Phoenix is ending its Mesa Gateway airport partnership. What that means for flyers

Phoenix is leaving the intergovernmental group that owns and operates Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport next year.

It will end its membership in the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport Authority on June 30, 2024. City staff gave a full year's notice to allow for an orderly transition.

Phoenix joined the authority in 2006 and has contributed more than $25 million in the last 17 years to support Gateway Airport's growth. City documents showed Phoenix budgeted $1.3 million per year for Gateway Airport.

The other airport authority members are the cities of Mesa and Apache Junction, the towns of Queen Creek and Gilbert and the Gila River Indian Community, according to Gateway Airport.

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Why is Phoenix leaving the Mesa Gateway Airport Agreement?

In a news release on the city's decision to leave the airport authority, Phoenix City Councilman Jim Waring, who serves as the board's vice chair, cited Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport's financial solvency and Phoenix's need to focus on investments in its own airports, including Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

Brian O'Neill, Gateway Airport's executive director and CEO, expressed gratitude for the support from Phoenix.

"(Gateway Airport) appreciates the resources, aviation experience and leadership that the City of Phoenix has provided during the past 17+ years as a member of the Authority," he said. "(Gateway Airport) staff values its relationship with (Phoenix) staff and remains committed to working together on issues of mutual interest in the future."

What does it mean for passengers at Phoenix Mesa Gateway Airport?

Phoenix leaving the airport authority will have no impact on the customer experience at Sky Harbor or Mesa Gateway airport, O'Neill and Sky Harbor spokeswoman Heather Shelbrack told The Arizona Republic.

O'Neill also said Phoenix's decision will have no impact on Gateway Airport's growth plans. Right now the airport is working on a terminal expansion expected to finish in 2024 and eventually wants to add a terminal on the airport's east side, where business development is taking shape.

The focus on growth is important because more travelers are flying in and out of the east Mesa airport.

Gateway Airport saw record traffic in the 2022-23 fiscal year that ended in June. From July 2022 to April, the most recent month with data available, Gateway Airport welcomed 1.6 million passengers, up 20% from the same period in 2021-22, airport data showed.

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Reach the reporter at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @salerno_phx.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Why Phoenix is ending its partnership with Mesa Gateway Airport