Airport Prepping For International Terminal Construction

Concourse E. Photo taken Aug. 30, 2024 by Graham Kilmer.

Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport is preparing to turn a long planned international terminal into reality.

The airport has lined up a contractor to conduct demolition of Concourse E, which has been shuttered since 2017. In its place, the airport will build a new International Terminal capable of handling more passengers and more flights than the existing facility.

HM Brandt, a demolition contractor based in Lannon, Wisconsin, has applied for a permit with the City of Milwaukee for demolition of the concourse. Construction is not imminent, though.

The airport is still putting together all the financing needed for the $92.5 million terminal, according to a spokesperson for the airport.

The airport has $55 million previously appropriated in 2019 by the county. Last year, the federal government awarded the airport an $8.5 million grant through the Airport Terminal Program ATP. The competitive grant program was created through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed by Congress under President Joe Biden. It appropriated $5 billion to upgrade airport infrastructure across the country. The airport is going after another ATP grant for the upcoming fiscal year.

Planning began in 2015. The existing international terminal, built in 1975, is considered undersized for modern aircraft. The planes used on long international flights, like the Boeing 767 and 787 aircraft, have greater passenger capacity than the terminal, which could only fit approximately 140 people at a time.

The new terminal will have a 400 passenger capacity and two gates. It will also be connected to the main concourse of the airport. The existing international terminal is disconnected and can only process arrivals.

The new terminal would allow Milwaukee Mitchell to attract more international flights, and beef up its offering of destinations. The project has attracted support from the local business lobby and major corporations with corporate offices in Milwaukee, for whom international travel is a regular feature of day-to-day business.