The Texas-based airline major Southwest Airlines, has reportedly made it to the front page for having announced its decision to co-fund a novel maintenance facility at the Washington International airport. The capital, close to USD 130 million, will be used to better meet the needs of the second busiest airport of the airline’s network.

Authentic reports claim that the three-bay hangar will seemingly be the first of its kind for Southwest Airlines in Northeast U.S. Indeed, it has been touted to be a suitable upgradation that would complement six other maintenance hangars of the airline in Chicago, Orlando, Atlanta, Dallas, Phoenix, and Houston. Sources familiar with the matter cite that the maintenance facility will be inclusive of office space as well as additional exterior parking spots for eight aircraft.

According to Gary Kelly, Chief Executive, Southwest, the facility is yet another indication of Southwest’s serious commitment to Baltimore/Washington. Elaborating on the additional space, Kelly claims that it would actually be rather feasible to have that flexibility, and that the space should ideally be considered an investment for the future. The space would further on provide leeway for the airline to think and strategize more hangar positions that would eventually lead to a spate of scheduled maintenance activities on the floor space.

Sources familiar with the knowledge of the development claim that the construction of the line maintenance facility, spanning 12,080 square meters (approximately 130,000 square feet), would commence somewhere early on in the year 2019. The construction is expected to be completed in the year 2021.

Incidentally, Southwest has been speculated to invest USD 80 million in the venture, while the Maryland Aviation Administration will be seen contributing the remaining USD 50 million.

For the record, the Dallas-based airline is the largest carrier at Baltimore/Washington, and is known to carry close to 69% of its traffic.