BWI Seeks Expansion For International Flights

BWI is launching a three-year, $125 million construction project that will set the table for more international flights.

The plans appear to dovetail with the likely move of the airport's largest carrier, Southwest Airlines, into overseas markets and the Federal Aviation Administration's plan to build a new tower there.
The project would modernize Concourse D — home to United, Delta, Jet Blue and US Airways — and create a secure connection to the international gates on Concourse E at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. The new configuration would allow two Concourse D gates to be used for overseas flights.

The FAA wants to replace the three-decade-old existing tower over Concourse C with a taller tower able to observe the entire airport. A new tower, at a cost of at least $26 million, could be integrated into another construction project at the airport.
Last year, BWI handled 22.7 million passengers, making it the nation's 22nd-busiest airport. Its aggressive expansion program, which included a daily parking garage and off-site rental car facility, is tied to the continuing growth of Southwest, the nation's No. 3 airline and responsible for 70 percent of BWI's commercial traffic.