The coming year will bring a flurry of activity to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, including a new airline that will offer the only nonstop flights from North America to Greenland, better Internet access and enhanced dining options.
Airport officials believe BWI will see more passengers than it did in 2006, when the number of passengers increased 5 percent.
“We should see continued growth in 2007,” BWI spokesman Jonathan Dean said. “Our air service team meets with more than 35 air carriers every year to encourage new or expanded service from BWI.”
In May, Air Greenland will begin nonstop flights on Fridays between Greenland and BWI, the only such flights on this continent, according to the airport and the airline. Starting June 11, the airline will add a Monday flight.
“This is a new and improved, world-class airport that can accommodate further growth,” Maryland Deputy Secretary of Transportation Jim Ports said when Air Greenland announced its decision in the fall.
Several years of construction at BWI finished in November, marking the close of a major $1.4 billion expansion, but more work is on tap for 2007.
Installation has already begun for a wireless Internet network, which will be operable in a few months, for the terminal. Design work has commenced on significant upgrades to the baggage handling and screening system to make it more efficient.
“We want to modernize and expand our baggage systems to increase capacity and reliability,” Dean said.
In the first part of the new year, BWI will open new eateries and shops in the main terminal and in several concourses, completing an expansion that began in 2006 and seeks to build on the award the airport received from the trade magazine Airport Revenue News for the best concession program in the country among large airports.
Besides improving the passenger experience inside the terminal by offering better food, the airport is looking to make it easier for passengers to get into the airport.
“BWI will have a number of exciting parking initiatives to roll out in 2007,” Dean said.
