Hilton Head Island Airport opens the first of two terminal projects on Friday, capping a six-year effort that includes two years of construction and a redesign intended to preserve what airport leaders call a small, community feel.

The South Carolina airport handles roughly 300,000 travelers a year across about 10 commercial flights per day, supported by a core staff of 26 — a figure that excludes TSA and airline employees.

Stephen Perry, Deputy Director of Airports, said the scale of the milestone had not fully registered. "I think it really hasn't sunk in yet. I do remember standing in this location watching dirt being poured and watching the foundation go in. So, it's hard, hard to believe," Perry said.

The redesigned terminal adds passenger amenities including a bar and a designated space for service animals. It also adds dedicated staff facilities, most notably a self-contained TSA security suite.

"This is the TSA security room we've included for TSA. They have their own office suite. So they have a break room in there. They have storage, they have lockers for the TSA agents. They have a training room inside there," Perry said.

Construction budgets did not survive the pandemic-era cost cycle intact. Perry said pre-COVID fundraising had been sufficient to complete the entire program in a single phase. "Before COVID, the director had raised enough money and we had enough funds to do the whole thing in one shot. But with the high price and steel and everything went up, now that money only had enough to do half," he said.

Tariffs on supplies did not affect construction, according to airport officials. Other obstacles did. Edison Cassels, President of Edison Porter Construction, the firm behind the build, said supply chain disruption created complications — though not primarily of a material-availability kind.

"Supply chain issues; they did raise some problems, but it had more to do with making sure that we're meeting all the federal requirements," Cassels said.

Once the new terminal opens, staff expect it to generate jobs for local airport workers and airline employees. They did not put a specific number on the headcount increase — a gap that will become measurable only as airline staffing plans firm up.

The airport also plans to work with the local community to bring Hilton Head Island artwork and locally operated restaurants into the terminal, an attempt to keep the facility tied to the island's identity rather than a standardized concession model.

A second terminal revamp is already on the drawing board. Staff say they plan to overhaul the airport's other terminal within the next few years, which would complete the phased program that inflation forced the airport to split in two.