Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) has experienced an increase in unhoused people seeking shelter within its facilities. With a portion of that population suffering from mental health issues, there have been assaults to passengers and airport employees as well as security breaches or other incidents that cause facility shutdowns or flight delays.
Indianapolis International Airport (IND) is the eighth-largest cargo facility in the U.S. and home to the world’s second-largest FedEx operation’not to mention its 8 million annual passengers. With that kind of traffic on two parallel primary runways, airfield improvements require careful planning and coordination.
In 2017, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) announced that John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) would undergo a long-term $19 billion redevelopment program to create a world-class aviation facility. Officials report that after just a few years, the massive initiative is, indeed, fully changing the way passengers, airlines and other tenants experience the busy New York airport.
When Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) implemented operations management software a few short years ago, Safety Management Systems Specialist Adam Varo saw tremendous opportunities for broader applications.
A journey of surprises”that’s what the New Terminal A at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) is designed to be. The surprises run the gamut from more holdroom seating, new concessions and upgraded restrooms to dazzling artwork and digital displays.
To keep pace with growth, SEA is investing more than $4.6 billion over the next five years on projects designed to upgrade facilities and elevate the passenger experience. It’s all part of a long-term capital campaign called Upgrade SEA. The challenge, however, is space.
Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) is in the early stages of a long-term capacity enhancement program to address three decades of growth and prepare for the future. When the existing terminal opened in 1982, CLT served 2.7 million local customers; in 2019, it served more than four times as many out of the same footprint.
In September, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International (FLL) completed a $153 million modernization program in Terminal 2 to catch up with years of significant growth in passenger traffic. Recent changes at the South Florida airport increase the main building’s capacity by 33,000 square feet, including a 45-foot vertical expansion in new airside court.
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) completed its Northeast End-Around Taxiway Project in May, making it the only U.S. airport with an end-around taxiway at both ends of a runway. The recently completed project was the last component of DFW’s three-phase Northeast End-around Taxiway Program, which started in 2018 and cost a total of $46 million.
Previously known as Pope Air Force Base, POB is part of the Fort Bragg garrison. Its lead Air Force tenant unit is the 43rd Air Mobility Operations Group, which is responsible for rapid strategic deployment of forces assigned to the Joint Special Operations Command and the U.S. Army’s XVIII Airborne Corps and 82nd Airborne Division.
The $14 million runway reconstruction that Central Wisconsin Airport (CWA) completed last fall not only rebuilt its 53-year-old runway. The project also sets the stage for another airfield project that will improve safety and help ensure future viability of the airport. Runway 17-35 dates back to 1974, five years after CWA was originally constructed and opened.
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) is reimagining what is possible for terminal construction with four rebuilt gates that opened in June. Known as the ‘High C Gates,’ C35 to 39 were constructed landside, transported across the tarmac and placed precisely on new columns in Terminal C, where crews completed the inside finishes.
Before Dunsmuir Mott Municipal Airport (MHS) could cut the ribbon on its newly rehabilitated runway last June, the $3.2 million investment was already delivering value to the surrounding region. With the airfield project still in its final stages, Dunsmuir city leaders received a request from the United States Forest Service to stage firefighting helicopters at the single-runway, city-owned airport.
From gate to curb and back again, guests traveling through the new $2.75 billion terminal at Orlando International Airport (MCO) will be fully immersed in The Orlando Experience® ‘complete with jaw-dropping multimedia displays, full-size palm trees and a baggage system with 100% tracking. (Yes, the airport is so serious about delivering The Orlando Experience®, it actually trademarked the phrase.)
The South Terminal Complex that Orlando International Airport (MCO) is scheduled to unveil this September will include several noteworthy features, including 100% facial recognition for international arrivals and departures, large-screen interactive digital media and the first fully integrated terminal in the U.S. for rail, air and ground transportation.
Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA) recently passed a significant mile marker in its ongoing quest to earn top marks from passengers. Earlier this year, the airport gained a fourth star in its Skytrax rating, and Managing Director Lance Lyttle is confident that a new International Arrivals Facility will help SEA earn a perfect five-star rating and achieve other key customer satisfaction goals.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) may not regularly deal with icing conditions, but that doesn’t mean they are not a concern for its airlines and airport management. As the busiest passenger airport in the United States, roughly 6% of all U.S. enplanements occur at ATL. So when operations slow there, the rest of the country is impacted.
Big things are happening in the middle of the United States. This summer, MidAmerica St. Louis Airport (BLV) in Mascoutah, IL, celebrated the grand opening of its newly expanded and renovated terminal. The $34 million project added 42,000 square feet, nearly doubling the terminal size to help respond to tremendous passenger growth in recent years.
Robert Hoxie, chief development officer for the Chicago Department of Aviation, doesn’t mince words about the importance of completing the O’Hare Modernization Program. Since it was first announced in 2001, the $8 billion program has been steadily transforming the airfield at O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to improve safety and efficiency and reduce delays that were known to cause ripples throughout the National Airspace System.
It may be hard to believe, but it has already been 26 years since Denver International Airport (DEN) sprang up east of downtown Denver to replace Stapleton International, which was located in the midst of the growing city.
Memphis International Airport (MEM) is consolidating all passenger operations from three aging concourses to one brand-new, seismically-compliant Concourse B. The $245 million investment also allows MEM to modernize and expand the more than 50-year-old building to set the stage for future growth.
In July, San Diego International Airport (SAN) commemorated the opening of its brand new Airline Support Building. The $49 million project is part of a larger program to enhance overall behind-the-scenes facilities. The purpose-built facility was designed to provide a more efficient approach to cargo operations and consolidate support functions into a single centralized location.
In early May, Centennial Airport (APA) in Englewood, CO, became that state’s first airport to offer unleaded aviation gas for piston-engine aircraft. The active general aviation facility is even offsetting associated costs for early adopters who buy the more expensive eco-friendly alternative.
This past May, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) opened an extension of Terminal D, its primary international terminal. Although the $202 million project added just four gates, the impact on operational capacity and customer satisfaction is expected to be tremendous.
SAN was nearing the end of a $10 million project to replace the aging engineered material arresting system (EMAS) at the departures end of its runway with a brand new model. The safety feature is a bed of crushable materials to help stop aircraft overruns. If a plane enters the bed, its tires will sink into the crushable materials to help decelerate the aircraft. The original EMAS was ‘aging out’ right on schedule, and airport officials were thrilled that an aircraft had never entered it.
