Phoenix Sky Harbor to build walkway between terminals as travel grows

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — International travel is growing at “America’s Friendliest Airport,” which means infrastructure improvements are being planned for Phoenix Sky Harbor.

One of those additions is a walkway connecting Terminal 3 to Terminal 4, and the airport’s Air Service Development Manager tells Arizona’s Family that construction is underway.

Right now, the airport offers non-stop flights to 25 international destinations. Since Terminal 4 is the only terminal with customs, travelers with a layover in a different terminal, such as Terminal 3, have to use the PHX Sky Train.

Travel expert Peter Greenberg says Sky Harbor is competing with other airports of similar size in the West, like Las Vegas and Denver, all of which have only one terminal for international travel.

“Phoenix is a perfectly positioned airport to do nonstop flights; long haul to places like Paris and places like London and places in other parts of Europe, Greenburg said. “So the aircraft that are being delivered today that have the more efficient fuel situation, that have more efficient performance in terms of long-range flights allows Phoenix to become a truly international airport, but they never designed the terminals for that, and they never designed the customs facilities to take on that kind of a load.”

And airport officials say Sky Harbor isn’t worried about more international traffic.

“Phoenix Sky Harbor has one of the fastest customs wait times in the country, and also our security checkpoints,” said Lexie Van Haren, Sky Harbor’s Air Service Development Manager. “So our passengers are able to move quickly from international flights to a domestic connection.”

Stay with Arizona’s Family for updates on the construction of the connecting walkway between Terminal 3 and Terminal 4.

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