The overall construction of the airport is now 93% complete. The new airport is a relocation of the existing Panama City-Bay County International Airport located in Panama City, Florida, and is scheduled to open on May 23, 2010.
It will be the first international airport designed and constructed since the 9/11 attacks. The new airport will feature a much larger and modern terminal. The terminal will span 105,000 square feet and have seven gates, most of which will be equipped with jet bridges. In addition, the airport will also have a US Customs and Border Protection inspection facility to process arriving international flights. It is anticipated that the new terminal building will be the first airport terminal to attain a LEED rating for being a green building as well.
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will begin extensive testing of a $4 million baggage-handling system. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has scheduled a final pre-inspection of the 10,000 feet runway for mid-April and a concluding inspection for mid-May. FAA officials already conducted a flight inspection of the runway in early March 2010. In addition, all of the outlying structures of the $63 million seven-building terminal complex, minus the terminal building, is expected to be turned over to the Airport Authority by mid-April.
