Orlando International Airport Announces MASSIVE Changes on the Way

We knew that Orlando International Airport (MCO) would be undergoing some pretty big changes in the next year, but our jaws are on the FLOOR with these recent announcements.

Earlier this month, we found out that electric air taxis could be coming to the airport in the coming years, and their ground vehicles are set to be taken out and replaced with updated systems over the next two years as well. The changes don’t stop there, though — MCO just hit us with TONS of new additions and changes coming soon that we can’t believe. The airport will soon look totally different!

The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority has just announced its plans to redesign Orlando International Airport (MCO) and Orlando Executive Airport (ORL) over the next few years. They’re focusing on enhancing customer experience and strengthening the Aviation Authority’s role as a leader in economic growth and innovation, with the four pillars being Customer Experience, Community, Infrastructure, and People. In a statement, Chief Executive Officer Lance Lyttle recently said, “This vision focuses and unites everything we do around one core purpose: delivering an exceptional experience for everyone who passes through our airports. We’re creating spaces that are more welcoming, efficient, and enjoyable, from the parking areas to the gate, so that every step of the journey feels seamless.”

The board of airport leaders presented their plan to the board earlier this month, and it was ultimately approved. GOAA is determined to meet the goals of the new vision, using support from the recently revised $5.9 billion MCO Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and $84.2 million of the ORL Capital Improvement Program. These updates are broken down into 5-year and 10-year goals.

As for Customer Experience, the airports are determined to hit a 5-star Skytrax rating and activate 60% of current vacant real estate assets at ORL while maximizing revenue by 2035. For their Community goals, the airports are determined to create at least one new cargo processing facility and complete an FAA-approved on-airport AAM vertiport by 2030 (for FLYING CARS!!!), which would be designed to accommodate multiple commercial operators and support the future of air mobility. By 2030, they’d also like to increase non-aeronautical revenue by 30% when compared to the revenue figures recorded for the current year (2025).

By 2030, several updates are planned for the Infrastructure of the airports, including:

• Increase parking to up to 8,000 spaces
• Complete construction of a new Baggage Handling System for Terminals A & B
• Complete Airside 2 gate expansions
• Add additional passenger conveyance in Terminal C from Palm Court to Gate C230
• Complete Terminal C, Phase 2 construction by 2035 (that’s 10 more years, goodness gracious)

Finally, by 2030, the airports would like to launch a fully operational Business Incubator at MCO to drive innovation and strategic growth, which will also aim to increase the number of small businesses working with MCO by 40%. However, by 2028, they’d like to achieve a 20% increase over 2025 baseline employee engagement scores to attain an employee engagement score of 90% within 5 years. Additionally, other goals include restoring stormwater structures to a nomenclature project that will focus on renaming all terminals by numbering them Terminals 1, 2, and 3 to improve clarity and consistency (which I feel might actually confuse more people at the start, but hopefully it’ll catch on quickly).

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We’ll be keeping you updated on all the latest travel news so you can plan accordingly for your upcoming Disney World vacations, so stay tuned to AllEars!

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How do you feel about all of these changes? Tell us in the comments!

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