The expansion will include new concessions, five relocated gates, new restrooms, and a large open space with a bar and a Dunkin’ booth.
BWI Marshall Airport will open its new nearly $500 million Terminal A/B connector expansion next month, officially opening it Jan. 9, 2026.
“We’re going to open up five new gates down in what we call the A/B connector. So, what that’s going to do is allow our passengers to traverse between concourse A, concourse B, and be able to have a new travel experience,” said Shannetta Griffin, executive director and CEO of the Maryland Aviation Administration, which runs the airport.
She added that the expansion will include new concessions. In addition to connecting terminals A and B, the project includes five relocated gates, new restrooms, a large open space with a bar and a Dunkin’ booth, an improved baggage handling system.
We’re going to have some very elaborate architectural types of things that are there. We’re bringing in our sense of place, the state of Maryland, in regard to that space as well,” she said.
The project has been in the works since 2017 but it was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Construction began in 2022.
“This is one of the largest capital improvement projects the airport has seen. … Going to be one of our most fabulous as we open that up for our largest air carrier, which is Southwest Airlines,” Griffin said.
She said getting back on track after the interruption of construction during the pandemic “is a testament to the men and women that worked many long hours. So it takes that kind of time for a project of this magnitude.”
The expansion includes a two-story building addition totaling 142,000 square feet, along with 78,000 square feet of renovations to the preexisting space. The project was funded with airport revenue bonds, and the rest coming from federal funding and the Maryland Transportation Trust Fund.
“What it’s really going to do is give a new feel and look, in regards to the airport itself, a very high tech and new baggage system,” Griffin said. “We’re going from about 2,200 bags to be processed in an hour to about 3,200 bags that, from the travel experience, is going to be essential, so that people are getting their bags much earlier and being able to enjoy the entire piece of that concourse.”
Southwest Airlines already has flights scheduled to use the relocated gates. The connection lines up with the airport’s food court area.
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