While commercial space flights remain a tantalizing prospect, it’s unlikely they will be coming to Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport anytime soon.
Instead, GSP leaders are basing long-term plans on the more realistic prospect of measured growth and steady advances in commercial aviation technology like environmentally sustainable fuels and fuel-efficient aircraft.
No space port anytime soon
With the proliferation of companies like Elon Musk’s Space X and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic holding out the promise of commercial space flight, many have anticipated the imminent introduction of some form of space taxi service at airports around the world.
But according to Dave Edwards, GSP’s president and CEO, that prospect is unlikely to become a reality anytime soon.
“I think we’re keeping an eye on that space,” Edwards says. “When will it happen, how will it happen? I think these are all things that are another question.”
He likens the scenario to what has happened with autonomous vehicles. While great strides have been made in developing autonomous vehicle technology, the widespread introduction of such vehicles is not nearly as imminent as the industry’s most vocal boosters have promised.
“I really think the whole air-taxi piece is in the same boat,” Edwards says. “They’ll likely come some day, but I don’t really see that in the next 10 or so years.”
Instead, what he anticipates is continued technological improvements within the aviation industry to improve efficiency and sustainability. He says the talk he hears within the commercial aviation industry centers on environmentally sustainable fuels.
He adds that there are sustainable fuels available, but production is minuscule and nowhere near meeting the needs of the airline industry.
“There’s this big push and effort [among airlines] to try to be carbon neutral by 2050,” Edwards says. “Whether we’ll get there or not is another question.”
According to a January Panasonic Avionics blog on travel trends for 2022, the significant drop-off in air travel during the height of the pandemic produced a marked decrease in air pollution globally, and this has sharpened the focus of the airline industry on cutting emissions.
This focus is expected to continue as air travel continues to recover to pre-pandemic levels.
Preparing for measured growth
With air travel volume continuing to recover and expected to grow in coming years, GSP planners are focused on the practical steps needed to meet that demand.
Edwards said a number of projects identified by the airport’s master plan are either underway or will begin soon.
Initial design work is underway for a $240 million terminal expansion that will add five or six gates to Concourse B. The expansion will also include an additional baggage claim facility and a federal inspection station for potential international flights, Edwards says.
GSP’s work to expand air-cargo capacity, which got a major boost in 2019 with the completion of a 110,000-square-foot cargo warehouse and 17 acres of taxiway and parking to accommodate three widebody aircraft, will see more capacity come online this summer.
Edwards says another 50,000 square feet of warehouse will be completed soon, and a $5.2 million federal grant will fund construction of taxiway and parking to accommodate another three widebody aircraft, which will give GSP the ability to serve six cargo planes simultaneously.
Edwards adds the airport is seeking grant funding to build an additional 173,000 square feet of cargo-handling facilities and anticipates that it will take shape this fall.
“So [there are] lots of things happening in the cargo arena from an expansion standpoint,” he says.
Another improvement expected this fall is a $10.5 million project to realign roadways and improve the curbside drop-off area in front of the main terminal. This will alleviate some of the traffic backups that have occurred with rebounding passenger numbers and is a precursor project to the terminal expansion.
Upcoming GSP improvements
GSP has $293 million in capital project improvements planned for the next five years, including:
- $240 million terminal expansion that will add at least five new gates, an additional baggage claim facility and a new federal inspection station.
- $10.5 million roadway realignment and curbside improvements to ease traffic congestion and prepare for the terminal expansion.
- $7.5 million for a 25,000-square-foot general aviation hangar facility with 5,000 square feet of related office space.
- $5.2 million for additional taxiway and parking aprons to double the number of cargo aircraft the airport can serve simultaneously.
