LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- In 2019, the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport saw the first steps of a $1 billion SDF Next Program to upgrade and update many things about the traveler experience.

Of that total plan, $350 million has been spent, and the airport said another $260 million is planned for the next two years.

"We knew this was a massive undertaking for significant improvements both in the terminal and on the airfield when we began planning for this in 2018 and thought we were initially looking at $200 million in total costs," Dan Mann, executive director of the Louisville Regional Airport Authority, said in a news release Thursday. "Knowing that within two years we’re going to go beyond the $600 million mark for investment at SDF – eventually reaching $1 billion – is progress I look forward to experiencing. Even with more projects coming, I am proud of the work we are doing, especially knowing that SDF is further preparing for the future for our passengers and airline partners."

There have been a handful of recent air travel disasters in other cities, most notably the midair crash in Washington that killed 67 people. Mann said he's not concerned about any sort of long term hesitation to fly.

"I think, short term, it probably has an impact," said Dan Mann, executive director of the Louisville Regional Airport Authority. "But long-term air travel remains the safest mode of travel in the world. So short term, perhaps, but I think, long term, people need to get to where they are going for business, leisure travelers still want to go on vacation, and Louisville still a destination for both business and tourism. So we're not terribly concerned."

At Louisville's airport, terminals will get new expanded security checkpoints in the next two years as well as improvements to post-security in concourses and gates.

Taxiways will also be reconstructed.

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