The Maryland Board of Public Works has approved contracts for the construction of a Southwest Airlines maintenance facility at BWI Marshall Airport, the airline’s first maintenance facility in the Northeastern U.S.
The state has approved $44.6 million in construction contracts for the facility and lease agreements for the airline to build and operate it. Southwest Airlines will fund the balance of the $135 million project.
The 27-acre site will include a hanger large enough to accommodate up to three Boeing 737 jets and an apron space for eight additional jets. It will include office and workshop space.
Southwest Airlines began serving BWI Marshall Airport 28 years ago. It accounts for about 70% of all flights at the airport. Southwest has 4,000 employees at BWI.
“We appreciate the state of Maryland for the continued support of Southwest’s growth, investment and presence at BMW Marshall Airport. We look forward to making this the next milestone in Southwest’s continued service in the region,” said Landon Nitschke, senior vice president of the airline’s technical operations.
BWI has seen the fastest pandemic recovery of the three D.C.-region airports. In August, its passenger traffic was up 120% from August of 2020, though still below pre-pandemic levels.
