ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – As thousands get ready to go in and out of the Albuquerque International Sunport, they’ll experience something new while they’re there – a new TSA checkpoint.

From the brick floors to the authentic art, the southwestern style at the Sunport is unmatched. It was that style that officials fought so hard to preserve during the $87 million Dream of Flight terminal renovation.

“Renovating the airport is a once-in-a-generation activity and making sure that we retain all of the ‘New Mexiconess’ of the airport is also an incredibly high bar because everyone loves the airport,” said Mayor Tim Keller. 

The project has been years in the making, but the construction work for the project started just over a year ago.

“This soft opening is a significant phase of the Dream of Flight that provides an expeditious processing through the passage of the TSA checkpoint, and it ensures the safety of all passengers, which has always been our top priority,” said Sunport’s Director of Aviation, Richard McCurley. 

Aside from the state-of-the-art technology, officials say the new TSA checkpoint is 50% bigger, making it easier for passengers during heavy travel seasons.

“We’ve gone from an eight lane checkpoint to an eight lane checkpoint. We don’t have all of the lanes up and running at the moment because of the construction continues but, in a month-and-a-half we will have all eight lanes,” said Maggie Santiago, assistant federal security director and mission support of TSA in NM. 

The Sunport also invested in local artists and asked them to submit pieces to hang in open space areas. Out of 400 applications, five artists were chosen for this first installment of art.

“I’m standing in front of two of five pieces that we have installed thus far, we have a lot more to go. We are really excited about this project. This is something that Richard, Mayor Keller, and I all discussed and decided we are going to go above and beyond what is expected, and allocate even more funds and make sure we are doing this project with New Mexican artists,” said Manny Manriquez, Sunport’s Innovation & Commercial Development manager.