LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Several major changes are hard to miss at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, and they were put to the test over the busy Labor Day weekend.
A lot of the work has been done in plain sight, but some of the behind-the-scenes efforts are really helping it take shape as the calendar turns to some busy travel months.
For starters, there's a brand new baggage claim area. One side is done, complete with a new carousel for bags that's sleeker and closer to the back wall to allow for more room for passengers to maneuver the area. What was once five belts is now just four, and passengers will see their bag at all times now without it having to go back behind a wall before reappearing.
The area was revamped just in time for the Labor Day weekend, which had a 28% increase in passengers compared to 2022.
The second side of baggage claim is expected to be completed by Thanksgiving, but that is not all when it comes to improvements and updates.
"We did something really cool at the airport," said Megan Atkins Thoben, a spokeswoman for the airport. "We built the largest geothermal wellfield in existence at an airport. So now, we are going through the airport and we are upgrading all of our mechanical and electrical infrastructure to meet with that geothermal field. So that is coming online in pieces."
The next three weeks are also going to be busy for the airport as fans from around the world will be coming to Louisville for the Bourbon & Beyond and Louder Than Life music festivals. No major logistics changes are planned at this point, but fans from all 50 states and 20 countries will attend the festivals.
Airport officials said SDF is the fastest-growing airport in the country in 2023.
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