Wichita Mid-Continent Airport holds the distinction of being the busiest airport in Kansas.

A major component of the region's transportation network, the airport served more than 1.5 million passengers in 2009. The airport offers nonstop service to 11 major hub cities via seven carriers providing 46 arrivals and departures daily.

By early 2013, the airport will have a whole new look, thanks to a $90 million expansion that will result in a new, 275,000-square-foot terminal.

The new terminal is being built west of the existing terminal so that much of existing roadway, utilities and parking facilities can be incorporated into the new project to hold down costs. The two-story terminal's modern architectural design is intended to express flight and Wichita’s global leadership in the aviation industry. Exhibits portraying the history of aviation in Wichita will be a theme in the terminal’s design.

The new terminal is about the same size as the existing facility, which opened in 1954, but is designed to handle up to 2 million passengers a year and can be expanded to support up to 2.4 million passengers annually. A major feature of the project, which has been registered for LEED certification, is installation of energy-efficient equipment and use of numerous skylight.

The new facility will have 12 gates when it opens, each of which will have a loading bridge. Four gates have been designed to handle two loading bridges, which brings the capability up to 16 bridges, depending on the aircraft fleet mix at the time.