$2M Tupelo Airport Terminal Renovation Expected To Begin in September
TUPELO – A $2 million renovation of the Tupelo Regional Airport terminal is on track to begin next month.
It is the first major work to be done at the terminal since 2007, when a renovated and expanded facility opened. The $4.8 million project increased the size of the terminal from 14,000 to 24,000 square feet.
The new project will expand the space for both passengers and security screening.
“What they're going to do is expand the check-in, make it wider, because it's a little cramped in there now,” said airport Executive Director Brandon Pannell. “And then the sterile area would be bigger, more seating, and they're adding extra bathrooms because there's only one there … With the grant, they want to make it family friendly, so just more room, more area for people.”
The sterile area is the seating area for passengers that have been screened by TSA.
The project comes from a $2 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Pannell said construction should take about six months, with no interruption in service.
“What they'll do is they'll set up a temporary checkpoint, and then they won't work while people are here,” he said. “So once passengers get checked in and leaves, then they'll start working. But everything will keep going as normal.”
That will come as welcome news to travelers who have been flying in and out of Tupelo Regional at a heady pace. Last month, 1,419 enplanements were recorded, the most this year and the fourth-most since Contour Airlines began service in April 2016.
Also, last month was 25th consecutive month in which the airport saw at least 1,000 boardings. The last time a single airline was able to achieve that in Tupelo was Mesaba, when it went 13 months with at least 1,000 passengers per month.
For the year, passenger boardings in Tupelo are running about 5% more than last year at this time.
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