Columbus Airport plans to build new terminal as part of other changes to city’s ‘gateway’
The Columbus Airport plans to upgrade its general aviation terminal amid ongoing plans to reconstruct its runway.
Airport officials are working with the local company Hecht Burdeshaw Architects to design the new terminal that will service the private side of the airport, Columbus Airport director Amber Clark told the Ledger-Enquirer.
This comes after the airport completed renovating its commercial terminal in 2021.
The plan is to demolish the old terminal and reconstruct a completely new one, Clark said.
In Columbus, there’s a wide range of private uses for the general aviation terminal, she said.
Corporate aircraft use the terminal, as well as the military and other charter flights. The private side of the airport also supports flight training, small cargo operations and air ambulances for local hospitals.
“There’s all different types of aviation on the private side,” Clark said. “We also have individuals who own small aircraft and like to fly for hobbies.”
The airport has two corporate tenants, she said, along with several small businesses. On average, Columbus Airport services over 600 general aviation aircraft per month, Clark said.
“But we have thousands of different businesses that travel here annually,” she said. “So the base of customers who are touched is in the thousands.”
It’s still too early in the process to estimate the total cost of the project, Clark said, but the new general aviation terminal will be funded through the Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax.
Plans for the new terminal
The new terminal will double the size of the current general aviation terminal, Clark said.
“It’s going to be a two-story building versus our (current) one-story,” she said. “And it’s going to have awesome features.”
One of the biggest new features in the terminal will be the space for a restaurant. This restaurant will have its own entrance and will operate separately from the airport, Clark said, which means Columbus residents who would like to patronize the restaurant may easily do so.
“Locals can actually come to the airport, eat and see what’s going on at the airport,” she said. “And those who are traveling into Columbus have an opportunity to experience that.”
There’s already been some interest from local restaurateurs about the space, Clark said, but there hasn’t been a final decision about what restaurant will be in the new terminal.
Along with a restaurant, there also will be a passenger lobby equipped with amenities. There will be a TSA screening room, executive board rooms and a meeting space for those who need to hold a news conference or larger meeting.
“We often have a lot of politicians (or celebrities) that fly through,” Clark said. “If they need an area to do a conference or something of that nature, we would have the ability to provide that for them.”
Updating the airport’s hangars also is in the works, she said. The Columbus Airport has 129 hangars, Clark said, but they’re becoming outdated. They plan to demolish some of the older hangars, one of which was built in the 1940s, to build bigger ones in their place.
“As aircraft get bigger because of the new technology, we need hangars to accommodate that,” she said. “Right now, all of our hangars are pretty much full, so we only have two that are available for rent.”
A new runway
This project comes as the airport prepares to reconstruct its primary runway, with the Federal Aviation Administration providing $24.4 million. This construction will begin in August 2026 and run through November 2026, Clark said.
“We hope to be open in December for holiday travel,” she said. “So, we’re excited.”
The new runway will be made with concrete, Clark said, which has a longer lifespan than the current asphalt runway. Asphalt has a useful life of about 40 years, she said, and the runway is well beyond that time.
Completing the runway will impact the new general aviation terminal because construction on it will not begin until after the runway is completed, Clark said.
Economic Impact
When it comes to thinking about the economic impact of the airport, she said, many people underestimate the importance of having general aviation and commercial flights.
There are 103 airports in Georgia, Clark said, and only eight of them are commercial service airports.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to have both of those services here,” she said.
Offering services for commercial and private provides the airport with greater connectivity in the region, Clark said.
The airport’s annual economic impact is about $93 million, she said, and a lot of this economic impact comes from general aviation.
Delta Airlines operates three flights per day in Columbus. American Airlines decided to end service in Columbus in 2023 because of the pilot shortage and low demand. Altogether, the airport had about 33,000 takeoffs and landings last year, Clark said.
The new terminal and hangars will help bolster the business community in Columbus, she said. Clark said the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce could use the new infrastructure to help encourage more corporations and businesses to move to Muscogee County.
“This is the gateway to Columbus,” Clark said. “This is going to be the first thing that individuals see who fly into that private side.”
