en.Wedoany.com Reported - Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE) has finalized a use and land agreement (ULA) with its resident airlines and launched a multi-year expansion plan that will ultimately include the construction of a new passenger terminal.

The eight-year agreement clarifies gate and facility allocation and airline occupancy costs at the northeastern Ohio airport, and is considered key to advancing financing and construction of new buildings. Expansion work began earlier this month, with construction starting on a new parking garage featuring 1,600 spaces. The garage is expected to be completed by 2029, at which point an existing parking structure will be demolished to make way for the planned new terminal.

Airlines have approved over $475 million in financing for the first phase of the expansion plan, which covers the new parking garage and several other landside projects. Additionally, a parking garage with at least 4,000 spaces and a ground transportation center are planned. Further financing will be needed to build the terminal, which is targeted to open in 2032.

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport stated that the use and land agreement, effective retroactively to January 1, "is particularly important as we advance the significant landside improvements that are part of the expansion plan." The agreement was signed by American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, FedEx, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, and UPS.

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, which handles approximately 10 million passengers annually, has no single dominant airline. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), for the 12 months ending April 30, United Airlines led with a 23.5% passenger market share. Frontier Airlines followed at 21.1%, Southwest Airlines at 13.4%, American Airlines at 11%, and Delta Air Lines at 9.6%.