Big changes coming to Sky Harbor ahead of the Super Bowl

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - There are about five months left until the Super Bowl kicks off in Glendale. New construction at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix hopes to make it easier for all the fans coming to the Valley for the game.

During the last Super Bowl in 2015, airport spokespeople say a record of 175,000 passengers flew out of Sky Harbor the day after the game. They expect even more fans this year because the WM Phoenix Open is happening the same weekend as the football game. “Last Super Bowl in 2015, the day after, we saw over 12,000 rental car returns. Imagine all those people trying to return a rental car wait in a shuttle line,” Sky Harbor spokesmen Frankie McLister said. “We’ve had a lot of change since.”

Eight new gates were opened on concourse D in Terminal 4 back in June. There will also be new restaurants and shops. McLister says staffing has improved over the last few months. They don’t expect to be short of workers by February.

The biggest change is two new stops that were added to the Sky Train. West of the terminals, there will be a 24th Street stop. That is a new building you can see from I-10. It’s about two miles west of the airport. People can park there, be picked up, or call a ride share for a lift home.

Further west, another stop will take people right to the rental car center. Having a stop on the Sky Train should spread people out without everyone relying on a shuttle. Having more options will hopefully reduce wait times for passengers.

McLister says airport operations paid for all the changes, not tax dollars. They hope to have the new Sky Train stops open by the end of the year.

Copyright 2022 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.