Aug. 22—San Antonio International Airport is gearing up to build a parking garage and transportation facility four times larger than originally planned as officials race to accommodate a growing number of passengers.
The Ground Transportation Center was originally slated to include 500 parking spots on top of drive-thru space for VIA Metropolitan Transit buses, hotel shuttles, taxis and ride-hailing services.
Airport Director Jesus Saenz now says the facility could include as many as 2,000 spaces, which would increase the overall number of parking spaces at the airport by 20%.
The airport currently has about 10,000 spaces in two parking garages and two surface lots.
The center will cost about $125 million to build.
"Based on our passenger activity levels, we wanted to move quickly," Saenz told City Council members at a Wednesday briefing on the airport's proposed budget for 2025.
Early project plans had the parking facility opening in 2028 along with a new terminal, which will be more than twice the size of either of the facility's two existing terminals. Saenz said updated plans aim to open the facility in 2027.
The center will sit outside the loop that drivers circle when dropping off or picking up travelers at the airport.
Open parking spaces have become scarce, especially as the post-pandemic resurgence in air travel continues unabated. The two garages often hit their maximum capacity, forcing people out to lots from which they must take shuttles to get to the airport.
Breaking records
July was the airport's busiest in history — 1,032,610 passengers flew in and out of San Antonio, topping the previous record set in July 2023 by 3%.
The airport expects to close this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, with 11.24 million passengers, or 330,000 more people than the airport anticipated it would see this year.
Officials estimate that 11.63 million passengers will pass through the facility next year.
The airport started adding overflow spaces in 2022 to contend with holiday travel traffic.
This year, the city privatized parking operations, handing the responsibility to Chicago-based SP Plus Corp.
The city's proposed fiscal year 2025 budget, which kicks in Oct. 1, includes $163.9 million to operate the airport and Stinson Municipal Airport. Unlike other parts of the budget, the airport is self-funded, relying on parking, concessions and airline fee revenue, in addition to federal grants.
The airport expects to rake in $165.6 million in revenue next year, or 20% more than the $137.9 million officials are projecting to collect this year.
Some of that additional revenue will come from increases in landing fees and terminal rents for airlines.
The Ground Transportation Center is just one piece of the city's 20-year master plan to expand the airport. The new terminal is the largest part of that ongoing effort.
The price of that project is rising as the planning phase continues.
In November, the city estimated the terminal plus a few other projects would cost $1.4 billion, but now estimates it may cost $1.68 billion. At the end of next year, when the design is nearly complete, officials will know the exact cost of the project.
Nonstops
San Antonio has 45 nonstop flight options. Saenz is hoping the city will get to 46 by the end of the fiscal year — he's confident the city will add a nonstop flight to Washington, D.C., soon. By the end of fiscal year 2025, the airport aims to have 48 nonstops.
American Airlines is pressing to win federal regulators' OK to operate a daily flight from San Antonio International Airport to Washington Reagan National Airport.
San Antonio leaders have tried but failed to win nonstop service to Washington, D.C., for decades, stymied by rules restricting the number of direct flights to Reagan National. But a bill re-authorizing the Federal Aviation Administration, which Congress passed in May, gives San Antonio's airport a shot.
The airport is waiting to hear if the Transportation Department will award American Airlines one of the five new round-trip openings to fly from San Antonio.
In addition to Washington, D.C., airport officials are also targeting Mexico, South America, the Caribbean and Canada for new nonstop flights, Saenz said.
The Rio Grande Valley may also be on the list of new options. Saenz said the Valley is "a very attractive destination" for the city, but could not comment further because he recently signed a non-disclosure agreement with an airline. Such agreements are common when airlines and airport officials are in talks about potential new routes.
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