Columbia awaiting FAA approval for new terminal

The project to build a new terminal project at Columbia Regional Airport is moving slower than the local officials first hoped, a city spokesman said Monday.

“It has been, probably for some, us included, a little bit of a slower process than what we would like,” Steve Sapp said. “We wish it would move at the same speed as the runway project.”

The city reopened its runway over the weekend after being closed less than a week. But the terminal project has been years in the making and has years yet to go.

Sapp said the city is working to get funding for environmental impact studies that are required by the Federal Aviation Administration. He said the city is able to use a Categorical Exclusion (CATEX) because there are already buildings in the area where the city hopes to build the new terminal. The CATEX, Sapp said, is a shorter process than the typical environmental impact study.

According to city finance department documents, the terminal project is expected to cost roughly $38 million. Sapp said $10 million will come from the temporary 1 percent hotel/motel tax increase passed by voters in 2016. He said the other funding will come from passenger facility charges that are included on every airline ticket at Columbia Regional Airport and a potential opportunity to use bond funding for the project along with sales tax revenue.

Sapp said the project may be slow, but it is still moving along.

“We hope at this point that somewhere around late 2021 or very early 2022 that we’ll have wheels up or the grand opening of the new terminal,” Sapp said.