2010-2020 

For this decade, the airport was committed to focusing on projects designed to improve customer experience, lay the groundwork for future development and capitalize on the role that the airport plays as a regional economic engine. PHL also has a keen interest in welcoming new carriers and routes, giving passengers more choices and destinations in their travels either originating from Philadelphia or connecting through PHL. 

A $45 million Terminal E expansion opened in 2010, featuring seven new aircraft gates, a 500-seat waiting area, a mini-food court, a high bay ceiling filtering in natural lighting and new permanent artwork. Also in 2010, the D/E baggage claim project opened, complete with two new carousels and new restroom facilities. 

In 2011, the FAA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) approving the airport’s Capacity Enhancement Program (CEP), a multi-billion-dollar program to enhance airfield capacity to address delays at the Airport. At that time, the airport had been long identified by the FAA as one of the airports contributing to delays throughout the National Airspace System (NAS). The CEP was based on the airport’s Master Plan and included projects addressing runway length, airfield geometry, runway capacity, in addition to expansion and reconfiguration of the existing terminal complex. 

Also in 2011, the FAA awarded a $466.5 million Letter of Intent (LOI) to provide some funding for airfield elements of the CEP. From 2007 through 2017, the FAA implemented improvements to air traffic control, and the airport completed some airfield improvements. These improvements, in conjunction with a decrease in operational activity during this same period (due in part to airline changes to their aircraft fleets and increase to average seats per operation), resulted in reduced aircraft movements and a reduction in delays at the airport.  As a result, PHL’s and airlines’ priorities shifted from airfield capacity and delay projects, such as a new runway, and focused instead on the terminal, gate capacity, landside, and cargo development.  Additionally, airfield improvement priorities were reassessed by the airlines, airport and FAA. The shift in capital priorities to terminal, landside, and cargo development, along with reprioritized airfield improvements, resulted in the airport implementing a revised capital plan that incorporated elements identified in the Master Plan, in addition to near-term capital facility needs, including ongoing rehabilitation and repair projects. 

An additional highlight in 2011 includes the How Philly Moves mural by the Airport and the City’s Mural Arts Program. The mural, which is among the largest completed in the United States and occupies the largest square footage of any project completed by the City’s Mural Arts Program, celebrates Philadelphia’s longstanding dance traditions with images of 26 dancers representing a variety of dance styles on the façade of the Airport’s parking garages. 

In 2012, Virgin America began serving PHL with daily nonstop flights to the West Coast. Virgin was the first new airline to start service at PHL in eight years. Over the next six years, additional airlines began serving PHL with daily and seasonal flights, including Alaska Airlines, Frontier, Spirit Airlines, and JetBlue. PHL continued to welcome new carriers and routes to its service. 

Additional infrastructure improvements continued throughout the 2010s. In 2013, the newly redesigned Terminal F Hub opened featuring 20 new food, beverage and retail shops, a 300-seat food court area, fascinating new permanent artwork and an enhanced bus shelter. 

A combination of airline mergers (most notably, between American Airlines and US Airways) and the aviation industry's modernization trend of using larger aircraft have shifted traffic at PHL.  

In 2014, Qatar Airways became the first foreign flag carrier in more than a decade to begin service when it launched daily non-stop service to Doha. 

In 2015, the E-F Secure Connector opened, enabling passengers to access all terminals and gates from the post-Security side. In 2016, the new Terminal F Baggage Claim Building opened, completing the $127 million Terminal F renovation and expansion project; the $35 million baggage claim facility is the first LEED Gold project at the airport. 

In 2017, the airport and FAA agreed to close the LOI, which resulted in the suspension of the FAA’s ROD and a formal closure notice posted by the FAA in the Federal Register in October 2017. This closure allowed the airport to focus FAA Entitlement and future Discretionary Grant funding for other airfield improvements rather than projects associated with the new runway. The Airport Master Plan, which included the new runway project, remained valid. The airport intended to preserve the ability to construct the new runway and other projects when operational needs warrant it. 

