New Fairhope Airport Terminal to Open this Fall; Project Gets More Federal Funding

The H.L. “Sonny” Callahan Airport in Fairhope will receive additional federal funds for a parking lot, just as the airport’s new terminal is nearing completion.

Earlier this week, the Alabama Department of Transportation announced that it awarded the Fairhope airport $82,581 from the Federal Aviation Administration and $4,588 from a state grant to construct a parking lot at the new terminal. The city of Fairhope will provide $4,588 in matching funds for the project, the release says.

Construction on the parking lot is nearly complete, Pel Henry, a member of the Fairhope Airport Authority board, says. The new terminal should be ready in early August and will be opened in October.

Last year, the Fairhope airport received $2 million in FAA funds to build a new aviation terminal on the east side of the airport property. The airport authority broke ground on the new terminal in October of last year.

When it is completed, Sullivan says most of the airport’s operations will be shifted to that terminal, which she says will be much more welcoming to visitors.

“[The airport will be] an attractive and modern welcoming center, which will give visitors a great first impression, reflecting the image of Fairhope, and also further facilitating the business and cultural climate of Fairhope as air traffic into our city grows,” Sullivan previously said.

The new terminal will be a “significant upgrade” from the previous terminal, Henry says. When the airport’s original terminal was built, he says, Fairhope and the other Eastern Shore cities were just “villages.” The new terminal will be much more suitable for Baldwin County, the second-fastest growing county in Alabama, he says.

“We’ll service a lot of Baldwin County, since it’s basically just us and Gulf Shores that have airports,” Henry says. “We’ll be a very nice gateway to Baldwin County.”

In total, the new airport terminal project cost around $2.5 million, Henry says. The majority of those funds came from the FAA grant. The airport authority borrowed most of the remaining funds from the city, Henry says, along with the recent distribution of funds from ALDOT.

The airport authority is also in the process of negotiating a contract with Flightline First, a company based in New Orleans, La., to handle operations at the new terminal. Henry says negotiations on that contract are ongoing and should be wrapped up shortly.

The most recent grants come from ALDOT’s Alabama Airport Improvement Funding Program. According to a news release, the program provides financial assistance and technical services to airport owners for “acquisition, construction, expansion, maintenance, or operation of public airport facilities.”

ALDOT anticipates awarding $8 million in state funds in fiscal year 2024 to local airports around the state, the release says.

In addition to the Fairhope airport, the Shelby County Airport in Shelby County received $112,500 in funds for pavement maintenance. The Shelby County Commission will provide $37,500 in matching funds; the total value of the project is $150,000.

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