SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio International Airport constantly has travelers flowing through the gates, and its director hopes it gets even busier.
“If we continue on the trend that we’re in, we’re just a couple of million away from being a large-sized airport in the United States,” Director of Airports Jesus Saenz said. “And that’s really the transformation that we’re working towards.”
Saenz said part of that transformation includes adding more direct flights.
“We have a number of different non-stops that we’re adding already into this summer,” he said.
The first flight takes off Friday to Frankfurt, the airport’s first direct flight to Europe.
Ceci Garcia Redmond with Greater SATX said it will serve as a gateway to and from Europe.
“This is part of the journey to bring more transatlantic nonstop flights to San Antonio, and we know we can support it,” she said. “We’ve done all of our research.”
Leaders have also spent years researching and pushing for a direct flight to Ronald Reagan National Airport.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden signed a bill that allows five new round-trip flights to D.C., paving the way for San Antonio.
American Airlines plans to fight to offer the direct flights from SAT to DCA. The airline is expected to submit an application to the U.S. Department of Transportation to begin service. Those five flight slots will be awarded 60 days after the bill’s signing.
“That speaks volumes to what we’re doing from an air service perspective and what the city is doing to position us for greater air service,” Garcia Redmond said.
“With this potential new flight to D.C. and the flight to Frankfurt, do you think that’ll help the San Antonio International Airport get more direct flights?” asked reporter Daniela Ibarra.
“Absolutely,” Saenz said.
More flights could mean more savings for travelers.
“That’s turned into X number of passengers that are coming in and out of the airport, and the more and more we’re able to do that, the better the prices for the passenger, the better it is for the airlines, too,” he said.