Work progressing to modernize Lawton-Fort Sill Regional Airport

The terminal at Lawton-Fort Sill Regional Airport is getting a new look — inside and out.

Crews with Herring Construction are continuing work on a $15.3 million project they launched in 2022 and that modernization project is in its final stage, as crews upgrade the ticket counter and TSA baggage screening area on the north end of the terminal, and rebuild the front entrance to change its look while making entrance points more energy efficient. That work is clearly visible to visitors because of openings in the building, but Airport Director Barbara McNally said crews are working to close in the area before winter weather sets in, so they can complete interior work.

Work completed to date includes a new awning and sidewalk. But, lanes in front of the terminal continue to be restricted, allowing one lane for passing traffic while other lanes are blocked for work sites.

Construction is slated to be done in early April 2025, McNally has said. Completion of work inside will allow the City of Lawton to proceed with plans to repair King Road, the major access and exit point for traffic into and out of the airport complex.

King Road won’t be the only exterior upgrade.

Prep work also is proceeding on a project to rebuild a taxiway on the north end of the airport complex, to replace damage concrete.

McNally said some concrete on Taxiway F has deteriorated and the FAA has recommended new pavement. That taxiway links Taxiway A (the primary runway) to the runway. McNally said engineers were on site last week, doing some testing in the area. Engineers have said they need to bore into the soil around the taxiway, obtaining soil samples that will be analyzed to provide data for design plans. The Federal Aviation Administration has awarded the airport a grant to cover the cost of that project.

While Taxiway F is needed for large aircraft, most cannot use it because weight restrictions have been applied due to the deteriorating concrete. The solution will straighten the taxiway out to align with Taxiway A; two shorter taxiways would be eliminated.

While facilities are being upgraded, members of the airport’s governing board also have been meeting with terminal tenants to calculate new rents for leases. That work includes a potential new tenant: Heavenly Chariot & Last Minute Car Rental, an air shuttle service that will offer on-demand rides and local car rental service. McNally said the airport’s Leasing Committee is working with the owner to finalize details of the proposal, to include hammering out requirements for insurance.

Once that has been done, the recommendation will return to the Lawton Metropolitan Area Airport Authority for approval, Committee Chairman Clarence Fortney said.

In the meantime, the authority set new rates for the space that TSA leases for its airport operations.

McNally said a new tiered rate was set into effect, one that will increase TSA’s lease each year by taking what is now a $43,700.70 fee in 2025 (based on $38.10 per square foot for the 1,147 square feet of space TSA uses) to $46,728.78 ($40.74 per square foot) in 2029. That fee includes the lease, as well as TSA’s share of utilities and janitorial service.

Airport officials also have begun recalculating the lease for American Eagle, the air carrier that provides daily service between Lawton-Fort Sill and Dallas-Fort Worth.

McNally said she has been working with an expert to look at how the Lawton airport calculates the carrier’s lease, which now brings in $65,000 annually for the space American leases for its counter and related services (the airline also pays a per-aircraft landing fee). McNally said she wanted to look at what other airports are doing, after learning many airports base their fees on the total square footage of all space that airlines use, to include common areas and gate space.

“We’ve been really reasonable with our rates,” she said, adding the way those rates are calculated are projected to change by the time the current lease expires at the end of the year.

While the committee hasn’t finalized details, she anticipates the existing $13.75 per square foot cost to decrease, but be applied to a larger area.