Southwest Airlines Plans Maintenance Facility at BWI

Southwest Airlines plans to build its first aircraft maintenance facility in the northeast in Maryland.

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Southwest Airlines plans to build its first aircraft maintenance facility in the northeast in Maryland.

CEO Gary Kelly made the announcement Thursday with Gov. Larry Hogan at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, where the facility is planned.

The Hogan administration says the project is expected to create 450 construction and maintenance jobs over the next three years and support hundreds of additional maintenance jobs over the next two decades. It's expected to cost $130 million, with $80 million coming from Southwest to build it and $50 million from the Maryland Aviation Administration for infrastructure.

The facility would include a 130,000 square-foot maintenance hangar, aircraft parking apron and offices. While it needs approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, construction could begin next year with a scheduled completion of late 2021.

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