By Nathan Brooks

Washington Manassas Airport (HEF) in Virginia has started preliminary construction on a new passenger terminal, with the project's price tag now standing at roughly $80 million — up $30 million from an earlier estimate of $50 million. The work begins weeks after the field cleared its biggest regulatory hurdle: a Federal Aviation Administration Part 139 operating certificate, granted in August, that opens the door to scheduled commercial passenger operations.

Terminal operator Avports has cleared the east aircraft parking area and is demolishing an equipment storage building to make room for the new passenger building and expanded parking. The redevelopment will add passenger gates, enclosed boarding bridges, ticketing and baggage facilities, Transportation Security Administration screening areas and passenger seating.

The build-out carries hard names behind it. Skidmore, Owings & Sommer's peer firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill is serving as project architect, with Whiting-Turner as general contractor. Avports holds responsibility for developing and operating the terminal as part of the airport's push to land commercial airline service.

What happens on October 15?

Separately, airport staff have recommended a $29,314,862 contract to Costello Construction for a replacement air traffic control tower. The Airport Commission takes up the recommendation on Oct. 15; if it advances, the item moves to City Council for potential approval.

The new tower would replace aging infrastructure and give controllers improved visibility, updated technology and additional space. Funding is expected to combine federal and state contributions with airport capital reserves, though final approvals remain pending. Completion is projected for June 2029 — roughly two years after the airport's 2027 target for first commercial flights.

Which airlines might fly there?

Avports is negotiating with prospective carriers, including talks about potential service to Florida destinations. No airline or routes have been formally announced, and the airport is aiming for commercial passenger service to begin in 2027. Until a carrier signs, the terminal program remains an investment ahead of confirmed demand.

More airside work is queued behind the terminal. Rehabilitation of Runway 16L/34R and widening of Taxiway Bravo — needed to accommodate larger aircraft — are both expected to enter construction in 2027.

Why a third Washington-area airport?

The stakes are regional. Manassas sits roughly 25 miles west of Washington, and the program is part of a broader effort to position the field as an alternative to Washington Dulles International and Ronald Reagan Washington National for travelers in Northern Virginia. Slot-constrained National and geographically distant Dulles leave room, airport officials reason, for a reliever with scheduled service — if an airline agrees to fly it.

The sequence matters. A Part 139 certificate proves the airport can handle commercial operations on paper. An $80 million terminal and a $29.3 million tower prove the hardware. The remaining variable — a signed carrier serving Florida or elsewhere in 2027 — is the one piece Avports cannot build itself, and it will define whether Manassas becomes a genuine third option or a well-equipped general aviation field waiting for its first boarding pass.