The $119 million expansion in full swing at the Key West International Airport has added an eighth gate, while plans for food and drink options include a brand new bar at baggage claim.
And a Chili’s restaurant – with a full bar – is on the way, along with a Farm 2 Air Market. A bar called the Southern Point is planned for the seating area at gates 5 and 6.
The First Call Beach Bar is coming to the arrival area near baggage claim, complete with barstools and a far sleeker look than the present-day bar that for years has greeted passengers arriving in Key West.
Detailed designs for EYW’s future were shown to the Monroe County Commission at its Sept. 20 meeting in Key Largo.
Once a sleepy hub where you could count on making your flight with barely a wait, the airport is not just being made larger, it’s being reinvented with new concessions and refitted with boarding bridges, or “jetways,” which are standard on the mainland.
That means the days of walking the tarmac to and from the planes are numbered. The sweeping expansion of Key West’s airport, dubbed “Concourse A,” is set to open in the first quarter of 2025, while the overall completion date is early 2026.
Four years ago, airport officials were envisioning only six gates with the addition of Concourse A, designed to make the only major commercial airport in the Florida Keys large enough to match the record number of passengers coming through the gates.
Then, the Federal Aviation Administration offered EYW a seventh. Now, the project is about to grow to eight gates.
“They’re going to give us that approval in about 30 days,” said Richard Strickland, the county’s airports director, of the FAA. “So Gate 8 will be formally added to the program.”
Strickland said he believes there is enough money to pay for the additional gate, but there are opportunities to go after additional grants if needed.
JetBlue and Allegiant airlines, already operating out of EYW, will use Gate 8, having done very well in Key West.
“They are very happy serving the market,” Strickland said.
Air travel in Key West rose significantly after the 2020 shutdowns ordered in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of 2021 about 1.4 million passengers had chosen EYW, setting a new record.
“We have not exceeded that number again,” Strickland said. “There will be a flux and an ebb and a flow. But this so far has reduced the number of flights.”
Larger, newer planes are quieter and can mean fewer flights landing, Strickland said.
“This is not increasing the total flight activity,” Strickland said.
“It’s important we get that message out,” said County Mayor Craig Cates, of Key West. “You’re just going to make it operate smoother.”
One Key West classic won’t go the way of the tarmac walk.
The legendary Conch Flyer isn’t departing EYW, but it will be rebuilt.
“It will be a bar with food service as well,” Strickland said. “But it will be rather extensive in the bar area.”
