ST. LOUIS — Work is expected to start next year on a long-delayed expansion of Southwest Airlines’ baggage claim area in ºüÀêÊÓƵ Lambert International Airport’s Terminal 2.
Plans call for installation of a new, third carousel and replacement of the two current carousels. The pickup area will be expanded to include about 11,000 square feet of additional public space.
The estimated $60 million project, to be funded by a bond issue paid off by Southwest, also includes upgraded conveyor belts, other equipment, a new baggage service office, two additional rest rooms and other improvements.
Lambert officials hope that the project will be completed by late 2025.
The plan, announced in 2018, was first put on hold while city officials considered an eventually discarded proposal to lease Lambert operations to a private company. The project was delayed further when the COVID pandemic hit in 2020.
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“It should have been open probably four years ago,†airport Director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge told a ºüÀêÊÓƵ City aldermanic committee Wednesday.
She said Southwest decided to go ahead with the project even though Terminal 2 would be phased out under Lambert’s long-term plan to consolidate its operations into one larger, rebuilt facility.
“Southwest is fully aware of that and still chose to move forward,†Hamm-Niebruegge said. “They felt from a customer perspective it was important to them to build this.â€
She said Southwest, Lambert’s dominant carrier, anticipates that it will continue to grow here and expects to offer about 7% more seats on its flights here next March than in March 2019, the year before the pandemic.
Hamm-Niebruegge said even if the consolidation plan is approved and carried out, Southwest will still probably be in Terminal 2 until the end of 2031.
A Southwest spokesman, Chris Perry, said the current baggage handling system and facilities at Lambert are inadequate for Southwest’s nearly 120 daily departures here.
He said upgrades also are needed for transferring bags for passengers who go through Lambert on connecting flights. They make up about 25% of Southwest’s ºüÀêÊÓƵ-related customers.
The city Board of Aldermen last June approved a memorandum of understanding between the city and Southwest on the plan. The board is now considering authorizing a bond issue of up to $80 million.
While the cost is now expected to be about $60 million, an airport spokesman said approval for the higher amount has been requested in case the price increases due to inflation.