considers the final plan for adoption.
A master plan is needed for airports to be eligible to receive state and federal funding for improvement projects. The process is funded primarily through grants from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Florida Department of Transportation.
In other business, airport officials reported a passenger decline of 8 percent in October from the same month last year. Pensacola International holds the largest share of the regional market at 40 percent, followed by ECP with 22 percent, Northwest Florida Regional Airport in Fort Walton Beach with 20 percent, and Tallahassee Regional with 19 percent.
Copyright 2013 - The News Herald, Panama City, Fla.
