The Colorado Springs Airport reported a slight increase in passenger traffic in June compared to the same month last year, a welcome shift after a slower-than-expected start to 2025.

Airport officials hope the trend will continue as summer progresses and evolves into the fall and winter travel seasons, which are historically the busiest travel months at the airport. But in the meantime, the airport is making progress on major construction projects, improving more gates and adding restaurants and retail space for travelers.

The construction is part of ElevateCOS, a $45.5 million, seven-phase upgrade to the decades-old terminal. Taxpayers are on the hook for zero dollars, according to the airport.

The ElevateCOS project is funded entirely by the airport’s revenues and federal grants. As a city enterprise, the airport’s budget is separate from that of the general fund and only 10% of its revenues can come from city and state sources; the rest must come from user fees, according to the Bell Policy Institute, citing the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, a measure approved by voters in 1992 that limits the amount of revenue Colorado can retain and spend.

In January, the airport received a $5.8 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration for future phases of its upgrade project.

The airport has completed the first three phases outright and is about halfway through the fourth phase. The airport opened Gates 5 and 7, part of the project, and is making progress on construction at Gates 1 and 3, according to a news release.

And more is in progress. Phase four will bring more retail space and an improved food court area, including a “state-of-the-art” bar, according to Alex Kovacs, who was appointed as the airport’s aviation director Tuesday after serving in an interim role.

“Kind of in the center of the concourse, as you’re walking towards your southwest gates, you’re going to see Colorado Craft,” he said Monday. “So that’s going to be a new, state-of-the-art bar, that’s going to look fantastic. … With plenty of seating options, and you can get food there and obviously, beverages.”

Gates 1 and 3 will reopen as part of phase five; phase six improves the concourse entry and exit ramp, and phase seven will see new ceilings added to the concourse, according to the ElevateCOS webpage. Construction officially began at the end of 2023 and is expected to be complete in 2026.

The airport in 2023 awarded a contract to SSP America, a national operator of food and beverage brands in travel locations, to find local and national restaurants to pack the food court. Pre-security, travelers will have a chance to get their caffeine fix at Peet’s Coffee, a California-based café chain, or grab a beer from Atrevida, a locally owned brewery.

Other options will include Mi Casa Cantina, a Mexican grill; Pizzeria Rustica, a local pizza diner; Camden Food Co., a 24/7 grab-and-go spot, and Street Eats by Chef Brother Luck, a full-service bar and restaurant.

Peet’s and Atrevida will open first, pre-security. Colorado Craft will open next, but not until next year, said Lana Cramer, the vice president of corporate marketing and communications for SSP America.

“With Drifters (Hamburgers) closing down their streetside location, we are in the process now of working through the food court concepts with the airport and hope to have that plan completed in the coming months,” Cramer added.

Drifters Hamburgers closed its sole location on the southeast corner of Mark Dabling Boulevard and Garden of the Gods Road last year. It was originally one of the nine restaurants coming to the airport’s revamped food court, but as a result of the closure, it will not be making a reappearance, Cramer said.

SSP America is actively working to find a new restaurant to fill the gap, she added.

Travelers, based on the latest passenger data shared by the airport, do not appear to mind the airport’s dust. In June, the airport saw 235,642 people, a modest increase over last year’s 234,890 and a welcome return to form after three months of declining air travel in February, March and April.

This mirrored national trends, which saw a 1% decline in air travel in April, a 1.4% decline in March and a 4.6% decline in February.

In Colorado Springs, passenger volume — that is the total number of people coming and going through the airport — declined 6.2% in April, 3.1% in March and 9.4% in February.

Over the past 12 months, the airport experienced a decrease in year-over-year traffic in eight of those months, with five seeing declines of over 5%.

In its current-year budget document, the airport predicted seeing 2.5 million total passengers. So far, with just over 1.1 million passing through so far in 2025, according to the airport’s latest data, if things continue, the airport may fall short of that prediction.

But Kovacs said July is looking promising, which leads him to believe the airport will still hit that 2.5 million mark. The airport recorded its busiest single day ever on July 7, with more than 5,200 people passing through the security checkpoint, he said.

“The momentum is swinging towards the positive. … And we’re definitely happy about it. I’m ecstatic that Colorado Springs Airport (is now going) international,” he said. “My goal is… to connect Colorado Springs to the world.”

International service at the airport officially began June 7, with Southwest flying to and from Cancun, Mexico. Those seasonal flights ceased for the summer season on Saturday but return in November, December and January.

All of the improvements coming to the food court and the airport’s infrastructure are central to delivering a good experience to travelers who come to Colorado Springs, Kovacs said.

ElevateCOS and the coming improvements are one of the ways the airport can make traveling a little less stressful and a little more convenient, he added.

“What we can do is we can impact the experience that people have through the people that work here, we can offer adequate parking, we can improve food and beverage options, and we can improve the retail,” he said. “It comes down to the experience of people, and in today’s world you want to receive a quality product where you feel like whatever you’re paying for, you’re getting the right value.”

