Arnold Palmer airport expansion project on track to takeoff in December

A new terminal for passengers at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport is on track for completion by Christmas.

Officials said Tuesday that work on the $22 million expansion is on schedule and a second phase of the overall construction project that includes new offices for the county airport authority is set to begin this spring.

Last fall, construction began on a 32,000-square-foot expansion of the main terminal building that will include new TSA security checkpoints, additional passenger waiting areas and a second loading gate.

The project is funded through a series of federal and state grants and comes at a time when fewer passengers are traveling to and from the Unity airport. Spirit Airlines, the lone commercial carrier, currently flies to just one location, Orlando, operating flights four days a week.

Spirit flew about 5,000 fewer passengers to and from Westmoreland County’s airport in 2024, continuing a downward trend that started with the coronavirus outbreak in 2020. Authority data released this week revealed 145,000 passengers flew in and out of the airport last year.

Officials say the expanded terminal building will help lure additional flights and passengers to use the airport.

“Hopefully, the airport can move forward in a good way,” said Paul Whittaker, who was elected Tuesday to serve as the authority’s new chairman.

The authority’s engineer, Scott Kunselman, said bids will be sought in the next month for the second phase of the expansion project that will include what is expected to be a $2.5 million relocation of the airport authority’s administrative offices and installation of a new baggage conveyor system.

The authority, as part of the overall expansion, also plans an $800,000 refurbishment of the passenger bridge and about $1.2 million to purchase a second bridge to be used at the new loading gate. Officials expect those projects to be completed by August 2026.

A $4 million project to expand the airport’s baggage pickup area and update restrooms and other common areas is expected to be completed by July 2027, Kunselman said.