Aviation

Airport Director Matt Coughlin on the $165M Overhaul, ST Aerospace’s Boom—and Pensacola’s Vegas Obsession

Pensacola International’s director sat down with me on this week’s episode of Rick’s Blog Live to talk terminal construction, Breeze Airways’ explosive growth, and the one route everybody keeps asking about.

Pensacola International Airport Director Matt Coughlin has been on the job since 2020, and he told Rick the airport’s growth has outpaced its infrastructure—which is exactly what the airport’s $165 million modernization program is meant to fix. That figure covers the terminal area and concourse alone; the aircraft ramp work adds even more to the bill.

• The project just hit a major milestone: 100% design completion. Under the airport’s construction-manager-at-risk delivery model, that means a guaranteed maximum price will be locked in around Sept. 11. Coughlin says that number will “start the ball rolling” on construction in earnest—though ramp work is already underway, funded in part by $37 million in grants headed to Pensacola City Council next week.

Expected completion: about two years out, though Coughlin cautioned the 100% design phase will produce a more refined schedule.

What Flyers Will Actually Notice

Coughlin was candid about the disruption ahead:

• Parking will get tighter as employee lots shift to make room for construction
• Baggage handling system work is coming, though the airport insists bags will keep flowing
• Expect partition walls, extra signage, and “maybe a little bit of noise”

The security checkpoint is getting a full reorientation—rotating 90 degrees and doubling in footprint, with glass walls overlooking the airfield. On the other side, travelers will choose between the current Concourse A and the brand-new Concourse B.

ST Aerospace Continues Growing

Beyond the terminal, the airport’s ST Aerospace hangar campus keeps expanding. The third hangar is fully built, with ramp infrastructure now going in; Coughlin expects full production there by January. Construction has already started on a fourth, smaller hangar.

• Coughlin confirmed ST Aerospace is moving leadership from Mobile to Pensacola and curtailing its Alabama operations—a project that traces back to Mayor Ashton Hayward’s first term and now includes a Pensacola State College training facility on-site.

Now, About That Vegas Flight…

Pensacola’s number one underserved market, according to Coughlin, is out west—and everybody knows what that really means: Las Vegas.

“We were close, but fuel had kind of curtailed that for a little bit. We’re gonna pursue that.”

• Translation for anyone who’s spent a decade hearing “we’re working on it”: rising fuel costs scrambled the airlines’ math, but Coughlin says a couple of carriers are still eyeing the route. Pensacola isn’t there yet—but the appetite hasn’t gone anywhere. Keep dusting off those slot-machine T-shirts.

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