Asheville Regional Airport opens new baggage claim, shifts passenger flow April 17

Asheville Regional Airport has shifted arriving passengers into a new baggage claim layout, a visible change that moves travelers from the North Concourse, through the ticket lobby and onto a marked outdoor path to the new baggage claim facility.

The old baggage claim area closed after the final arriving flight on April 16. Beginning with the first arriving flight on April 17, passengers needing checked bags were directed to the new space, where the airport’s Guest Services Center also moved the same day. The change means the arrival experience at AVL now runs through a different passenger flow before travelers reach ground transportation, parking or the terminal exit.

For Buncombe County and the Asheville region, the update is more than a construction milestone. Asheville Regional is the main gateway for tourism, business travel and family visits, so even a partial opening alters how thousands of people moving through the airport will get from the plane to the curb. The new path also adds a practical wrinkle for anyone picking up arriving passengers: instead of heading to the former baggage claim area, travelers now follow the new routing through the terminal and outside to the new facility.

President and CEO Lew Bleiweis said the existing baggage claim area had become crowded, and the new facility is intended to help the airport handle bags more efficiently as passenger volumes grow and larger aircraft arrive. The opening also marks another step in AVL Forward, the airport’s modernization program that began in 2019 and broke ground on August 11, 2023.

The full buildout is still ahead. The remaining portion of the baggage claim facility is expected to open in summer 2027 and will include three baggage carousels. New rental car counters are expected in May 2026. That timeline makes the April 17 opening an important step, but only an interim one in a project that will continue reshaping the airport through at least 2027.

For travelers, the immediate takeaway is simple: arriving bags now come through a new location, and the route to get there has changed. For AVL, the opening shows the expansion is moving from plans and construction fencing into a passenger-facing operation that is already altering the way the airport works.