Aviation View | April 2021

62 AVIATION VIEW APRIL 2021 B efore Southwest Airlines announced in December 2020 that it would start offering service out of Fresno Yosemite International Airport, airline representatives learned of a plan for expansion known as FATforward. The name is a play on Fresno Air Terminal, but the project is serious business. It involves a two-year terminal expansion phase set to begin in the fall of 2021, and the construction of a new, four- level parking garage that’s expected to be finished in August. “Southwest said that’s one of the most important things you could have done, because an airport needs to be able to handle the region’s demand,” recalls Kevin Meikle, Director of Aviation. “We need to be able to handle the airline’s customers. As soon as they buy their ticket from home in their living room and they arrive onsite, it’s the airline’s customer until they leave, and we need to provide the infrastructure to accommodate that. And that’s exactly what FATforward is all about.” ERNATIONAL AIRPORT Expand i ng f o rwa rd f a s t e r