The Philadelphia International Airport has weathered the turbulence of the past decade, and is ready for new improvements to take off in the near future.

Among them are a main runway extension that will make it “one of the longest runways on the East Coast” and terminal upgrades “where we replace roofs, HVAC air-conditioning and heating systems, and elevators and escalators, the sort of stuff that makes the day-to-day experience and operation better,” said CEO Chellie Cameron in a Philadelphia Inquirer report by Linda Loyd.

The airport will also focus on new cargo development and operation.

All of that comes on the heels of a recent Econsult Solutions report certifying the airport’s economic recovery.

“It was a crazy decade that we went through,” Cameron said. “We were able to hold our own and come out at the end with an economic impact better than where we were 10 years ago.”

Philadelphia International Airport currently orchestrates 500 flights a day from 25 airlines, generates $15.4 billion a year for the region, and supports 96,300 jobs, with 3,420 of the 20,000 with badges working in terminals and the airfield hailing from Delaware County. Some 30 million passengers fly to and from PHL annually.

Not in the plans, however, is a fifth new runway, as the airport is seeing fewer takeoffs but bigger planes due to industry consolidation in recent years, particularly between American Airlines and US Airways.

“Where we came out of the merger was a really good place,” Cameron said. “We are still the trans-Atlantic gateway on the East Coast. We have more service to Europe than the New York airports for American Airlines.”

Read more about where Philadelphia International Airport is currently at in the Philadelphia Inquirer here, and check out previous DELCO Today coverage here.