By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) helped celebrate the opening of the Baltimore/Washington International (BWI) Thurgood Marshall Airport’s new Concourse A/B Connector and Baggage Handling System on Jan. 8.

The Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) is doing the work to help streamline airport operations and traffic. The official opening of a new terminal at BWI took place on Jan. 8. Shown here, Andrew Watterson (left), Southwest Airlines chief operating officer; Kathryn “Katie” Thomson, Maryland Department of Transportation acting secretary; Shannetta Griffin, executive director and CEO of the Maryland Aviation Administration; Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) and Joe Abidin, executive vice president of Clark Construction at the unveiling of the space. (Photo Credit: AFRO Photo/Tashi McQueen)

The new terminal officially opened on Jan. 9 for use by Southwest Airlines and government aircrafts. The $520 project is one of the largest in the history of the BWI airport. The improvements include five new gates equipped with modernized technology and a direct connection between concourses A and B helping to make passenger movements swifter.

The new baggage handling system can cycle through almost 3,500 bags per hour, a notable increase over the previous 2,100 bags per hour. The planning for the project started in 2017, while construction kicked off in 2022.

“This isn’t just a celebration of 140,000 square feet of new space or a new baggage system. We’re celebrating what this airport represents,” said Moore. “What it represents to Baltimore, what it represents to our state and what it represents to the world.”

The new Concourse A/B Connector at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport features five modernized gates and an upgraded baggage handling system that can process nearly 3,500 bags per hour, improving passenger flow and efficiency.
(Photo courtesy of the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport)

BWI serves as a key travel hub for Maryland and the National Capital region, connecting passengers to places and opportunities around the world.

“This airport connects Maryland to the world with roughly 300 daily nonstop departures to about 90 different destinations,” said Moore. “It generates over $11 billion in economic impact every single year and supports more than 107,000 jobs all across Maryland.”

Shannetta Griffin, executive director and CEO of the Maryland Aviation Administration, said the opening of this new terminal marks a new era for BWI, acknowledging how their partnership with Southwest Airlines will benefit.

“We were so pleased to work with Southwest to recently open a major maintenance hangar here at BWI, which supported many engineering and construction jobs, and we are proud to stand here together this evening as we celebrate this next phase in our partnership,” said Griffin. “As Southwest continues to evolve and to look to the future, we know this facility will play an important role in the airline’s future growth and success and contribution to the economic impact for the State of Maryland.”