Modular terminal being built for commercial traffic at G.S. Airport

Modular terminal being built for commercial traffic at G.S. Airport

Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft said The Gulf Shores International Airport Authority has three letters of intent from airlines ready to start service and a contract with TBI Airport Management of Atlanta to build a $4 million, 12,000 square foot, modular passenger terminal with six ticket counters, electronic kiosks, restrooms, two TSA security areas, and holding and baggage claim areas. Plans also call for TBI to build a permanent, two-gate airport terminal within four years.
Speaking to a local chamber gathering, Mayor Craft said Elite Airways will provide service from Nashbille and Sun Country will provide service to Minneapolis. He said a third airline will use larger aircraft and provide service to a hub city such as Atlanta or Dallas for connector flights.
Previous letters of intent granted to offer regular flights from Jack Edwards Airport in Gulf Shores to Atlanta, Cincinatti and Baton Rouge were canceled due to a lack of interest in the service back in 2019. Southeast Beach Express round-trip flights to Baton Rouge was priced at $490. Flights were priced at $590 to Atlanta and $590 to Cincinnati. Lack of rental cars was a major factor in the lack of bookings, according to a Southeast Beach Express face saving press release.
Mayor Craft said plans are also in place to provide transportation services at the airport and noted that the more people that fly here for vacation, the less traffic congestion there will be on the roads leading into Pleasure Island.
The authority will get $4,000 a month to lease property for the interim terminal and will also receive 90 percent of the landing fees collected by TBI.
The commercial service into Gulf Shores International Airport was made possible because of the newly constructed air traffic control tower at the airport. The 95-ft-tall tower consists of nearly 2 million pounds of concrete and more than 6 mi. of copper electrical and communications wiring. It contains a modern communications system that allows aircraft to connect with tower controllers from more than 30 mi. away. Officials say the tower has been exceedingly helpful in creating safe airspace and streamlining operations at the second-busiest airport in Alabama.
Additionally, the airport was awarded a grant of $670,000 through the Airport Improvement Program to conduct and update miscellaneous studies related to the new terminal development and reconstruct Taxiway Lighting for Taxiway A and other related projects.
For more info about Gulf Shores International Airport, call the Gulf Shores Airport Authority at 251-967-3968.