Officials with the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport are gearing up for a busy summer travel season kicking off this holiday weekend.
The TSA predicts summer air travel could match or surpass 2019's busy year.
Metropolitan Airports Commission CEO Brian Ryks says travelers will notice a major expansion to Delta's Terminal G, along with more beautiful, modern amenities MSP has become nationally-known for providing travelers.
“To really build out the gate areas, and add additional concessions, restrooms, and also a new Delta Sky Club which will be up above on a higher level that will give passengers and those visiting the Sky Club a wonderful view as they transition through Minneapolis,” explains Ryks.
A lot of those amenities are built around the locality, showcasing much of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.
“We are really proud of the Minnesota culture that is here,” says Ryks. “What we’ve been focusing on is to really build a sense of place. So when individuals come through the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, they get a flavor of Minnesota and the Twin Cities region is all about.”
Ryks also says airlines at MSP are expected to operate 198 routes by the end of June. That is up from 185 a year ago.
New flights include Air Canada's service to Montreal and Sun Country's first-ever service to Canada, with flights to Vancouver beginning in mid-June.
You’re also going to notice a much busier airport this summer compared to the last two years when travel was limited due to the pandemic.
AAA expects 39.2 million people will travel for the unofficial start of summer this Memorial weekend. Air travel continues to rebound, up 25% over last year, the second-largest increase since 2010. Air travel volume, which began to rally last Thanksgiving, will hit levels just shy of 2019 with 3 million people expected to take to the skies this weekend.
“We have seen steady passenger growth throughout the spring including an all-time record number of passengers at Terminal 2 in March,” said Ryks. “We are ready and eager to welcome more passengers back to MSP this summer as more people return to air travel for leisure, business or personal reasons.”
