Fayetteville Regional Airport Director Brad Whited calls a construction project at the 47-year-old Fayetteville Regional Airport “a major makeover.” 

It’s the largest and most expensive undertaking since the airport’s construction in 1969. Construction of Concourse B and expansion of ticketing and baggage wings took place nearly 30 years ago. Smaller improvements were accomplished in subsequent years. Now, the time has come for a new Concourse A. 

Construction should be underway by this time next year, according to Whited. It will include removal of Concourse A which was part of the original airport building. The replacement concourse will be a modern two-level addition similar to the newer Concourse B. Three older jet ways will be replaced by six new jet bridges, eventually, to serve seven gates. A 20-foot addition to the front of the terminal will include “two new escalators, two new elevators and two new stairways to the second level,” said Whited. The passenger screening checkpoint will be modernized to provide for two lanes available to the TSA. 

Renovation of the airline ticket wing, moving TSA baggage screening to the back side of ticketing with a modern new system, plus new and additional rest rooms throughout the terminal are included. Upgraded electrical, water and HVAC systems will be installed along with a new sprinkler system. 

“It took us several years to get on this (federal funding) list, and when combined with our annual (FAA) entitlement, will provide $26 million dollars for the project,” added Whited. The entire cost is estimated at $34 million. Airport reserves and revenues will make up the difference. No local tax money is involved. 

Whited expects the construction project to take about two years. It will be done in nine phases. Day-to-day airport operations will continue during construction. American Airlines (formerly US Airways), Delta and United provide 17 daily flights from Fayetteville to Charlotte, North Carolina, Atlanta, Georgia and Washington, D.C.

The Fayetteville Regional Airport serves a 12-county area in Southeastern North Carolina along the I-95 corridor. The airport opens daily at 3:30 a.m. and closes briefly following the last flight of the day; airline ticket counters reopen at 4:30 a.m. 

A USO facility on the second level is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The passenger terminal offers Smarte Cartes, an ATM machine, wireless Internet access, a café, vending machines, rental car counters, video games and shoeshine service. Other services include rental cars and taxi cabs.