Alabama's beaches will have an "interim" airport available for commercial flights by March 1, 2023, the Gulf Shores airport authority announced Sept. 7.
Now, the question is: Which carrier will be offering flights, and to where?
"It's a wild state of affairs right now but the biggest growth [for commercial aviation] is leisure markets," Scott Fuller, director of Gulf Shores International Airport and Jack Edwards Field told AL.com. "That's what they are selling. We're an ideal market for low-cost carriers and they have to put them somewhere."
Fuller said he hopes the opening of the planned 12,000-sq.-ft. modular terminal will fuel interest among airlines in coming to Gulf Shores.
"We are telling [them] we will be ready by March 1," he added.
Fuller said he was "cautiously optimistic" about a carrier operating from Gulf Shores by that date.
Agreement in Place for Construction
The Gulf Shores Airport Authority, the governing agency of the airport located north of the Intercoastal Waterway off Alabama Highway 59, signed an agreement with Atlanta-based TBI Airport Management and VINCI Airports for the construction of the new commercial air terminal.
The project involves a two-phased approach with an estimated $3.7 million initial investment going toward the construction of an interim terminal. It will include electronic kiosks, ticket counters and enough space for TSA screeners, a holding room and restrooms.
A baggage claim area at the Gulf Shores facility will be covered but located outdoors.
"We are going back to the 1940s where you have to walk out to your airplane and climb in," Fuller said.
Airport officials are optimistic of building a permanent, two-gate terminal that will replace the modular structure. Earlier estimates pegged that project at $24 million, and TBI and VINCI Airports will in in charge of the construction and operations of the new facility, according to AL.com.
VINCI is one of the world's leading private airport operators with more than 50 airports under its management in 11 countries across Europe, Asia and the Americas.
"With the level of interest and existing demand, we do not plan to be in the interim [terminal] for long," Fuller said, although he admitted it could take several years to build a permanent facility.
"The only reason to address interim facilities is to accommodate traffic now and not wait for a two-year design and construction project to be completed," he explained.
Will the Airlines Come?
Fuller has said that two airlines — Sun Country, which services flights to Minneapolis, and Elite Airways, which offers flights to Nashville — are slated to fly in and out of Gulf Shores.
He said that talks are ongoing with a larger carrier, and announcements were expected this summer. That did not happen, but Fuller told AL.com that he believes the construction of a terminal at Gulf Shores will eventually attract a commercial carrier.
"It's very hard to lure someone in here when you don't have a facility," he noted, adding that airlines tend to announce "four months out" before they begin providing service in a market.
A groundbreaking on the modular facility could take place in late October, said Fuller.
Airport Facility to Aid in Vehicle Congestion
Gulf Shores airport officials are pursuing commercial flights to help city officials in alleviating congested beachbound roadways, especially Ala. 59.
Studies show that almost all visitors to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach arrive by vehicle. Of the approximately seven million people who visited the beach communities in 2018 and 2019, a whopping 92 percent arrived by car or truck during peak summer travel months.
Local officials believe Gulf Shores could be an attractive site for commercial flights and think the future airport can work in conjunction with similar traffic at Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, located 18 mi. northwest of Panama City.
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