Bangor International Airport To Kick Off 18 Months Of Projects

In the coming 18 months, many improvements will made to both the runway and passenger facilities at the Bangor International Airport. Some of them will have a slight impact on air travel, temporarily.

A much-needed face-lift and reworking.

Airport officials say that in the last 5 years, the number of people to pass through BIA has increased by 30%.

As such, some major plans to mill, grate, and repave almost 11,500 feet of runway, while also creating a post-security space with some much-requested amenities have been put into play.

According to BGR Marketing & Business Development Manager Aimee Thibodeau, there are two major projects taking place: The Runway 15-33 Rehabilitation and the Terminal Connector Project.

Bangor International Airport 6, Cori Skall

These projects, and their accompanying improvements, will be divided into a couple of different phases.

Phase One: Runway Work

The first phase involves restoring the runway and will start on April 1st. She says they have done their best to set a schedule that least impacts air travel to and from the area, but there will be about a month where on certain days, they will fully shut down the runway, meaning no flights will be coming in or out of the airport during those times.

"1. Possible overnight closures during off-peak hours from April 1-April 26. Passenger traffic should not be impacted.

2. Full runway closure 8 a.m. Monday-3 p.m. Wednesday over a 4-week period from April 29-May 24. During this time period there will be no air service available at BGR.

From May 29-Aug. 30, the runway length will be shortened, but no closures are anticipated."

Thibodeau says the 45 million dollar price tag for the repaving project is being split by the Bangor International Airport, the Maine DOT, the Maine Air National Guard, and the FAA.

Phase 2: The Terminal Connector

The feedback folks from the airport received was that travelers want more options and amenities once they've made it through the security checkpoint. With that in mind the second phase of the plan will put 14.2 million dollars in federal funds toward the new construction of a space for folks to go to wait for their flights to take off.

"It is designed to enhance the passenger experience while providing much-needed additional gate space at BGR by connecting the domestic and international terminals located post-security."

That project will also begin in April, Thibodeau says, and last a full 18 months.

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Maine's 10 Busiest Commercial Airports

Maine's aviation connection is mostly considered two entities, the Portland Jetport and the Bangor International Airport.

These two facilities unquestionably handle the bulk of the commercial aviation in state. However, there are a number of smaller airports that also help ship people out of Maine.

Here is a look at the 10 busiest airports in Maine.

the information used comes from 2019 FAA statistics. This means these ridership numbers are from before the pandemic.