(Photo by Annika Cline - KJZZ)

Terminal 3 renovations include a desert garden and dog park.

(Photo by Annika Cline - KJZZ)

The new ticketing and security area of Terminal 3 is surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows.

The city is investing almost $600 million in renovations to Terminal 3 at Sky Harbor Airport, and the first phase of that project is almost complete. 

It’s a bright, open space with floor-to-ceiling windows - right next to the much darker original building from 1979, which is still in use during the hammering. Mayor Greg Stanton led a media tour behind the scenes Friday. 

“Power USB!” he said, pointing to outlets in the armrests of some chairs. “Which is a very important thing for the traveling public.”

Every chair will have outlets. There are also touchscreen ticket kiosks. 

“Every kiosk, every ticket counter, every gate is common use,” said Jim Bennett, the city’s director of aviation services.

That means you can check in anywhere, no matter which airline you’re flying. Bennett said renovating Terminal 3 gives smaller airlines here a chance to expand. Most of the flights out of Sky Harbor depart from Terminal 4.

“But over 20 percent of our market is Delta, United, Frontier, Spirit, Hawaiian, Alaska,” Bennett said. “They need additional facilities as their business continues to grow, so this helps us diversify our base and also serve all of our customers.”

Passengers will be rolling through the new ticketing and security area by the end of the year, but they’ll have to keep waiting for new retail and dining options. The terminal project is expected to be completed in 2020, with 25 gates.

Terminal 2 airlines will move to Terminal 3 - and Terminal 2 will be demolished. Stanton said at some point, that land could be the site of another new terminal. 

“We want our existing partners to offer flights to new locations, including international destinations, and we are always courting new airlines to offer flights in and out of Sky Harbor. We can only do that if have the capacity to offer them,” he said.

The City Council votes next week on a plan to extend the Sky Train out to the rental car area.