May 26—On Tuesday, the City of Laredo and Rep. Henry Cuellar delivered an update on the Terminal Improvement Plan for the city's airport and showed off a model depicting what it may look for the tentative 2024 completion period.
To partially fund the expansion, Laredo received $27,694,964 in funds between the CARES Act and from the Federal Aviation Administration. According to Cuellar, in the last 10 years, over $184 million has been invested into the airport with more funds expected.
With $9,188,272 diverted to the taxiway construction, Laredo Mayor Pete Saenz said that there has been growth in cargo transportation and the expansion will add value to the city and improve transportation of cargo for the U.S.
He also said that with the unemployment rate in Laredo at approximately 3.4% before the pandemic, and at 8% earlier this year improvements are already being shown, citing that the current rate sits at 7%. And with the expansion, more jobs will become available centered around the airport.
Cuellar echoed the sentiment and said that he can see Laredo moving to the No. 1 air cargo port along with their standing as the No. 1 land port.
Cuellar touted that the airport is also in the process to see the addition of a new Air and Marine hanger facility that would bolster Laredo employment, along with the new taxiway that would pave the way for additional cargo to pass through Laredo.
The hanger would be used to store aircrafts and aircraft maintenance, and have space for Customs and Border Protection operations. It is planned to include two 24,000-square feet hangars and an administration office building.
As per the $18,506,692 from the CARES Airport Improvement Program, Saenz cited that the city's economy was flourishing prior to the pandemic, a trend he hopes returns as we the pandemic's impact continues to dwindle
Airport Director Jefferey Miller said that he was excited to have finally unveiled the project and begin the process of expanding and renovating the terminal. With the cost estimated to reach $35 million, he said that having the leaders of both the Southwest Region Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Security involved will be a boon moving forward.
According to the plans, the airport will be seeing an expansion of its north side quadrant, which would relocate the TSA checkpoint and free up space to add airport amenities. For example, expanded bathrooms, a meet-and-greet area, a nursing mothers' room and an adult changing room would be added.
"It's going to make people feel like they are somewhere that is not benign, they are in Laredo," Miller said. "The bones in this terminal are great, but it lacks some of those qualities that the traveler expects to have today."
One example of a change that passengers would notice right away would be the removal of the escalators in the middle of the terminal. As the airport still had a pre-9/11 infrastructure, the security checkpoint was placed at the top of the escalators but with little room. This meant that passengers would need to queue at the bottom, resulting in a traffic congestion. This was made worse in situations where 150 passengers would travel to Las Vegas and be stopped by the escalators.
The expansion is designed to eliminate that entire portion and streamline the terminal.
With a restaurant space, a resting area and an area to stay in line, Miller believes it will result in a more pleasant and safe airport experience.
With an average of 100,000 passengers passing through the airport, Miller projects a 3-4% annual growth, with the terminal expansion slated to complement that growth. This is compounded by the new Aeromar airline providing trips to Mexico City.
Ultimately, Miller believes that the improvements would reduce the leakage rate of 69% of Laredo fliers who travel to San Antonio to fly. This has already dropped by 10%, saying that the ease of flying local will eventually reduce that leakage even more.
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