Oakland airport seeks wide-ranging expansion
Community meetings planned for next week
OAKLAND >> Oakland International Airport is eyeing a major expansion at the East Bay aviation hub and is seeking public input regarding the wide-ranging project.
The project would create a brand new terminal and modernize the existing terminals, bringing about a dramatic increase in the number of gates at the airport, public documents being circulated by Oakland International Airport officials show.
“The proposed project addresses facility safety, efficiency, and modernization needs, by developing the terminal area including the construction of a new terminal,” according to a May 7 document prepared by the Port of Oakland, which operates the airport.
Airport officials are pursuing the expansion and upgrade to accommodate what they anticipate will be a widening demand for air travel in the Bay Area.
The airport has circulated a draft environmental impact report and scheduled community meetings on May 25 and May 26. The cost of the expansion and upgrades — which would include considerable road work in the area of the terminals — was not immediately known.
“Oakland International Airport has begun the public process for examining the possibility of adding a new terminal at Oakland International Airport to build capacity for future demand,” said Robert Bernardo, a spokesperson for the airport.
In 2018, Oakland airport handled 13.59 million passengers, an all-time record amid an economic boom at that time. In 2019, the numbers were still robust at 13.38 million passengers. But the 2019 passenger numbers were 1.5% below the East Bay travel hub’s 2018 record.
While the coronavirus raged on during 2020 and crippled air travel worldwide, Oakland airport handled just 4.62 million passengers, a nose-dive of 65.5% compared to the prior year.
Aviation officials are predicting a steady increase in passengers in the coming years, using those projections to as the launching pad for the need to expand Oakland airport. By 2023, Oakland airport should top 15 million passengers, 20 million passengers by 2028, and 25 million passengers by sometime around 2035, according to documents prepared for ongoing public engagement meetings.
Officials believe several factors could cause passenger activity to take off in the coming years.
“Major drivers of growth include continued economic growth in the Bay Area, Oakland airport’s increased share of Bay Area traffic to return to levels that occurred during the previous peak in 2007, and Southwest Airlines’ continued commitment to Oakland,” the airport documents stated.