Airport Updates

’Tis the season! And once again, you are all making PNS one of the busiest airports on the Gulf Coast. Thank you for trusting us with your holiday travel plans. Every year, this season reminds me why we do what we do: families reconnecting, students and military heading home, grandparents meeting new grandbabies, and a whole lot of happy chaos in between.

As we wrap up 2025, I wanted to share a few of the highlights from this year and give you a look at what’s ahead.

• This fall, PNS earned an A+ bond rating with a Stable Outlook from multiple rating agencies. That may sound like “airport accounting talk,” but in reality it means this: the airport you rely on is financially strong, healthy, and positioned for smart, sustainable growth.

• That strength is letting us move full speed into the future; including our terminal expansion, additional parking, and other improvements that will make traveling through PNS easier and more comfortable.

• We also celebrated a major milestone: PNS turned 90 years old on November 1. Nine decades of serving this community and we’re just getting started.

• And yes, we tried not to brag… but we were pretty excited to be named USA Today’s 9th Best Small Airport in the country. It’s a testament to our team, our partners, and you — the travelers who keep choosing to fly through PNS.

We closed out the year with another major milestone: 3,116,318 passengers traveled through PNS — a 2.83% increase over the previous year. That kind of growth doesn’t happen by accident. It’s a reflection of a community that continues to choose PNS, airlines investing in new service, and a team working hard every day to keep this airport running smoothly. We’re proud of the momentum and even more excited about what it means for the future of air travel in our region.

The event drew an incredible turnout of community leaders, partners, and supporters who have championed this project from the beginning. We were honored to host a strong slate of speakers who each shared their perspective on the growth and future of Pensacola:

This expansion is more than additional gates and more space; it’s about preparing PNS for the next generation of travelers, building an airport that reflects the growth of our city, and ensuring that the experience you have here continues to get better.

Seeing so many people come together — elected officials, airport partners, business leaders, and members of our community — underscored something important: Pensacola is moving forward, and we’re moving forward together.

As construction gets underway, we’ll be sharing updates along the way. The future of PNS is bright, and this groundbreaking was a powerful reminder of just how far we’ve come and how far we’re headed.

If your 2026 plans include theme parks, political capitals, or just escaping for a long weekend, we’ve got you covered:

- Frontier Airlines: Nonstop to Orlando (MCO) twice weekly (Fridays & Mondays) starting February 13, 2026

- Breeze Airways: Nonstop to Orlando (MCO) twice weekly (Thursdays & Sundays) starting March 12, 2026

- Spirit Airlines: Daily nonstop to Orlando (MCO) service returns January 8, 2026

- Southwest Airlines: Weekly nonstop to Baltimore/Washington starting June 6, 2026

More choices, more flexibility, and more opportunities to get where you’re going; whether it’s a family reunion or a much-needed vacation. And be sure to stay tuned because we have more (really big!) announcements coming soon.

Holiday travel is joyful, wonderful… and sometimes just plain hectic. We see it all from this side of the terminal — the hello’s, the goodbyes, the reunions, the delays, the excitement, the stress, and the laughter.

Through it all, our goal remains the same: make your journey as smooth as possible, whether that’s through new routes, real-time parking updates, or long-term improvements to the airport itself.

Thank you for choosing PNS. Thank you for supporting us. And thank you for allowing us to play a small part in your holiday memories.

Wishing you safe travels, smooth flights, and a season filled with peace, joy, and the people you love.

My Sincere Appreciation,

Matthew F. Coughlin
Executive Director, Pensacola International Airport