Airport Improvement: July-August 2010
Web Exclusive:
Detroit Metro Earns Top Honors for Healthy Concessions
Airport food used to be simple: Hot dogs spun endlessly on heated rollers, and almost everything else was deep-fried and served in a cardboard boat. Prepackaged, processed fare was easy for concessionaires, but hard on travelers' arteries and waistlines. Much to the delight of health-conscious travelers everywhere, airports are sprinkling such options throughout their food courts and terminals.... [more]
Airside
SeaTac Tower Ramps Up Ground Efficiencies
After five years, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SeaTac), operated by the Port of Seattle, has acclimated to having its own ramp tower to keep ground traffic flowing smoothly. With a total staff of ten, the tower operates 24/7 to control traffic into and out of 85 gates and 20 cargo hard stands....[more]
Baggage
Lift-Assist Equipment Helps Decrease Injuries at IND
While the New Indianapolis International Airport (IND) was under construction, airport and Transportation Security Administration personnel took pause to examine a problem plaguing the agency nationwide: on-the-job injuries....[more]
Cargo
Piedmont Triad Int'l Welcomes FedEx
More than a decade ago, FedEx announced it would locate its mid-Atlantic hub at Piedmont Triad International Airport (GSO), in Greensboro, NC. And ever since, the airport and region have worked to prepare for the carrier's arrival....[more]
Information Technology
San Jose Int'l Modernizes Technology & Security
Technology and security received complete overhauls in the $1.3 billion modernization program at Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) the last several years. ...[more]
Landside Development
Highway Signs Modified to Clarify Twin Cities Confusion
Driving into Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) used to be a challenging and sometimes frustrating experience. But the Metropolitan Airports Commission is working to make that a thing of the past with a $1.4 million signage program executed last fall and winter....[more]
Operations
Airports Devise Strategies to Cope With Three-Hour Tarmac Rule
Passenger advocates pumped their fists in victory while airline officials wrung their hands with worry when the Department of Transportation (DOT) took aim at tarmac delays of more than three hours last December. ...[more]
Runway/Ramp
Bio-based Deicers Avoid Corrosion Linked to Potassium Acetate & Formate
The calendar may say July, but Chris Farmer, director of operations at the Greater Moncton International Airport (GMIA), is thinking about snow and ice - specifically, how to keep it off his runways this winter....[more]
Runways
Ft. Lauderdale Int'l Buys Time for Future Runway Project
Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) has a massive runway project coming up in the next few years. In 2012, its current 5,276-foot general aviation runway will be removed and rebuilt as an 8,000-foot commercial runway to open in September 2014....[more]
Security
DuPage Airport Secures Its Borders
Located just 30 miles from a major U.S. population and commerce center, Chicagoland's DuPage Airport (DPA) isn't focused on meeting minimum security standards. The bustling general aviation airport recently completed a $1.7 million perimeter security project more typical of commercial airports. ...[more]
Terminal
$1.3 Billion Modernization Project Redefines San Jose International
In mid-June, Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) was on pace to complete its comprehensive $1.3 billion modernization project on schedule and under budget by month's end. ...[more]
Forecast Looks Sunny & Clear for New Florida Airport
As the first international commercial airport to open in the United States in more than a decade, the $307 million Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP) has many success stories: Budgets were met. Deadlines were beat. And net environmental gains were achieved. ...[more]