PHL continues to evaluate its capacity needs in a changing economic climate. In 2017, PHL and hub carrier American Airlines announced a $900 million commitment to continue critical improvements and develop new infrastructure at PHL and PNE over the next five-to-seven years. This Capital Development Project (CDP) promised to deliver needed improvements to the facility and represents a unique growth opportunity for Philadelphia’s businesses and workforce. The on-going projects will generate almost $4 billion in regional economic output over a five-year period, which equates to approximately 5,100 on-going jobs over the same five-year period. 

Icelandair launched seasonal service in May 2017 and Aer Lingus began non-stop flights to Dublin in March 2018.  

In July 2018, American Airlines began non-stop flights to Mexico City, marking the first Latin American capital serviced from Philadelphia.  

2020-Present  

In March 2020, PHL, like airports across the world, limited inbound and outbound flights due to the COVID-19 virus. In April 2020, the FAA announced PHL would receive approximately $116 million in CARES Act funding, which supported three months of airport operations to assist PHL in financing due to income loss from the COVID-19 virus. In December 2020, Jefferson Health, Ambulnz, and PHL launched a COVID-19 testing program for asymptomatic passengers flying out of PHL, with multiple testing options, including an antigen test, a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test, and a Rapid PCR test. PHL’s COVID-19 testing program was among the most affordable in the country. In May 2021, PHL signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Heathrow Airport (LHR), committing both airports to working closer together to support recovery from COVID-19 and boost passenger numbers. 

In June 2021, PHL received $115 million in relief funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, a $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus package passed by Congress. In December 2021, PHL received $30,721,947 from the Infrastructure and Jobs Act. In July 2022, PHL was awarded a $24 million FAA Airport Terminal Program grant for PHL’s Restroom Renovation Program. In August 2022, PHL funded the FDR park Wetlands Mitigation Development Project with approximately $30 million, along with a $1 million grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program. 

In February 2023, PHL was awarded $30 million in FAA Fiscal Year 2023 Airport Terminal Program grants to support the continuation of PHL’s Restroom Renovation Program and Phase 1 of PHL’s Terminal Energy Optimization Program (TEOP). 

On July 31, 2023, the City of Philadelphia Department of Aviation and its airline partners agreed to a three-year Airport-Airline Use and Lease Agreement which governs airline use of the City’s facilities for PHL and PNE. The agreement provides for $935 million in funding for capital projects including airfield rehabilitation, mechanical and systems upgrades, cargo projects, and terminal upgrades.     

In February 2024, PHL received $20,400,000 in new infrastructure funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Airport Terminal Program, created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. In the summer of 2024, American Airlines added three nonstop international European routes to Nice, France (NCE); Naples, Italy (NAP); and Copenhagen, Denmark (CPH) for the first time from PHL. PHL received an additional $27,500,000 in funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). This funding came from the Airport Terminal Program (ATP), which was created by the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to revitalize the Nation’s aging airports. In November 2024, American Airlines began nonstop weekly service from PHL to Barbados and in December 2024, American Airlines introduced weekly nonstop service to Guanacaste, Costa Rica, from PHL. 

In January 2025, PHL gained a new foreign carrier with the addition of Aeroméxico as an airline partner offering year-round daily nonstop service between Mexico City and Philadelphia beginning June 5, 2025. PHL also expanded its European footprint in May 2025, American Airlines kicked off summer travel at PHL with flights launching to Edinburgh (EDI) and Milan (MXP).  

On June 12, 2025, the Department of Aviation completed the city’s first Engineered Material Arresting System (EMAS) on Runway 8-26 at PHL. EMAS is a safety feature installed at the end of runways to stop overrunning aircraft. The project falls under the Airports Capital Development Program and aims to bring the Runway Safety Area (RSA) to compliance with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards.   

PHL currently offers over 355 daily nonstop flights to 95 domestic and 36 international destinations.  Today, PHL has grown exponentially, serving 30.9 million passengers annually from the Philadelphia region and beyond.  current operations stand at 155,517 takeoffs and landings.   

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