'It was an upgrade': Travelers welcome Terminal 3 improvements at Sky Harbor

Terminal 3 at Sky Harbor International Airport bustled with activity Tuesday morning as travelers from all over used the renovated check-in area for the first time.

The $150 million first phase of the terminal's renovation added new technology to the 37-year-old terminal. Included in the improvements were new check-in counters, self check-in kiosks and outlets for electronics at nearly every seat.

"It was an upgrade," Johnnie Hall said of the new check-in kiosks. Hall and his wife, Vseky, of Raleigh, N.C., were leaving Phoenix Tuesday morning after a business trip.

Airport staff assisted travelers like the Halls at the new check-in counters and kiosks in the brightly lit terminal.

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Vseky Hall said Terminal 3 -- which was considered outdated before -- was up to par with other terminals she's visited.

Marcus Haynie of Memphis, Tenn., said, "Everybody here has been so nice, from the police to the terminal gate crewmen."  

Haynie said it was convenient to be able to see all of the check-in counters as he sat on a bench in the terminal, waiting for a flight on which he was listed as stand-by.

Terminal 3 is home to Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways and Hawaiian Airlines. 

Limb said the lines were very short and easy to navigate.

"In my experience, it was just clear," said Marissa Limb, Lisa's daughter.

Passengers breezed through the lines Tuesday morning on the way to their flights. At about 8 a.m., the estimated time to wait line the check-in line was was about 5 minutes.

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"We had people that were really helpful and showed us where to go," said Lisa Limb who came to the airport to see her son off to Atlanta, Georgia.

United Airlines, Spirit Airlines and other carriers currently operating out of Terminal 2 will move to Terminal 3 after the $590 million renovation project is completed in 2020. Terminal 2, which opened in 1962, will be demolished.

Terminal 4, home to American and Southwest, will remain the airport’s giant, accounting for more than 80 percent of passengers.

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