A.C. airport unveils $25M expansion for international arrivals despite domestic-only clients

A $25 million expansion project expected to pave the way for international flights at Atlantic City's airport was unveiled on Monday.

The 75,000-square-foot expansion adds three new gates at the airport for a total of 10 and expands the baggage-claim area among other upgrades. A Federal Inspection Station will allow the airport to process international travelers at as many as two of the new gates.

Atlantic City International Airport currently has just one carrier -- Spirit Airlines -- and does not have any scheduled international service. South Jersey Transportation Authority acting Executive Director Sam Donelson said with this project the authority hopes that will change. He acknowledged that some people have questioned the authority's decision to build facilities to accommodate international flights when the airport currently has none.

"I can tell you without having this area that meets Customs and Border Patrol's standards, there's no way I'd ever even be able to have the conversation with airlines about international flights here," Donelson said.

(c)2012 The Press of Atlantic City (Pleasantville, N.J.). Distributed by MCT Information Services.