Appleton International Airport is seeking an amendment to the Wisconsin state budget that would allocate $11.4 million for a proposed terminal expansion that would cost more than $77 million.
The expansion and modernization are based on an FAA-approved 2020 Terminal Area Plan and includ a 60,000-square-foot concourse expansion to 10 gates with the option for two more in the future.There also would be technology improvements, a reconfigured entry, expanded ticketing, baggage claim and make-up systems.
Funding for the proposed expansion is a mix of federal, state and local sources. The federal and local funding sources are in place, making the state budget amendment the next step to begin expansion, according to a press release from ATW.
The airport had a record year in 2022 with 850,000 passengers, up from 720,000 in 2021. The airport is the third busiest in Wisconsin and was reclassified as a small-hub airport putting in a new classification for funding.
Projects initiated in 2022 include initiatives designed to manage the increase in passenger air traffic at both the commercial airport and the private flight center, including a major expansion of the concrete ramp used for planes landing and taxing, as well as construction of a general aviation hangar at the Appleton Flight Center, a facility used by private aircraft.
In addition, Gulfstream has started work on a 73,000-square-foot paint hangar that is expected to be completed this year.
According to airport officials, 10 air carrier aircraft remain overnight utilizing 7 passenger boarding bridges. This activity creates logistics issues for the current air carriers struggling to access bridges and get people on/off aircraft. Internal concourse spaces are over capacity. Terminal expansion would help alleviate those issues and allow for anticipate growth.
