Airport Experience® News - Retail Issue 2026

DIRECTOR’S CHAIR

MOVING SMF FORWARD With A Refreshed F&B Program, Terminal Enhancements and Planned Retail Changes, SMF Is Preparing For Growth

BY CAROL WARD

ditor’s Note: Sacramento International Airport (SMF) has had strong growth over the past decade, a factor that has prompted new development to meet the demand. SMForward, a $1.4 billion improvement program, is designed to “take SMF to new heights and new levels of awesome.” AXN’s Carol Ward met with Cindy Nichol, director of airports for Sacramento County, to discuss the capital project, passenger projections and new strategies for optimizing the traveler experience. E

WARD: To set the stage, how did SMF perform, in terms of passenger traffic, for 2025, and what are you experiencing and predicting this year? NICHOL: We had been growing through 2025 but it’s slowed. We’re about flat now. In 2025 we hit 13.9 million passengers total, which was a 2% increase over 2024. We got back to 2019 levels in 2022 and have had growth every year since then until this year. Other airports have also seen their growth stall. I think the reason we’ve done well and are still outperforming other area airports is that we have room to grow, not only at our airports but also in the area. There is a lot of housing being built. There are a lot of new businesses coming here. It’s the population and the economy that drive demand for an airport, and that’s what we’re seeing. WARD: I know you’re enmeshed in the SMForward program. Can you share an overview of the capital project and why it’s needed? NICHOL: When I [joined SMF] in October of 2018, there had been seven years of rapid growth. Some years there was double-digit growth here, but the mentality of the Great Recession was still in everyone’s minds. There wasn’t a growth mentality. Now, looking around, we’re out of parking, we’re out of gates, we’re out of good facilities for ground transportation. We needed to do

something. We finished a master plan in 2022, got the board to approve it and then really started in earnest on our program. We’re not afraid to try new things [as long as there is] a reason. Everything we do is pointed toward how we can better serve our customers. We’re using some alternative project delivery methods. The garage is being built with design-build, where the design and the construction is one entity. It’s being built by a local woman-owned business that won straight up against big boys, and they are coming in on time and $100 million under budget. It was a $390 million program, so that’s a huge success story. The pedestrian walkway has had some [delays]. It’s a $140 million project that’s running behind schedule, but it now looks like it’ll open in the first quarter of next year, and it’s going to be beautiful. You go down 30 feet to get to the level of the gates, and it’s this wonderful feeling where you can see the airfield as you’re going down the escalator, and there’s this incredible art. It’s going to be wedding worthy. It’s going to be a great entrance for people who are coming here to visit and a great way for people who are leaving to appreciate the environment. We’re doing some roadway work [to divert from] where we want to put a ground transportation center and CONRAC.

Above: Cindy Nichol, director of airports, Sacramento County

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AX NEWS SEPTEMBER 2026