SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio International Airport on Monday announced that its Terminal Development Program has received a $20 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration.
The grant will go toward the cost of building the Ground Load Facility to allow for more capacity and ground gates.
The facility will be a 37,000-square-foot, pre-engineered metal structure that will be placed south of Terminal A.
The project is 30% designed, and construction on the facility is slated for early 2024. Site work will start this summer, according to a news release.
The Ground Load Facility is expected to be completed and in place in March 2025.
A rendering of the Ground Load Facility at the San Antonio International Airport. (City of San Antonio)
It will include five new ground gates, an inspection station for international travelers, additional seating, charging stations and food and retail options.
The release added that the facility will allow for additional routes by existing and new airline carriers.
The grant was part of $5 billion allocated to the FAA in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which was passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in 2022. Of that, $750 million was allocated to medium-hub airports.
The release states that city leaders traveled to Washington D.C. numerous times since the bill was passed to advocate for funding for the airport.
“We hope this is the first of several major investments by the FAA in our Terminal Development Program,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said in the release. “I want to personally thank Senator John Cornyn, and Congressmen Joaquin Castro, Henry Cuellar, Lloyd Doggett, Tony Gonzalez and Chip Roy for making their support for our airport and our community’s vision known to the FAA. We look forward to celebrating this victory when they return from Washington.”
The city is also hoping to have a new terminal completed by mid-2028. The new terminal, which can fit up to 17 new gates, would be more than twice as large as Terminal A and more than three times the size of Terminal B.