GLEN BURNIE, Md. — BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport is preparing to unveil the largest construction project in its history, a $425 million expansion that promises to transform the travel experience for millions of passengers.
The centerpiece of the project is a new connector between Concourses A and B, designed to streamline passenger movement and particularly benefit Southwest Airlines travelers, the airport's largest carrier.
"It really is in line with advancing all of the transportation needs for our largest air carrier and that's Southwest Airlines," BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport Executive Director/CEO Shannetta Griffin said.
BWI Airport's $425 million expansion nears completion with new connector opening Jan. 9
The upgrade features five modernized gate areas equipped with additional seating, built-in charging ports, new glass boarding bridges, and brighter, open spaces filled with natural light.
The expansion also includes a significant upgrade to the airport's baggage handling system, increasing capacity from 2,100 bags to 3,200 bags that can be processed.
"The biggest part of this of course is our baggage system one of the things that is important to all of our traveling passengers is our baggage so they will be able to now go from 21 hundred bags to 32 hundred bags that will be able to be processed," Griffin explained.
Planning for the massive undertaking began in 2017. Despite delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, officials say the project remained on budget and on schedule.
"One of the things that was important about this opening is that all of this activity stopped during COVID, we were able to pick that activity back up, we were able to still stay on budget and on time in regards to the delivery of this," says Griffin.
Griffin said the new A/B connector will also provide opportunities for small businesses to represent the state.
"When we open up we'll have some of our small and local businesses here that will be portrayed, we will have vending, so we'll have an option for all of our passengers to still be able to have amenities and the types of things that they need for their airport experience," said Griffin.
The new A/B connector is scheduled to open to passengers and new flights on January 9, 2026.
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