Fresno airport unveils construction ‘milestone.’ What’s next for $150M expansion?
Fresno Yosemite International Airport celebrated a major construction “milestone” on Wednesday, unveiling an expanded security checkpoint and new artwork.
According to the airport, the additions represent the “first new expansion phase” completed as part of the FATForward terminal expansion project, a $150 million facelift that’s slated to be completed in late fall.
A record 2.7 million passengers traveled through Fresno Yosemite International Airport in 2024, marking the fourth consecutive year of growth for the airport.
In 2025, Fresno Yosemite International Airport added a handful of new and returning flights to destinations including Portland, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and San Diego, The Fresno Bee previously reported.
Wednesday’s event, which included a tour of the new 120,000-square-foot terminal, marked “the first time the traveling public will get a sense of the improvements we have been working on for years,” Henry Thompson, the city of Fresno’s director of aviation, said in a Wednesday news release.
“This opening begins to provide a glimpse of what is to come later this fall when we unveil the new terminal expansion,” he added. “Passengers will begin to experience an elevated customer experience and see Fresno moving to the next level to a larger airport and no longer that small airport in the Valley.”
What’s new at Fresno airport?
“Passengers traveling through Fresno Yosemite International Airport will now experience improved security queuing within a 13,000-square feet-facility,” Vikkie Calderon, the airport’s public information officer, said in Wednesday’s release.
The Fresno airport’s new security checkpoint layout aims to improve the “efficiency of passenger screening with more capacity and capability to operate five passenger screening lanes simultaneously,” Calderon said.
The expansion adds 8,000 square feet to the security checkpoint, shifting passenger queuing from the lobby to within the security checkpoint footprint, the release said.
Passengers will also encounter “newer carpet throughout, a larger recompose area with contemporary seating and dynamic flight information displays,” the airport said.
After passing through security, travelers will see terrazzo flooring featuring a river-themed pattern that “symbolizes the various waterways that flow through the Valley,” she said, as well as “wood casings” representing the redwood and sequoia trees found in nearby national parks.
The Fresno airport is less than 100 miles away from Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia national parks, the airport’s website said, making it the “closest commercial airport.”
On Wednesday, the airport also unveiled a new floor-to-ceiling mural titled “Fresno Airport – A Welcoming Adventure” by San Joaquin Valley residents and artists Colleen Mitchell-Veyna and Kesley Gilles.
“We are very happy that the people that come into the airport are going to be able to see this mural and hopefully have great feelings about their next travels,” Gilles told The Fresno Bee on Wednesday.
Expansion to add new passenger concourse, more gates
The largest expansion in the terminal’s history, the FATForward terminal expansion project will add a second upper-level passenger concourse with more gates for both domestic and international flights, plus upgraded baggage inspection technology and a larger arrival and customs inspection area for international arrivals.
Also in store are new dining options for passengers.
Los Amigos Mexican Restaurant in Fresno plans to open a second location in the shops and dining area of the Fresno airport’s new concourse.
Calderon said the airport is also looking for ways to enhance travelers’ experience through art, working in partnership with the Fresno Arts Council to develop and implement a terminal expansion public art program.
She said the airport has identified “approximately 15 potential permanent art installation locations” as part of the expansion project.
The FATForward expansion project’s name is a play on the airport’s official Federal Aviation Administration code, FAT — short for Fresno Air Terminal.
“This historic expansion program will provide a spacious and efficient transportation facility, ensuring that Fresno’s airport remains a vital part of our growing economy and a source of civic pride in our community,” Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer said when the project broke ground in 2023.
How much will terminal expansion project cost?
Although the project was originally estimated to cost $127 million, the current price tag is $150 million, the airport said.
The project is funded through a combination of federal infrastructure grants, including bipartisan infrastructure law funding, Federal Aviation Administration grants, passenger facility charges, and airport revenue bonds, Calderon said.
“No city of Fresno general funds have been used to support this project,” she said.
What does new project mean for Fresno ?
Although Fresno is known for its food, culture and proximity to national parks, Fresno Yosemite International Airport hasn’t really reflected that in the past, Fresno City Council member Tyler Maxwell told The Bee at Wednesday’s event.
“Fresno likes to think of itself as a destination city, and we are,” said Maxwell, whose district includes the airport area and east-central Fresno. “I mean, we’re so close to national parks and forests and the ocean, and it’s really time that we had an airport that reflected that.”
Maxwell told The Bee that the airport expansion project has already “added a lot more jobs to our local community,”including “all the folks that have come together to build this thing over the last year and a half.”
Additional employees will be needed to staff the airport, he said, including U.S. Transportation Security Administration screening personnel.
When will construction be finished?
The FATForward terminal expansion project is scheduled to be completed by November, according to the airport.
This story was originally published April 24, 2025 at 12:16 PM.
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