Urban Mid-Atlantic: Spotlight on BWI Airport: Rapidly expanding airport regains title of busiest airport in Balt-Wash Metro

In recent years Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI Airport), has been experiencing a renaissance of sorts. Built in 1947 in unincorporated Anne Arundel County, MD near Glen Burnie, and originally named Friendship International Airport, it became the first airport in the region (and one of the first in the nation) with the ability to serve jet aircraft in 1957. In 1974, Friendship Airport (which is approximately equidistant from Washington D.C. as Dulles Airport) was renamed Baltimore/Washington International Airport to attract a greater share of the Washington D.C. air travel market. BWI Rail Station, which was dedicated on October 23, 1980, further increased the airport's connection to the Washington D.C. market and was the first intercity rail station in the U.S. built to service an airport.

Promotional shot of Friendship airport on opening day in 1947
Image courtesy of Kilduffs

In the following decades BWI grew to become a major domestic and international airport, as well as an important hub for Piedmont Airlines (and later it's successor USAir/US Airways) all the while maintaining its status as busiest airport in the region. BWI's legacy as a hub for low-fare airlines began in 1993 when Southwest Airlines selected BWI Airport as their East Coast gateway and has steadily expanded ever since. In 1997 the airport completed several major expansion projects including a parking garage expansion providing a total of 5,600 spaces and a $140 million international terminal which included a MTA Light Rail station serving a branch extension of the system. Four years later AirTran Airways launched service to Atlanta and Boston and proceeded to grow a hub that eventually saw 5,100 passengers a day to 29 non-stop destinations in 2011, when the airline merged with Southwest. In the same year BWI was named the fastest-growing of the 30 busiest airports in the nation.

Exterior view of BWI's Main Terminal
Image courtesy of Wikipedia

It hasn't been all clear blue skies for BWI though. In the face of stiff competition from low-fare carrier Southwest, USAir drastically reduced its presence at the airport. The airline downsized its hub and converted most of the mainline flights to MetroJet (USAir's low-fare subsidiary which launched at BWI in 1998) flights. The reduction in passenger travel in the wake of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 financially strained US Airways/MetroJet even more and the airline eventually closed its hub at BWI and dissolved the MetroJet brand by the end of the year. Once the largest carrier there, the number of scheduled US Airways/MetroJet flights had fallen by 60 percent by the time the last MetroJet 737 was retired in December. BWI also faced stiff competition from the other large airports in the region, especially in the international travel market, a segment the airport has historically been weak in. In 2004 Washington Dulles Airport in Loudoun County, VA leapfrogged BWI to become the busiest in the region (this was sparked primarily by the launch of the short-lived low-fare carrier Independence Air).

Concourse E, International Pier
Image courtesy of Wikipedia

Despite the challenges BWI experienced during the early 2000's, the airport has since been on the upswing. Southwest Airlines has rapidly grown to become the largest carrier at BWI, which is now its 3rd-busiest hub. In 2011 Southwest Airlines acquired AirTran Airways (the number 2 carrier at BWI at the time) and continued most of the carriers routes out of BWI, including its international routes to Latin America and the Caribbean, sparing BWI from the negative downsizing effects following most recent airline mergers.

Group of Southwest Boeing 737's at Terminal A
Image by author

Airtran Boeing 737 landing at BWI Airport
Image by flickr user CW2 Harting

In addition to Southwest, other low-fare airlines have been adding service at BWI. In 2009 JetBlue started service to Boston with multiple round-trips daily, and in 2012 Spirit moved its local operations to the airport from National, with flights to Dallas/Fort Worth, Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, and Myrtle Beach. In 2012 Condor Airlines started seasonal service to Frankfurt providing a signifcant boost to BWI's international credentials. Southwest Airlines is also planning on increasing its service to international destinations (including overseas routes) as early as 2015 using BWI as a launching point. Prior to 2012 British Airways had been the only international carrier offering regular service at BWI, and even that service (to London-Heathrow) is subsidized by the state. International airlines that had previously served BWI but terminated their services include AerLingus, Air Jamaica, Air Greenland, El Al, Icelandair, KLM, and Mexicana.

BWI Observation Gallery
Images by flickr user CC Chapman

MTA Light Rail station adjacent to Councourse E
Image by author

Overall, traffic at BWI Airport has been steadily increasing with the airport setting three consecutive records for annual passenger traffic, most recently for 2012. BWI also passed Dulles Airport in passenger traffic in 2012 to once again become the busiest airport in the region. Despite the recent resurgence, the airport isn't resting on its laurels. A number of infrastructure upgrades have recently been completed, including a $100 million renovation of Concourse C, which includes a connection to Southwest Airline's Terminal A/B complex (completed in 2005). The airport's ultra-modern observation gallery was also updated as part of the renovation. In addition to the recently completed upgrades, the airport in concert with the FAA is also planning for a new $26 million control tower. Accessibility to the airport (already one of the most accessible in the nation) will improve with the addition of weekend service on the Penn Line of the MARC commuter rail system. This new service will complement the myriad of available transportation options providing access to BWI airport: high-speed Amtrak Northeast Corridor trains, MTA Light Rail, express B30 Metrobus via WMATA Metro, I-95, Baltimore-Washington Parkway, and I-97.

Amtrak Acela Express at BWI Rail Station
Image courtesy of Wikipedia

As for now, the future looks bright for BWI. The airport has one of the most passenger-friendly and modern airport facilities,with additional infrastructure improvements coming, and a low-fare juggernaut (Southwest) looking to expand even more. The only foreseeable challenges in the near future would be renewed competition from Dulles Airport when the Silver Line arrives there in 2018, and a continuing struggle to generate international traffic at BWI.