Gathering some of the world's busiest executives in the picturesque Idaho setting makes it easier for them to connect'and also creates spectacular traffic management challenges in the air and on the ramp at SUN. On a typical day, the small airport averages about 70 arrivals and departures, a mix of general aviation flights and commercial service. But traffic surges dramatically during the annual Sun Valley Conference.
Shortly after midnight on the first Monday in March, police officers on the newly formed SRAA Police Department began patrolling the Upstate New York airport grounds for the first time. They replaced officers from the Syracuse Police Department who had worked at the airport both directly and on a contract basis through a third-party security company for most of SYR's existence.
Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) is taking a new industry-leading step by piloting a new kind of testing strategy'one that doesn't involve swabbing the noses of passengers or airport workers. A lab established at the airport is testing wastewater samples collected from terminals 1 and 3 and samples from the aircraft waste collection area Triturator for a wide range of viruses such as COVID, influenza and mpox.
The recent addition of an upgraded air traffic control tower has given Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport (AZA) an inside track to welcoming more passengers while supporting a surge in aviation-related commercial development. Last August, AZA activated its John S. McCain III Air Traffic Control Tower, a nearly 200-foot-tall, $30 million addition that immediately improved airfield safety and boosted operational capacity at the expanding reliever airport.
Creating a better workspace was the driving force in early 2020 when executives at Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR) committed to building a new operations center. In addition to housing everyday operations functions and equipment, the $8.5 million building includes an upgraded emergency operations center for the Grand Rapids, MI, airport.
A $21.7 million geothermal heating and cooling system currently being installed at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF) is the first of its magnitude at a U.S. airport. The project is designed to reduce the Kentucky airport's energy costs for natural gas and electricity by roughly $400,000 annually. It also should reduce SDF's carbon footprint by about 80%.
This summer, Rogue Valley International'Medford Airport (MFR) in southwestern Oregon completed the installation of an innovative stormwater detention and drainage solution that mimics nature to wick and clean rainwater before returning it to the ground and nearby waterways.
Winter weather in central Maine has changed significantly over the last few decades, prompting Millinocket Municipal Airport (MLT) to update its snow removal equipment to meet the new airfield maintenance challenges.
A previous investment in an automated aircraft identification and billing system is paying new dividends at Dallas Love Field (DAL). The technology, PlanePass by Vector Airport Systems, was initially installed in 2016 to detect and bill Customs operations. DAL executives expanded its use in January 2019 to cover all general aviation and nonsignatory commercial operations.
When Costco Wholesale Corp. came knocking at Cherry Capital Airport (TVC), it took four years for the local airport commission to open the door. The warehouse giant wanted to build its first store in western Michigan on land at the Traverse City airport, but red tape made it a long process.
While it's not the biggest airport in the world'not even Top 10, in fact'Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) has consistently been the busiest in passenger traffic for about two decades. In 2019 alone, it served more than 100 million travelers. And all those passengers, plus 60,000 or so employees, are tucked neatly into a 6.8 million-square-foot terminal complex.
