Firefighters at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP) are thrilled with the new aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) station they moved into last November. At 24,000 square feet, the facility is triple the size of the previous station, and also includes updated features and comforts for crews and equipment.
San Diego International Airport (SAN) recently raised its lofty sustainability bar a few notches higher by adding a new, award-winning element to its stormwater management system. The $38 million project, completed in November 2020, features a large concrete cistern that collects runoff from the northside airfield.
Central Nebraska Regional Airport (GRI) was ready to retire its old 1982 Oshkosh fire truck. But when airport officials considered replacing it with a new Oshkosh Striker 4×4, they realized they had a ‘big’ problem: The existing aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) facility would be too small for the new equipment. Their solution’ Build a bigger new station.
Central Iowa may not be the first location that springs to mind for cutting-edge technology breakthroughs, but Des Moines International Airport (DSM) is defying that stereotype. The small hub facility is the first U.S. airport using electrically conductive concrete with embedded electrodes to heat airside pavement. Two test slabs installed on DSM’s general aviation apron in 2016 are producing promising results.
Lexington Blue Grass Airport (LEX) is on pace to open a new three-story aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) facility in August. Completion of the $15 million ARFF station moves the Kentucky airport one important step closer to finishing its five-phase program to enhance taxiway safety.
Earlier this year, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) partnered with one of its long-time vendors to provide two days of airfield pavement and joint repair training at the airport. About 30 DFW pavement maintenance workers and in-house quality control/quality assurance personnel attended the first full-day session on Jan. 29. The following day, members of its Design Code and Construction staff joined contractors from around the country for similar training.
Portland International (PDX) regularly ranks among the nation’s top airports for amenities, customer service and traveler satisfaction. Travel + Leisure magazine has rated PDX the best U.S. airport for seven consecutive years. Money magazine ranked it No. 1 in 2019, up from second place in 2018.
In 2010, Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) opened its brand-new Terminal B. Silicon Valley had survived the dot-com crash, and the greater Bay Area was just starting to come out of the 2008 Great Recession. Established giants like Google and Apple were rebooting, and new high-tech companies were growing like wildflowers. In short, the local business community was thriving and ready for SJC to expand.
How does a small airport with an aging terminal meet the needs of today’s travelers without breaking the proverbial bank’ That was the bottom-line conundrum at Erie International Airport (ERI) in Pennsylvania. In total, construction lasted six months and cost $500,000. The airport completed the project in August’a timely finish given its recent rise in air traffic.
The landscape at Wilmington Air Park (ILN) in south-central Ohio has been changing steadily for the last few years, and the various airfield and landside improvements are beginning to pay big dividends. On June 26, e-commerce giant Amazon opened a new package sorting facility at the 1,900-acre aviation and logistics business park.
It’s not marketing hyperbole when Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo describes the newly renovated terminal at Greater Rochester International Airport (ROC) as a ‘next-generation travel hub.’ She has plenty of concrete examples to back up the claim. The airport, which serves as a gateway to New York’s Finger Lakes Region, is taking passenger services and building automation to the next level with features such as facility systems that link lights and temperature controls to flight activity; cutting-edge technologies that assist travelers with hearing loss; and real-time video of holdrooms to decrease ‘gate hugging.?
Dallas Fort Worth International (DFW), Air Transport World’s 2019 Airport of the Year, added online prepaid parking to its list of cutting-edge services for travelers last spring, and the program is exceeding all expectations. It’s also helping increase the amount of parking revenue DFW collects.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is the fastest growing U.S. airport over the past five years. Passenger traffic has increased by 43%, from 32.2 million passengers in 2012 to 46.9 million in 2017. That’s the upside. On the downside, the record growth has resulted in crowded gates and aircraft idling on the tarmac waiting for an open slot. The increasing volume has also inspired the Port of Seattle to look for innovative ways to relieve gate congestion and aircraft backups.
Shortly before 11:00 p.m. on April 16, emergency 911 operators received a call about smoke and flames emanating from the roof of the terminal at Colorado Springs Airport (COS). Within minutes, the airport had a three-alarm fire on its hands.
Curaçao International Airport (CUR), on the Dutch Caribbean Island of Curaçao, is in the home stretch of a $36.4 million expansion and renovation to increase its capacity from 1.6 million to 2.5 million passengers per year. The sweeping project will also update the terminal’s look and improve operating efficiency for the growing number of tourists who visit the beach and scuba diving haven.
With the completion of an award-winning runway project at Cherry Capital Airport (TVC), Traverse City, MI, is well prepared to welcome travelers to Northern Michigan for the summer tourist season. The $14 million project renovated and extended TVC’s primary runway to 7,015 feet, thus remedying previous operational limitations.
New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has put the state’s money where its airports are. Recognizing and emphasizing the importance of air transportation to general economic prosperity, the governor launched the $200 million Upstate Airport Economic Development and Revitalization Competition in 2016.
Building and opening a new airport is no easy task’that goes without saying. As it turns out, closing one may not be any easier. Just ask the folks in St. Clair, MO.
Unlike most aircraft traffic, pedestrian traffic inside the terminal is notoriously tricky to track and predict. It takes no time at all for congestion to build at ticket counters/bag drop areas or lines to form at security checkpoints. JFKIAT, the private company that operates Terminal 4 at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), is leveraging technology to change this frustrating dynamic.
After nearly two decades of preparatory projects and two radically different terminal designs, San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP) will finally get to cut the ribbon on its new $39.5 million terminal this November. At 56,000 square feet, the terminal is nearly five times larger than the airport’s old facility. Passenger amenities include the airport’s first airside concessions, a larger holdroom, free WiFi throughout the terminal, and 17 self-service check-in kiosks.
Earlier this year, Vancouver International Airport (YVR) flipped the switch on its new all-LED apron lighting system, the largest apron LED installation in Canada. The approximately $2.5 million ($1.97 million U.S.) lighting system also features an adaptive dimming system based on gate usage, a first among North American airports.
Aéroports de Montréal recently rehabilitated the primary runway at Montreal-Mirabel International (YMX), one of the three largest aeronautical centers in the world and a major hub for Quebec’s economy that serves 24 cargo airlines and a host of corporate and military tenants.
Manhattan Regional Airport (MHK), located in the picturesque and growing Flint Hills region of Kansas, cut the ribbon on its new terminal early this year. More than triple the size of the old facility, the new 42,000-square-foot building emerged from the footprint of the existing terminal in an unusual manner. The airport essentially cut its existing terminal in half, and then demolished, rebuilt and expanded each half during separate phases-while maintaining operations the entire time.
Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP) recently put the finishing touches on its $127 million Wingspan project, the largest capital improvement initiative ever undertaken at the South Carolina airport. In essence, GSP completely rebuilt its terminal from the ground up, expanding from 225,000 to 375,000 square feet.
Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL) has spent the past two decades honing its aircraft deicing operations into a centrally located eight-pad facility that recycles and reuses spent deicing fluids. It also transitioned to using a single common-use service provider. Together, the two entities have invested approximately $61 million since 1997 to improve the safety, efficiency, cost effectiveness and environmental sustainability of deicing operations at the Quebec airport.
