Air Transportation

Will Rogers World Airport is the primary commercial airport for Oklahoma City and the surrounding areas. Located in the southwest corner of the City, it is easily accessible by interstate, freeway and major traffic thoroughfares. Will Rogers World Airport is classified by the FAA as a medium-hub airport. In 2004, 3,379,883 passengers traveled to and from Will Rogers World Airport-a 4.2 percent increase over 2003.

Six major and five regional carriers serve the airport. The major airlines include: Southwest, American, Delta, United, Continental and Northwest Airlines. The regional carriers include: American Eagle, Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Comair, Northwest Airlink, and America West. Daily commercial operations average between 120 to 130 scheduled flights.

A $110 million expansion and renovation has been completed at Will Rogers World Airport. The new terminal contains nearly 600,000 square feet of space (an increase of 71 percent), allowing the aisles, ticket lobbies, baggage claim areas and departure lounges to be more spacious. A soaring 53-foot ceiling in the concourse further enhances this sense of space, while acres of glass create an open feeling and yield excellent views of the surrounding prairie landscape, as well as of ambient aircraft activity.

New and expanded entry and exit traffic circles permit efficient passenger pickup and drop-off, even at peak travel periods. A stunning plaza garden presents a welcome scene for visitors and offers a venue for fresh air and relaxation. Visitors can view a heroic-size statue of Will Rogers, rope in hand, on his favorite horse, Teddy.

The new and improved tunnel from the parking garage to the terminal provides a well-lighted, safe, all-weather walkway that features convenient people-moving walks and ramps and opens onto the all-new central escalator core.

Architecture of the new building offers a dazzling first impression to visitors to Oklahoma City. The combination of native stone and plate glass presents an eye-pleasing aesthetic achievement and represents Oklahoma at its finest-an amalgam of modern technology and achievement with beautiful natural materials, grand geological features and broad, open sky. Even the new landscape materials are native grasses and trees, laid out in an intricate but informal design.

Location is an essential factor in the success of any retail business. In the new Will Rogers terminal, most retail merchants are now located inside security checkpoints, allowing passengers to arrive early, go through check-in and security procedures and still have shops and restaurants to engage them while they wait for boarding.

New retail concepts have been developed, also. Alongside the national news, gift and food outlets are Oklahoma-born and bred businesses like Sonic restaurant and other outlets that feature Oklahoma products and tastes.

Two security checkpoints have been designed into the concourse entryways, rather than superimposed on existing traffic flows. As a result, today's tightened and enhanced security inspections can be done rather quickly, even when passenger volume is high.

The old terminal building featured two widely separated concourse entries, with a total of 16 airline passenger loading gates. The new structure has one continuous concourse with 18 loading gates.

Already in place is a design to lengthen that concourse and incorporate seven more loading gates when the demand is there.

There's more to come to increase convenience for passengers. The airport's outdated five-story parking garage will be demolished, and a new one-which meets modern criteria-will be constructed. To compensate for the temporary loss of indoor parking spaces during construction, a new outdoor lot will open to the north of existing long-term parking lots.

The entire project will enable cost-effective expansion in the future, as commercial aviation and the Oklahoma City economy grow together in the 21st century.

Phase II of the Aviation Study