Published April 1st, 2026
BY GRACE GRAHL
After 85 years of serving Monterey County residents and tourists alike, the Monterey Regional Airport is building a new terminal arriving in spring 2027, bringing upgraded services and environmental achievements.
The terminal will be a one-level, 63,000-square-foot building, inspired by the beauty of the local region, adding five new gates and boarding bridges, along with an observation deck and parking areas and roadways.
The advancements are a part of the MRY Metamorphosis Safety Enhancement Program, which aims to relocate the main taxiway and terminal due to their close proximity to each other, which raised safety concerns. The Federal Aviation Administration, who helped fund the safety enhancement program, determined around a decade ago there were some safety concerns, and in June 2020 issued a report, prompting the relocation of the taxiway.
Monterey Regional Airport’s board members and staff gather for the ceremonial groundbreaking for the new terminal set to open in spring 2027. courtesy of ROSEMARY BARNES
“The FAA determined new standards for airfield surfaces, runways and taxiways in conjunction with the terminal buildings,” says MRY contracting partner Rosemary Barnes. “They were going through a whole series of safety enhancements and determined the terminal needed to be relocated, given these safety measures.”
The safety enhancement program also includes the moving of the long-term parking lot to its permanent location due to the construction in its original area, along with the construction of a roundabout filtering through Garden and Olmsted roads to prevent traffic congestion.
“The replacement terminal is part of an overall larger group of projects, so this is one component of other projects,” says Chris Morello, the first female executive director of Monterey Regional Airport. “Our main project under this is runway separation, so it’s moving our main taxiway closer to our existing terminal.”
Funded by the FAA, bank fundings and the airport’s own revenue, this $200 million program has been planned and executed around the high season for travel in Monterey. The long-term parking lot won’t be moved until after Memorial weekend—sometime in June—and the replacement terminal is set to open in 2027 before the U.S. Open Championship at Pebble Beach.
The terminal is set to closely resemble the original airport, with similar square footage, layout and five passenger gates. However, the technology is more modern, with customers expecting to see more TSA checkpoint lanes and boarding bridges for each gate, allowing for people who have difficulty ascending into planes easier access. There is also going to be common use technology for ticket counters so airlines can have flexibility on the number of flights.
“Common use technology and digital monitors allow for flexibility to show airline brands so an airline isn’t assigned to a certain gate anymore,” says Barnes. “It allows a lot more flexibility for when new carriers want to come in or an airline wants to add more flights.”
Last year, 666,000 travelers came through the airport, a 6% increase from last year. Although modern technology will benefit the infrastructure of the terminal, the blueprints aren’t looking to grow to fit the increase of tourism and travellers entering the MRY airport.
“Obviously, the FAA said it needs to move. There’s a safety issue here,” says Barnes. “But you love your community and your family and you don’t want a big old international airport. You love the convenience. You love the local flights. And certainly the airport could add international service down the road, but people wanted it to be around the same. It’ll be similar to our square footage, but a lot more efficient.”
The MRY airport also has a goal to achieve the highest certification awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED Platinum-certification, meaning terminal-wide there is a goal to integrate a renewable energy system, an energy conservation system and use renewable materials.
“Those all lead to the goal of LEED Platinum, and then we’ll also have an embodied carbon reduction, which is using low carbon materials that will reduce the emissions,” Morello says. “Our concrete mixes will be embodied carbon options, so all of those together help reduce our carbon footprint with the building.”
The MRY Metamorphosis Safety Enhancement Program has already made significant progress, with general aviation hangars and an aircraft rescue and firefighting station finishing construction in fall 2023, along with a commercial aircraft apron for the terminal completed in fall 2025.
The old terminal will be renamed “The Legacy Terminal” when it’s out of use and will not be demolished, rather reused for board meetings, conventions and a way to keep local student and venues art exhibits open.
“This is a great example of a building being done smartly and affordably,” Morello says. “We live in a nice place to easily implement an environmental goal like this, and we need to start doing more of it for sure.”