The Colorado Springs Airport reported a slight increase in passenger traffic in June compared to the same month last year, a welcome shift after a slower-than-expected start to 2025.

Airport officials hope the trend will continue as summer progresses and evolves into the fall and winter travel seasons, which are historically the busiest travel months at the airport. But in the meantime, the airport is making progress on major construction projects, improving more gates and adding restaurants and retail space for travelers.

The construction is part of ElevateCOS, a $45.5 million, seven-phase upgrade to the decades-old terminal. Taxpayers are on the hook for zero dollars, according to the airport.

The ElevateCOS project is funded entirely by the airport’s revenues and federal grants. As a city enterprise, the airport’s budget is separate from that of the general fund and only 10% of its revenues can come from city and state sources; the rest must come from user fees, according to the Bell Policy Institute, citing the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, a measure approved by voters in 1992 that limits the amount of revenue Colorado can retain and spend.

In January, the airport received a $5.8 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration for future phases of its upgrade project.

The airport has completed the first three phases outright and is about halfway through the fourth phase. The airport opened Gates 5 and 7, part of the project, and is making progress on construction at Gates 1 and 3, according to a news release.

And more is in progress. Phase four will bring more retail space and an improved food court area, including a “state-of-the-art” bar, according to Alex Kovacs, who was appointed as the airport’s aviation director Tuesday after serving in an interim role.

“Kind of in the center of the concourse, as you’re walking towards your southwest gates, you’re going to see Colorado Craft,” he said Monday. “So that’s going to be a new, state-of-the-art bar, that’s going to look fantastic. … With plenty of seating options, and you can get food there and obviously, beverages.”

Gates 1 and 3 will reopen as part of phase five; phase six improves the concourse entry and exit ramp, and phase seven will see new ceilings added to the concourse, according to the ElevateCOS webpage. Construction officially began at the end of 2023 and is expected to be complete in 2026.

The airport in 2023 awarded a contract to SSP America, a national operator of food and beverage brands in travel locations, to find local and national restaurants to pack the food court. Pre-security, travelers will have a chance to get their caffeine fix at Peet’s Coffee, a California-based café chain, or grab a beer from Atrevida, a locally owned brewery.

Other options will include Mi Casa Cantina, a Mexican grill; Pizzeria Rustica, a local pizza diner; Camden Food Co., a 24/7 grab-and-go spot, and Street Eats by Chef Brother Luck, a full-service bar and restaurant.

Peet’s and Atrevida will open first, pre-security. Colorado Craft will open next, but not until next year, said Lana Cramer, the vice president of corporate marketing and communications for SSP America.

“With Drifters (Hamburgers) closing down their streetside location, we are in the process now of working through the food court concepts with the airport and hope to have that plan completed in the coming months,” Cramer added.

Drifters Hamburgers closed its sole location on the southeast corner of Mark Dabling Boulevard and Garden of the Gods Road last year. It was originally one of the nine restaurants coming to the airport’s revamped food court, but as a result of the closure, it will not be making a reappearance, Cramer said.

SSP America is actively working to find a new restaurant to fill the gap, she added.

Travelers, based on the latest passenger data shared by the airport, do not appear to mind the airport’s dust. In June, the airport saw 235,642 people, a modest increase over last year’s 234,890 and a welcome return to form after three months of declining air travel in February, March and April.

This mirrored national trends, which saw a 1% decline in air travel in April, a 1.4% decline in March and a 4.6% decline in February.

In Colorado Springs, passenger volume — that is the total number of people coming and going through the airport — declined 6.2% in April, 3.1% in March and 9.4% in February.

Over the past 12 months, the airport experienced a decrease in year-over-year traffic in eight of those months, with five seeing declines of over 5%.

In its current-year budget document, the airport predicted seeing 2.5 million total passengers. So far, with just over 1.1 million passing through so far in 2025, according to the airport’s latest data, if things continue, the airport may fall short of that prediction.

But Kovacs said July is looking promising, which leads him to believe the airport will still hit that 2.5 million mark. The airport recorded its busiest single day ever on July 7, with more than 5,200 people passing through the security checkpoint, he said.

“The momentum is swinging towards the positive. … And we’re definitely happy about it. I’m ecstatic that Colorado Springs Airport (is now going) international,” he said. “My goal is… to connect Colorado Springs to the world.”

International service at the airport officially began June 7, with Southwest flying to and from Cancun, Mexico. Those seasonal flights ceased for the summer season on Saturday but return in November, December and January.

All of the improvements coming to the food court and the airport’s infrastructure are central to delivering a good experience to travelers who come to Colorado Springs, Kovacs said.

ElevateCOS and the coming improvements are one of the ways the airport can make traveling a little less stressful and a little more convenient, he added.

“What we can do is we can impact the experience that people have through the people that work here, we can offer adequate parking, we can improve food and beverage options, and we can improve the retail,” he said. “It comes down to the experience of people, and in today’s world you want to receive a quality product where you feel like whatever you’re paying for, you’re getting the right value.”