BURLINGTON, Vt. — Officials from Burlington International Airport told the Senate Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs Committee that the airport is growing rapidly, serving a wider mix of commercial, cargo and general aviation traffic and planning a multi‑year capital program to expand terminal capacity and reduce its carbon footprint.

Airport Director Nick Longo summarized the airport’s role in the region and outlined Project NEXT, a phased effort to enlarge the terminal, add jetbridge capacity and reconfigure aircraft parking so Burlington can handle larger aircraft and rising passenger counts. Longo said the airport is classified as a small‑hub, is a U.S. port of entry with U.S. Customs preclearance as a target for future international service, and projects between about 1.4 million and 1.5 million passengers this calendar year.

The Project NEXT proposal, Longo said, responds to two trends: larger aircraft with higher seat counts and more concentrated peak‑period demand. Jeff Bartley, director of innovation and marketing, told senators that average seats per aircraft have risen from about 69 seats in 2008 to more than 90 seats now, while load factors have moved from roughly 75% to about 85%. The airport projects roughly 940,000 scheduled seats departing BTV this year (one‑way), which Bartlett and Longo said could make 2024/2025 the busiest year in airport history.

Why it matters: Committee members were shown that the existing terminal and apron were designed for smaller regional aircraft and shorter peak loads. Longo said safety and passenger throughput — notably through TSA — were solved in a prior project that consolidated security lanes and cut average TSA wait times from about 40 minutes to about 4 minutes. Project NEXT aims to solve remaining bottlenecks: interior passenger capacity, exterior aircraft parking positions and improved gate/jetbridge flexibility so longer, wider aircraft can fit without disrupting operations.

Key facts and funding: Longo said a 2017 master plan estimated the airport’s regional economic impact at just over $1 billion and cited prior study figures that attributed several billion dollars annually in tax collections to airport activity; he characterized those older figures as in need of update. The airport estimates a multi‑year capital program of roughly $140 million to $180 million in near‑term needs; Longo said the majority of those funds come through Federal Aviation Administration grants and that the state currently contributes about $500,000 annually under a capped support arrangement. He added that fuel sales taxes collected at the airport are in the low‑millions per year and that airport leaders have urged attention to both sustainability and the transportation fund implications of fuel tax revenues.

Operations and partners: Longo said Burlington averages about 20,000 operations a year at the airport and is the second‑busiest airport in New England by operations after Boston Logan. The airport currently works with six commercial carriers (Delta, American, United, Breeze, Frontier and seasonal service) and listed current corporate and industrial tenants, including Beta Technologies, Pratt & Whitney Canada, FedEx, UVM Medical Center (air ambulance), Vermont Air and Vermont National Guard elements. Airport staff said they are pursuing year‑round restoration or expansion of routes such as Denver and Raleigh‑Durham, and added a summer seasonal service to Charleston starting next month.

Sustainability and Project NEXT design: Longo emphasized sustainability features planned for the new terminal: mass timber construction, geothermal heating/cooling wells, and an airport carbon accreditation effort. He said Burlington has achieved Airport Carbon Accreditation Level 1 (data collection and emissions accounting) and is pursuing higher levels that require active emissions reduction. Longo also said the airport is electrifying parts of its ground operations fleet and has piloted charging infrastructure with Beta Technologies.

Passenger experience and concessions: Airport staff said the consolidation of security led to substantially improved wait times and that increased seat counts and larger planes require more concession and circulation capacity. Longo said the airport is pursuing new concessionaires, expanding food‑service hours and improving passenger amenities to handle higher peak demands and longer aircraft turnaround periods.

Committee reaction and next steps: Senators asked about the airport’s catchment area and “leakage” — passengers who drive to larger regional airports instead of using Burlington — which airport staff said currently retains about 42% of regional passengers. Committee members suggested expanded bus partnerships and improved ground access as ways to reduce leakage. The airport said it will update its economic impact study to reflect recent growth, including new employers locating at the airport and expanding cargo operations.

Ending: Airport officials invited legislators to tours and to an upcoming legislative breakfast at the terminal. Committee leaders thanked the delegation and shifted the hearing to labor‑bill matters.

Quotes used in this article come from the meeting transcript and are attributed to speakers listed below.