Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport  is undergoing an extensive upgrade program between 2005 and 2010. The airport is the fifth busiest in the world, the eighth largest in the United States and the 14th largest airport in the world in terms of passengers.  It is located in one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States.  Sky Harbor has grown so rapidly that Phoenix is currently using Williams Gateway Airport in Mesa as a secondary airport.

These construction projects have cost over $700 million during 2005 and there is likely to be in excess of $200 million spent each year on construction until 2010.   The airport’s passenger count for 2004 was 39.5 million and 2005 figures were 41.2 million.  Passenger numbers are projected to approach 50 million by 2010 and so the remodelling and expansion of buildings, roads and taxiways is necessary to keep up with these increases.

The three runways have a capacity of 60 million passengers a year, but the current facilities need to be remodelled to meet that potential.  Over 100,000 passengers and more than 1,500 aircraft arrive and depart daily from Phoenix Sky Harbor, which also handles 1,000 tons of cargo per day.   Sky Harbor’s private airplane area also serves as one of eight service centres for the Medevac airline Air Evac.

More than 31,000 people work at the airport (mostly for private companies) and a study by Arizona State University has shown that the economic impact of the airport is in excess of $26 billion a year. Sky Harbor is critical to the economy of the area.  A J.D. Power and Associates report ranks Phoenix Sky Harbor as Forth in the world for passenger service and convenience.