MSP considering Terminal 2 expansion

The Metropolitan Airports Commission is considering tripling the size of Terminal 2, known as the Humphrey Terminal, at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

The Lindberg Terminal, also known as Terminal 1, could also see an expansion from 117 gates to as many as 135 gates in the next 17 years, Jeff Hamiel, executive director of the Metropolitan Airports Commission told MPR's Daily Circuit Tuesday.

The airport's long-term plan predicts the number of passengers will grow from about 33.2 million per year now to more than 50 million, he said.

Terminal 2 has about 10 gates, and the MAC could decide to move forward on the initial expansion plans as soon as next month, Hamiel added. "The next move would probably result in three gates with four jet loaders attatched," he said. "But at the end of the day, we can expand the current facility out by another six gates toward the northeast, and we can also build an additional probably 15 gates for an ultimate development of about 27 to 30 gates at Humphrey Terminal."

By 2030, airport officials expect to be running 29 gates in Terminal 2 and about 135 gates in Terminal 1, he said.

There may also come a day when the main terminal's gates are occupied entirely by Delta Airlines flights, although Hamiel said talks about that change are preliminary.

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