9 AirportImprovement.com October 2026 RUNWAYS SAT Pounding the Pavement Following a 25-year tenure with the Houston Airports System, Saenz headed west across Texas to take the helm at SAT in February 2020. One of his first objectives as director was to hire Kimley- Horn to perform a comprehensive review of the airport’s three runways and adjacent taxiways. Although 13R-31L is among the oldest active runways in the National Airspace System, a full replacement wasn’t called for right away. Pavement Condition Index findings indicated that only certain panels were nearing the end of useful service—a testament to ongoing maintenance and previous rehabilitation work during the last 85 years. In addition to installing nearly 180 new concrete panels, the airport upgraded the runway’s electrical lighting systems to energy-efficient LED technology, improved pavement markings, and reconfigured or regraded select taxiway angles. New high- speed taxiways were also added to enable landing aircraft to safely clear the runway more quickly. While the project was underway, all commercial activity was temporarily shifted to the 8,505-foot crosswind option, Runway 04-22. (At just 5,519 feet, SAT’s third runway—13L/31R—is reserved exclusively for general aviation.) The FAA covered $17 million of the $23 million runway rehab through Airport Improvement Program grants. With these upgrades complete, Runway 13R-31L is now expected to last five to 10 more years before a full replacement is needed. Airfield efficiency has taken on greater importance as work continues on ELEVATE/SAT, a $2.5 billion program that represents the largest capital improvement program in the city’s 308-year history. The centerpiece will be Terminal C, an 850,000-square-foot addition with 18 new gates scheduled to debut in mid-2028. “As we look toward the opening of Terminal C, plus the movement and what’s happening at Terminals A and B…all of that was taken into consideration [for the recently completed runway rehabilitation],” Saenz says. The overall objective is to create efficiencies in the terminals and airspace, and to improve alignments for aircraft ground movement, he explains. Being located in “Military City USA,” SAT has a significant added challenge of balancing the civilian airspace demands of a tourism-heavy destination with the mission-readiness of Uncle Sam’s uniformed aviators. Airport leaders hope current efforts may someday lead to airfield configuration changes that increase operational flexibility for the airport and nearby military bases. The FAA has undertaken an Environmental Impact Statement to evaluate the best uses of SAT’s airfield over the coming decades. Pending its findings, Saenz believes airfield capacity could grow from 100,000 annual operations today to 150,000 or more as future demand warrants. Mission Critical One glace at a map is all it takes to understand the complexities of the airspace around San Antonio, especially when SAT’s Runway 04-22 is used for commercial flights. Its northeast-by-southwest heading clearly conflicts with parallel Runways 15- 33 at Randolph Air Force Base, and, to a lesser extent, Runway 16-34 at Lackland Air Force Base. Together with the Army’s Fort Sam Houston, Randolph and Lackland comprise the larger Joint Base San Antonio. Located 17 miles due east of SAT, Randolph is home to the Air Force’s 12th Flying Training Wing, where U.S. and allied personnel study pilot instruction, electronic warfare and how to fly unmanned aircraft systems, among other assignments. Teaching such fighter fundamentals has earned Randolph the nickname “Source of America’s Airpower,” and its airfield logs up to 225,000 military operations annually. Separately, Lackland sits about 19 miles southwest of SAT. It is home to the 433rd
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