MIDLAND, Texas — Midland International Air and Space Port may only have one terminal, but larger aircraft have been brought in in recent years to accommodate the influx of flyers.
More people flying means longer wait times and more packed parking lots. MAF has been working to make that experience a little bit better.
In 2019, the airport began work on adding a sixth gate. That gate is set to be open for business in just a few weeks.
"We are almost ready for business now. There is a new portal on the south end of the terminal building that says gate six," Justine Ruff, director of airports said. "There’s an elevated walkway that goes out to the jet bridge, and then the jet bridge goes out to the aircraft."
Gate six will primarily be used for American Airline flights, but the other airlines flying into and out of MAF will still be able to use it as well. All that creates more takeoffs and landings as well as more people.
"Particularly for American, only having one gate it was difficult if they had two aircraft in at the same time or around the same time. Now they can spread those out. They can operate from both gates and not have to wait for the first aircraft to leave before they can bring another in so it’s more convenient," Ruff said.
Before you actually get on those flights, one thing to think about is the parking situation. MAF recently did some work on the parking lots, but there could be a new parking garage to go with it in the future.
"The top layers would be open for public parking so I mean it would offer us more spots. Also, the cost, we don’t know. I mean a rough estimate for a parking garage I had heard about $25 million, but we have to flesh those numbers out," Ruff said.
In west Texas, it can get real hot or real cold. More covered parking would help keep your vehicles out of the elements. It's one reason why the current covered parking lot is typically pretty full on a consistent basis.
"It’s every weekend. It’s full for sure Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and during the week it fills up. Also, if there’s bad weather you know forecast, some more covered parking is probably the biggest request that we get," Ruff said.
The parking garage would be dual purpose, however. The lower level would also serve as a one stop shop for rental car needs.
"You know you can do oil changes. They are fueling everything. You get the cars ready to be rented again, and it would save the car rentals money in that right now that they all have their own individual places that they store their vehicles," Ruff said.
The parking garage project is still just in the design phase right now. This project would cost an estimated $25 million. The gate project cost roughly $1.5 million.