Aviation View | Volume 1, Issue 2

186 AVIATION VIEW VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2 airport was the completion of about 14,000 sq. feet of additional square feet to the terminal building. This provided increased passenger hold room space and new offices for the TSA. This also enhanced and increased their baggage inspection area. As with every player in the aviation industry, 2020 was a tough year. But Killeen-Fort Hood Regional Airport has already nearly bounced back to normal levels of passengers travelling through their terminal. However, it wasn’t an easy journey. In April 2019, there were 11,677 total enplanements and 11,168 deplanements. That plummeted in April 2020 to only 1,684 enplanements and 1,312 deplanements. The good news is that just a year later in April 2021, there were 10,852 enplanements and 10,368 deplanements – showing a clear return to pre- pandemic numbers. Compared to other airports, that has been a faster recovery to normalcy, “From what I’ve 2,000 sq. feet allocated to office space. For now, these are all rough plans with the preliminary engineering phase just starting. Even though it’s only in its infancy stage of planning, the hangar has gained interest from CSI, who have sent a letter to the management team requesting first consideration. Space is definitely in demand. Wilson acknowledges, “Most of the land is occupied with our terminal buildings and support facilities, (car rentals and parking lot). Once the hangars are built, we’re pretty much out of room to build anything else for a while.” The airport is currently negotiating to acquire roughly 60-75 acres of land from the army. This field is directly south of the terminal building. In the next three to five years, Wilson predicts they will have around 65-70 acres to develop for aviation development, such as cargo operations or a Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) space. The last major development at the