726 AMS breaks ground for passenger terminal expansion Published Dec. 4, 2023 By Tech. Sgt. Crystal Charriere 52 Fighter Wing Public Affairs SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- The 726th Air Mobility Squadron (AMS) broke ground on the site for a passenger terminal expansion project here, December 1, 2023. “The purpose of the passenger terminal expansion is to enhance U.S. Transportation Command capacity to move passengers through the European Command and Africa Command’s areas of responsibility,” said Mr. Edward Peterson, the readiness and resources chief assigned to the 726th AMS. This project will allow the 726 AMS to continue and improve support for the 52nd Fighter Wing, 480th Fighter Squadron and Ramstein Air Base, Germany operations. The expansion will include more check-in counters, a larger baggage area, enhanced security with a larger Transportation Security Administration (TSA) inspection and customs area, and other improvements. These additions will give the 726 AMS the ability to process three times more customers then their current facility allows for. Currently, the 726 AMS passenger terminal requires passengers to arrive five hours prior to their flight, which is two and a half hours more than average. Additionally, the facility cannot support inbound and outbound operations simultaneously, which will change once the expansion is complete. The terminal is scheduled to be complete in 2025, however, there will be no interference with the squadron’s operations during construction. The expansion will cost a total of 11 million dollars. “The most challenging part was in phase one, getting things approved and routing things through different channels,” said Staff Sgt. Dustin Carlton, a unit deployment manager assigned to the 726th AMS. “Now that we’re in phase two, we’re actually starting to see everything come together and that’s exciting.”