Syracuse’s Hancock International Airport will expand and modernize one of its two passenger terminals with the help of a $20 million state grant, Gov. Kathy Hochul said today.
The project will add 4,700 square feet to the airport’s north concourse, providing additional seating, concession space and improved passenger flow through the terminal, Hochul said.
As part of the expansion, contractors will build two new jet bridges at gates where passengers now have to board planes using outdoor stairs, said Jason Terreri, executive director of the Syracuse Regional Airport Authority.
About 40 percent of the airport’s overall passenger traffic arrives and departs through gates in the north concourse.
The Syracuse airport has been growing rapidly, landing new airlines and setting records for passenger volume.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, traffic at Syracuse’s airport soared to its highest level in three decades. About 2.5 million passengers flew in and out of Hancock Airport in 2019, the most since 1990.
This spring, Breeze Airways became the latest low-cost carrier to announce that it would begin serving Syracuse, its first destination in Upstate New York.
Terreri told syracuse.com | The Post-Standard today that the airport’s passenger traffic this year has bounced back to pre-pandemic highs and is on track to exceed the 2019 total.
Hancock Airport is among nine airports statewide that won $230 million worth of competitive grants today from the state to pay for upgrades and expansion projects, Hochul said.
The governor’s office said about $6 million of the $20 million earmarked for Syracuse will be used to upgrade the airport’s federal inspection station used by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The upgrade will help preserve Syracuse’s status as an international airport and its ability to handle international passengers and cargo, Hochul said.
As part of that project, the airport will replace one of its jet bridges and build an additional holding room and boarding space for international travelers.
Terreri said he expects the construction work in the north concourse and in the federal customs inspection station to be completed within two years.
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