County Executive Brian M. Hughes speaks to those gathered at Trenton-Mercer Airport to celebrate the grand opening of the renovated airport terminal on Nov. 7, 2013.
Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes and other dignitaries celebrated the grand opening of Trenton-Mercer Airport’s renovated terminal with a ribbon-cutting Nov. 7.
Frontier Airlines, the airport’s only commercial carrier, will resume operations Nov. 8, two months after temporarily suspending service while the county undertook a federally required safety project on the airport’s main runway.
The county used that runway construction period to renovate the airport’s 40-year-old terminal, as well as the parking areas.
Improvements include construction of Engineered Material Arresting System beds at the ends of the main runway. The beds consist of lightweight, crushable concrete blocks designed to entrap an aircraft that has overrun the runway, with little or no damage to the aircraft and no major injuries to passengers, crew or bystanders.
Cost of the final EMAS project is about $16 million, with 90 percent coming from the FAA and five percent from the state DOT. EMAS beds were constructed at the ends of the airport’s shorter runway in 2012.
Terminal renovations include installation of a new baggage-claim facility, a larger passenger waiting area, construction of restrooms beyond the security checkpoint and food and beverages options in the secured area.
Cost of the terminal renovations is approximately $875,000. The county plans to use the passenger facility charge, which is on all airline tickets, to finance the terminal project.
Parking renovations including the creation of additional public parking spaces, construction of a new surface lot to accommodate employees, rental cars and a cell-phone waiting area for motorists who are picking up passengers.
Additionally, two public parking lots near the terminal were transformed into gated, paid lots, with a daily parking rate of $8 and an hourly rate of $2.
Cost of the parking renovations is approximately $3.5 million, which includes the additional parking, revenue system and drainage work. The parking improvements will ultimately be paid for through parking fees.
During the ceremony, Frontier senior vice president Daniel Shurz announced the airline will be adding three more destinations next year, bringing its total to 14.
The airline us set to commence service to Cleveland, Ohio, Feb. 13; Nashville, Tenn., April 29; and Indianapolis, Ind., April 30. Frontier recently announced that it also will add Charlotte, N.C., and Cincinnati, Ohio, to its lineup beginning in February.
By the end of April, Frontier plans to offer 55 weekly flights from Trenton-Mercer Airport, Shurz said.
More information is online at flyfrontier.com.
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