Arrivals and departures to the main terminal at Greenville Spartanburg International Airport are currently congested with traffic cones, construction workers, and alternative road routes. The dual-county airport is expected to see improvement projects that last through 2026.
Although markers, machinery, and manpower fill the airport’s pathway today, the infrastructure being installed is a direct response to its busiest year.
Airport officials say nearly 2.9 million passengers will travel through GSP Airport in 2024.
Since their terminal roadway improvement project began in January of 2023, procurement and weather delays have caused a slight adjustment to the projected finish into the second quarter of 2025.
Yet, a new 1,500-space parking structure, two new boarding bridges on Concourse A and B, which could send out around 100 more flights per week, and a possible hotel are in the works at the expanding airport.
In mid-June, the airport reopened its front terminal parkway with two additional lanes and designated zones for drop-off, pick-up, and ride-sharing services to maneuver in and out of the main entrance to GSP Airport. The lanes were doubled in size and length to accommodate the Upstate’s growth and the airport’s use.
“We had a 1962 airport roadway for 2024 passengers,” said Tom Tyra, vice president and chief marketing communications officer at GSP Airport. “Over time, we had imperfect solutions to handle those situations. We think the road improvement and future solutions give us plenty of room for rideshares, shuttles, bus activity, and more capacity as we grow.”
Before the $18 million road project began in January 2023, the drop-off area near the main terminal only had two or three rideshare spaces. As of mid-June, it now hosts various designated zones for ridesharing, shuttles, buses, drop-offs, and through traffic.
As construction continues on road improvements, the airport also plans to spend more than $100 million on projects into 2026 that aim to increase the span of the regional airport, which is facing substantial growth in the area.
And it could spend even more if talks of a hotel follow through, according to Tyra.
Why is GSP Airport growing?
According to Tiffany Cherry, communications manager at GSP Airport, in May 2024, the Upstate-based airport experienced its highest passenger total in history, as more than 266,000 people traveled through it.
The reported 20-percent increase in traffic at the airport has also been the highest in GSP Airport history, mainly due to the growth in population to the Upstate area and the arrival of Avelo Airlines and Breeze Airways, which have added more than eight routes and increased flight frequencies to the Northeast, Southeast, and western cities like Los Angeles.
Existing carriers have often increased their flight frequencies and brought in bigger aircraft. Over the past year, Southwest Airlines has added flights to Nashville, Tennessee, Denver, and Houston, and in September 2024, United Airlines will restart its three daily flights to Washington, D.C.
These changes have caused a 25-percent increase in available seats from 2023, a trend that airport officials are preparing to embrace. According to Tyra, GSP Airport has had a four percent growth year-over-year since its inception in 1962.
“One of the reasons people choose to fly GSP is the convenience,” Cherry said. “As we grow, we want to do it smartly and make sure we’re maintaining the convenience that passengers expect from us.”
To combat the growth, the airport has launched additional projects that will assist with more flights, parking availability and car rental options to come.
More: New restaurant opens at GSP giving travelers a new dining choice
New Parking Structure C and revisions to Parking Structure A to come
In February 2024, GSP Airport broke ground on a two-year parking structure project with 1,500 parking spaces evenly split between car rental and public parking, with 750 dedicated to each.
Garage C Parking will open in the first quarter of 2026 and will cost around $97 million, according to Tyra.
The new parking structure will allow GSP Airport to offer car rental customers a business-level car rental service where travelers no longer have to wait in line for car rentals but walk to a desired vehicle and pull out of the new garage with less wait time, similar to what is offered in larger airports.
Garage C Parking will also offer car washing and fueling facilities, which will be nearby.
Once Structure C is complete, the current rental garage will be in Garage A. Parking will use the entire building for 700 public parking spaces, as the 1988 building has car rental services on the first floor.
According to Tyra, the new Garage C Parking structure will be paid for through an additional charge from car rentals, money from GSP Airport savings accounts, and bonds that the airport commission must approve in July. The commission hopes to approve the bonds by September 2024.
Two new boarding bridges to come to GSP Airport, adding up to 14 flights per day
By the end of 2024, Concourse A and B will receive a new boarding bridge, allowing two additional docked planes to onboard and offload passengers. Construction will begin this fall, and the bridge will be completed by the end of 2024.
The addition of the two boarding bridges will cost around $5 million. It will be paid through the passenger facility fee — where every ticket sold at GSP Airport collects $4.50, which funds projects that increase capacity or security structure on the premises.
The addition will allow 70 to 90-seat airplanes the option to have five-to-seven additional flights per day at GSP Airport and increase the total number of boarding bridges to 15 between the two concourses.
“A-Zero” is the current name of the upcoming boarding bridge and will sit beside the airside barn and the first gate on Concourse A.
On the Concourse B side, the additional boarding bridge will split, similar to a “Y” shape, and onboarding passengers will use either the right or left gate to enter the plane.
“It sets us up to where if we go another five to seven years and we’re adding gates to the building, we don’t have to reconstruct the building,” said Tyra.
“There is a plan to later near the B4 loading area or go down a longer bridge known as “B5”, he added.
More: Greenville Honor Tower, Gardens at Unity Park break ground, plans to open at end of 2025.
Could there eventually be a hotel at GSP Airport?
Just before the pandemic in 2020, discussions began at GSP Airport about the possibilities of an airport and what added features could aid the airport campus.
Shortly after, discussions began for Garage C Parking, yet a hotel is still on the list of improvements to consider adding to GSP Airport and finding the right partners to build.
According to Tyra, if a hotel were added to the airport grounds, it would likely sit between the terminal entry and the upcoming location of Garage C Parking.
“We’re not at the point where we’re ready to get proposals ready, but it remains in our plans to where we could see something moving in the next three to five years,” he said. “Hospitality in the area is growing, there’s plenty of room for capacity. We think it’s a unique value proposition.
“It remains fresh in mind.”
– A.J. Jackson covers the food & dining scene, along with arts, entertainment and downtown culture for The Greenville News. Contact him by email at ajackson@gannett.com, and follow him on X (formally Twitter) @ajhappened. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers. Sign up today for a digital subscription.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: GSP Airport upgrades include boarding bridges parking and possible hotel
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