After 10 years of planning and negotiating and building, Williamson County Airport Authority recently cut the ribbon on its new terminal. To honor local veterans, it changed the name of the entire facility from Williamson County Regional Airport to Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois (MWA) and named the terminal after a local World War II flying ace and former airport authority chair. Fittingly, MWA dedicated the new Captain Robert W. Duncan Airline Terminal on Veterans Day (2016).
At 221 feet tall, the new air traffic control tower at San Francisco International (SFO) was designed to be functional and create a new visual landmark. Occupying prime real estate between terminals 1 and 2, the tower features nearly 150 vertical feet of glass and an LED light array to provide the iconic look that airport officials desired. At the same time, the tower and base building incorporate sustainability features and cutting-edge seismic technology designed to meet the needs of the airport and FAA well into future.
Capitalizing on a popular streetside trend, two Hawaiian airports are using small battery-powered versions of the food trucks that have taken many North American cities by storm in the last few years.
When Christina Cassotis arrived at Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) in January 2015, the Midwestern airport was a lean and scrappy version of the once-bustling US Airways hub it used to be. With only 37 nonstop destinations on the airport's flight information boards, Cassotis was determined to make her mark.
With a notoriously vexing airfield configuration, Long Beach Airport (LGB) in southern California is leading the charge for an FAA initiative to reduce runway incursions throughout the United States.
When Steve Kjergaard accepted the position as director at Sloulin Field International Airport (ISN) six years ago, he thought it would be a static, solid three-year experience without much fanfare. Boy was he wrong. Shortly after he arrived at the North Dakota facility, an oil boom struck and flooded the area with geologists, oil field workers and contractors. Hotel rooms and rental cars became scarce, and traffic at ISN ballooned.
A new $35 million baggage claim building at Philadelphia International (PHL) isn't just the final phase of the airport's $161 million Terminal F expansion; it's also a concrete example of how PHL is re-sculpting its facilities to adjust to changing market conditions.
Located about 70 miles northwest of O'Hare International, Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD) is often obscured in the shadow of its busier, better-known neighbor. This fall, however, RFD enjoyed a significant moment in the sun, when it opened one of the largest maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities in the world.
In 2015, when overall U.S. foreign trade declined 5.6%, business was booming in Laredo, TX. In fact, trade was at a record high, and Laredo climbed to third in the nation-behind only Los Angeles and New York City.
With planners projecting that Kelowna International (YLW) will serve 2 million passengers by 2020, the British Columbia airport is embarking on programs to prepare its facilities and customer service practices for future demand.
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) recently completed the reconstruction of one of its primary arrivals runways, 4L-22R, and several associated taxiways. Major construction began in April 2016, and the runway reopened just seven months later in early November.
One of my recent Google Alerts included a newspaper article about an aviation company that received a grant to help fund its new corporate office complex. Part of the project was going to include a "hanger." Yes, hanger with an "e" instead of an "a."
More than 30 years ago, Congress recognized the importance of equity and inclusion in airport contracting by enacting legislation to facilitate participation by Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs). In 1987, it added a separate, similar program focused on Airport Concession Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (ACDBEs).
