FLETCHER, N.C. — Asheville Regional Airport in Fletcher, N.C., marked a milestone on its new passenger terminal this week as crews hoisted the last structural beam into place, finishing the building’s steel frame.
The beam carried signatures from airport employees, board members and the construction partners on the job. Builders call the ceremony a topping out, a long-running tradition that celebrates the moment a frame is complete.
The work is part of the AVL Forward Terminal Project, an effort about 10 years in the making. When it is done, travelers will find a grand lobby, a larger baggage claim hall and offices, along with a security screening checkpoint built to stay and a south concourse that is new to the airport.
Airport leaders say the old terminal, now 50 to 60 years old, no longer matches a growing region. Lew Bleiweis, who leads the airport authority as its president and CEO, said passenger numbers have climbed for years and that airlines want to add flights, while other carriers are interested in serving the airport. Construction has limited how much room there is to grow in the meantime, he said.
The airport sits in Fletcher in Henderson County, just south of the Buncombe County line, and is owned by the Greater Asheville Regional Airport Authority. Its terminal address is 61 Terminal Drive, and the AVL Forward expansion has been underway there for several years as the airport works around active passenger traffic.
The steel work is one piece of a $400 million rebuild that started construction in August 2023 after a sharp rise in passenger traffic. The airport handled 2.24 million passengers in 2025, its second-busiest year on record, and a new FAA control tower opened in August, with the 1961 tower set to come down in a later phase.
The new terminal is expected to open late in 2027 or early in 2028, and leaders hope it will draw new airlines and new destinations for Western North Carolina travelers.
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