Lawton airport’s new passenger area, boarding gate will open Thursday

Passengers on the first flight out of Lawton on Thursday will use the new boarding bridge and holding area at Lawton-Fort Sill Regional Airport.

That pre-dawn flight marks a new era at the airport, completion of the major portion the $15.3 million terminal-wide modernization that Herring Construction launched in early 2023. This phase built a new secured passenger holding area on the site of the long-time old one, an area that holds twice as many passengers as did the original 60-passenger area. It also adds a boarding bridge, a covered walkway linking the holding area to the aircraft so passengers can enter and leave the aircraft without going outside on the tarmac as they do now. And its large windows provide an unrestricted view of the Wichita Mountains for passengers as they wait, as well as restrooms and vending machines without having to leave the area and be subject to re-screening by TSA.

For TSA, the upgrade means a larger area to handle the passengers as they get ready to board their aircraft. Separate corridors are given to boarding passengers and those who are leaving aircraft, with the departure corridor boasting security features such as doors that lock behind passengers so they can’t re-enter the secured area.

Airport Director Barbara McNally said while the boarding gate has been in place for several weeks as final work was completed in the holding area, Thursday will be the first time actual passengers boarding a flight to Dallas-Fort Worth will use it. It’s a mark of the progress that contractors have been making in their project to modernize the terminal, members of the airport’s governing board said.

While this upgrade will be visually limited to passengers, flight crews and TSA officials, the final step in the upgrade is visible to anyone who comes to the terminal. McNally said work is beginning on that final stage: updating the counter ticket area for American Airlines; moving TSA’s baggage screening equipment out of the public use area; and modernizing the front entrance.

Work is expected to last through December, and some adjustments are necessary to accommodate work crews. For American Airlines, it means moving its ticket and passenger check counters next door, into what is now the Military Welcome Center. To keep that center operational, the welcome center will move into what is now the temporary passenger holding area — which won’t be needed by passengers after Wednesday evening.

McNally said some of the work means additional costs for the airport. TSA baggage screening equipment located in front of the American ticket area must be moved to a temporary site until a new enclosed area is built, and Lawton is responsible for covering what experts estimate will be a $200,000 relocation cost.

“The cost is not unusual,” McNally said, adding she has verified that cost with other airports, but also hopes that cost is eligible for federal cost-sharing funding.

Evidence that work has begun can be seen in the exposed wiring and piping overhead in the north end of the terminal.

The bigger disruption is outside the terminal’s entrance, where drivers waiting for passengers and those passing through typically have multiple travel lanes. The north end of that area is now one lane, because the area closest to the terminal is closed with cones and security fencing to create a work area. Signs direct drivers through the area.

In coming days, the airport will designate a special lot adjacent to Hangar 4, where drivers who are waiting to collect passengers will be told to wait until their rider is at the front entrance. McNally said the intent is to “declutter” the terminal’s front entrance.