PHOENIX — The City of Phoenix is making plans to add a new terminal to Sky Harbor International Airport's west end, the mayor announced Tuesday.
Mayor Kate Gallego said during her State of the City address that the city council will start working next month on plans to create a "cutting-edge" terminal for the busy airport.
"If you've walked through terminals 3 and 4 recently, there's no doubt you've noticed how much busier they are than in past years," the mayor said Tuesday. "Soon we will need a new terminal to accommodate our future growth."
City officials said more information about the new terminal will be discussed during a city council meeting on May 7. The airport is expected to receive millions of dollars in federal funding to make infrastructure upgrades.
Sky Harbor currently accommodates millions of passengers each year at its two present terminals, which collectively host about 110 aircraft gates.
RELATED: Sky Harbor to receive improvements grant from Biden admin; $970 million going to airport across US
In 2023, Sky Harbor experienced its busiest year ever after nearly 49 million people passed through the Phoenix airport.
Sky Harbor reported its busiest day on Feb. 13, 2023 -- which was the day after Arizona hosted the Super Bowl.
Sky Harbor's first modern terminal was demolished in 1990 and Terminal 2, which originally opened in 1962, was closed in 2020. Phoenix purchased the airport in 1935 for $100,000.
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What is the Valley?:
“The Valley” is what locals call the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is considered the largest metropolitan area in the Southwest.
The Valley is made up of various major cities other than Phoenix, including:
- Mesa
- Chandler
- Scottsdale
- Tempe
- Glendale
- Surprise
- Peoria
- Gilbert
- El Mirage
- Avondale
- Litchfield Park
- Goodyear
- Buckeye
Whether a city is in the “East Valley” or “West Valley” depends on where it is in relation to Phoenix.
The cities of the Valley have a combined population of 4,845,832 people, according to the 2020 United States Census. This makes it the 11th largest metropolitan area in the country right behind the Boston and Atlanta areas.
How big is Maricopa County?
Maricopa County is the United States’ 4th largest county in terms of population with 4,485,414 people, according to the 2020 Census.
The county contains around 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles. That makes the county larger than seven U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).
One of the largest park systems in the nation is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks that includes hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.
The county’s seat is located in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the census-designated 5th most populous city in the United States.
The county was named after the Maricopa, or Piipaash, Native American Tribe.