In mid-October, Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) opened a new terminal, bringing the world of international travel to its passengers. The five-gate facility is the first international terminal for Southwest Airlines, which fully funded and led the development of the project.
When Signature Flight Support opened a new $82 million corporate aviation facility at Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International (SJC) in early November, airport officials were thrilled to have a second fixed base operator on the field. They also viewed the new tenant as a larger symbol of what is and has been happening at the airport that serves California’s Silicon Valley. One of the primary tenants at the new facility is Blue City Holdings, which represents the principals of Google. In fact, the company financed a significant portion of the hangar development, reports Signature.
Punta Gorda Airport (PGD) is proving that one size does not fit all when it comes to air service development.
A new air traffic control tower is always a big deal; but the commissioning at O’Hare International Airport (ORD), scheduled for mid-October, is bound to garner extra attention. The tower’s non-traditional angular design will undoubtedly turn heads within the industry, and those who look more closely will find notable eco-friendly elements. Internally, the opening of the new south tower and runway it will serve moves the Chicago Department of Aviation one major step closer to finishing its $8.7 billion airport modernization program.
Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) is nearly halfway through an ambitious three-year project to bring all four runways at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) into compliance with FAA runway safety area requirements.
The $229 million renovation of Terminal 5 in Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) wrapped up this summer on time and on budget, with optimism high about how it will enhance the travel experience for about 6.6 million domestic passengers who use the facility each year. With Delta Air Lines as the terminal’s sole airline tenant, the initiative was cooperatively funded by Delta ($11.2 million to renovate its proprietary areas and equipment), a TSA grant ($25 million for inline baggage screening) and nearly $193 million by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), which owns and operates LAX, Los Angeles Ontario International and Van Nuys Airport.
Spokane has a rich aviation/aerospace history, and the entity that owns and operates its airports is relying on that background to grow. Plans for growth, however, extend well beyond airport facilities and traffic to include the overall economy of Eastern Washington.
“Out with the old, in with the new” is often the sentiment that drives large-scale terminal improvement programs. Lambert-St. Louis International Airport (STL) took a different approach during the recent $70 million renovation of its mid-century Terminal 1, by working to preserve iconic architectural elements while infusing efficiency, flexibility and modern systems to carry the facility into the future.
The winds of change are blowing in Kansas. In January, Wichita Mid-Continent Airport (ICT) announced its new name, Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport; and officials plan to unveil a new $160 million passenger terminal building and $40 million parking garage/rental car center in May. Together, the projects create a new front door for the city that highlights its heritage as “air capital of the world.”
As Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) moves further through its $2.69 billion Terminal Renewal and Improvement Program, customers parking at Terminal A will benefit from a completely rebuilt structure equipped with new technology.
Even on an average day, traffic in the Chicago airspace can significantly affect surrounding airports. Throw in bad weather, which is not unusual for the area, or an oddball twist like the arson incident at the Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center (TRACON) last fall; and business as usual gets very complicated very quickly.
San Francisco International Airport (SFO) completed a two-phase runway safety area (RSA) project in early August (2014) ‘ beating its own schedule by one month and finishing more than a year ahead of the congressionally mandated Dec. 31, 2015, deadline for all federally obligated and Part 139 airports. The new safety features, estimated to cost about $223 million, are designed to significantly reduce personal injury and aircraft damage in the event of runway overruns, undershoots and veer-offs, per FAA Advisory Circular 150/5300-13.
After losing their respective carriers and being declared ‘dead’ by one consultant’s study, two southern Mississippi airports have joined forces and secured shared service with the help of a new consultant and an essential air service contract. In early November, Meridian Regional Airport (MEI) and Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport (PIB) both celebrated the beginning of new service to Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) on ExpressJet, operating under Skywest for American Airlines. After picking up passengers at PIB, 50-seat regional jets continue to MEI, just 60 miles north, to pick up additional passengers before heading to DFW. ‘Do you know how much fun it was to announce we had jet service with American” asks Tom Williams, president and chief executive officer of the Meridian Airport Authority.
Every year, more than one million tourists visit the Turks and Caicos Islands, a collection of 40 islands and cays (only eight of which are inhabited) located about 550 miles southeast of Miami. With most visitors flying into Providenciales International Airport...
When Aerostar Airport Holdings took over the day-to-day operation of Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (SJU) in San Juan, Puerto Rico, it also assumed responsibility for several in-process and future projects, including airfield infrastructure upgrades. These...
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) celebrated the completion of a colossal, long-range airfield initiative in mid-September. The $791 million project created South Runway 10R-28L by extending, shifting and lengthening the former 9R-27L from 5,276...
A new baggage handling system designed to accommodate an expected traffic bump at Dallas Love Field Airport (DAL) is a key component of the airport's $500+ million modernization program slated for completion in October. Planning for the baggage system began in...
October is a monumental month for Dallas Love Field (DAL). Officials expect the airport's sweeping modernization initiative to be substantially complete by the first of the month; and on the 13th, the Wright Amendment will officially expire, ending more than three...
Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU) in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is forging new territory for a U.S. or U.S territory airport with its public-private partnership (P3). In July 2012, Aerostar Airport Holdings, a joint venture between Highstar...
The $347.1 million Terminal B modernization at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) is a project more than a decade in the making. Set off by growth in international traffic and further inspired by changing security requirements, the comprehensive initiative...
A system recently deployed at Cancun International (CUN) is centralizing the operation and management of passenger information displays at nine southeast Mexican airports. Currently in full operation, the system is simultaneously delivering multiple benefits to the...
Located in the unforgiving Canadian Arctic on Baffin Island, Iqaluit International Airport (YFB) is literally a lifeline to residents of Nunavut, Canada’s northernmost territory.
In mid-September, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) opened the South Concourse and central core of the New Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT). With an overall budget of $1.9 billion, the project is part of a $4.1 billion capital improvements program that...
Part of the $1.9 billion renovation and expansion of the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is the dramatic $79.8 million redevelopment of its concessions program by The Westfield Group and its partners. When complete,...
The Terminal 2 expansion at San Diego International Airport (SAN), a project known as the Green Build, was green on two fronts: environmentally and financially. "The whole building is designed with sustainability in mind," comments Thella Bowens,...
