Just like their commercial counterparts, general aviation airports need to participate in the FAA master planning process to keep federal funds flowing. Denver’s Centennial Airport and Spokane’s Felts Field recently took two very different routes to get to the same place: a 20-year plan for capital improvements.
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.
With a high volume of unseasoned travelers passing through its terminals every day, Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas provides an ideal working laboratory for new screening equipment. Currently, TSA is putting several technologies and procedures through the paces at its Innovation Checkpoint on the lower level of Terminal 3.
As the last major step of a plan to control its own destiny, Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Fort Myers will soon give FAA the keys to its new $81 million airport traffic control tower. As such, the Lee County Port Authority is the first airport owner/operator to build and equip an FAA control tower without any federal funds.
Construction of the tower is expected to be substantially complete by November, and the FAA is slated to begin installing equipment by January 2022. If all goes according to plan, RSW’s new tower will start operating before the end of 2022 with freshly trained staff.
Big changes are underway at Tweed-New Haven Regional Airport (HVN), and even bigger changes are in the works. Current projects include $5.2 million of improvements, most notably the addition of modular buildings to provide space for a 300-seat holdroom and a new ticketing area.
The multi-year $25 million East Airfield Rehabilitation at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) was completed 71 days early’and that was after having to shut down due to COVID-19. ‘With construction progressing so fast and money still in the budget, PHL even managed to take advantage of reduced airfield traffic from the pandemic to add extra taxiway overlays to the project scope.
This May marks 75 years of the federal government providing grants-in-aid programs to build and enhance U.S. airport infrastructure; and the FAA Airport Improvement Program (AIP) is in its 40th year. What we now know as AIP began in 1946 as the Federal-Aid Airport Program.
Ever feel like the finish line keeps moving farther away’ Jon Stout, airport manager at Charles M. Schulz’Sonoma County Airport (STS) in Santa Rosa, CA, knows just what you mean. Stout and his team are in the midst of a $31 million terminal expansion and renovation that began in November. But even when they cut the ribbon in fall 2022, STS will only have 70% of the recommended space to handle its peak passenger volume.
Stroll through Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) and you might encounter a machine without an operator scrubbing the floors, a small cargo pod dutifully rolling behind an employee as if by magic, and any number of other tech-forward devices hard at work.
Late last year, Regina International Airport (YQR) in Saskatchewan added a glass wall, and concessions sales promptly jumped. Liquor sales doubled, and post-security food receipts increased by more than 50%. By installing the new wall, the Canadian airport shifted the crucial dividing line between its pre- and post-security areas, and increased the volume and variety of food service options for passengers after they clear the screening checkpoint.
Recognizing its airport’s potential as an economic magnet, the city of Fitchburg, MA, recently built a new runway capable of handling corporate jets. The $14.7 million project was backed and largely financed by the FAA. Fitchburg Municipal Airport (FIT) opened the new 5,001-foot runway in late May. It replaces a 30-year-old, 4,510-foot runway that had large cracks and was disintegrating in spots.
Wilmington International Airport (ILM) in North Carolina has officially turned coronavirus lemons into lemonade. Fueled by vacation and business traffic alike, ILM crossed the 1 million passenger mark last year and was in the midst of a large terminal expansion project to accommodate its rising traffic when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March.
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) is doing the Infrastructure Shuffle. You know the drill: In order to improve one area, you first have to modify another.
Approaching the TSA checkpoint at the recently renovated Elmira Corning Regional Airport (ELM) is now like a walk in the woods. Travelers pass through a gently curving corridor with floor-to-ceiling glass walls that showcase courtyards filled with greenery.
With structural steel still being erected for the $1 billion terminal expansion/renovation at Reagan National Airport (DCA), a new concessions lineup is already in the works. Ten concessionaires are being selected this fall for the new facility that is scheduled to open in 2021.
When the Mobile Airport Authority gave the go-ahead to begin moving commercial operations from Mobile Regional Airport (MOB) to Mobile Downtown Airport (BFM), it then had to build a terminal and find a way to provide ground support at what was strictly a general aviation facility.
In spring, Martha’s Vineyard Airport (MVY) completed a $10.5 million reconstruction of its main runway two days early. Racing against time, crews laid asphalt daily’sometimes seven days a week’from late March until May 13. JetBlue Airways resumed its seasonal flights on May 17.
Oakland International Airport (OAK) is one of the first U.S. airports to deploy a dual-technology scanner to screen employees working in secure environments. In May 2018, the California airport began using an Edge scanner from Evolv Technology. The equipment combines the screening properties of traditional metal detectors with the nonmetallic screening abilities of millimeter wave equipment, the newest scanners used by TSA at most U.S. airports.
Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) is phasing in a new approach to managing ground transportation. Its new Multi Modal Facility brings together rental car operations, public parking, airport shuttles and bus stops’all in the same 2.6-million-square-foot complex. Moreover, the new facility is a short walk to/from an existing station for the region’s commuter train system.
As a follow-up to its popular transit station bag drop, Denver International Airport (DEN) debuted free luggage drops at two remote parking lots in November. The new sites up the ante with valet-style service. Earlier this year, the parking lot bag drops were handling about 3,500 pieces of luggage per month.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) is in the midst of a $130 million project to keep visitors dry as they enter/exit the terminal buildings and enhance their overall experience. The North and South Domestic Terminals are mirror images of one another, each with eight lanes of traffic at their doorsteps and minimal protection from the elements.
Faced with a growing number of international flights, San Diego International Airport (SAN) needed a new international Arrivals Hall and Federal Inspection Station’and it needed them quickly. An aggressive timeline scared away all but one design/build team at the beginning of the project. Ultimately, however, the new 130,000-square-foot facility was completed in just 13 1/2 months.
With a single runway handling 10.5 million passengers annually, John Wayne Airport (SNA) relies on safe nighttime operations to maintain its carefully orchestrated traffic schedule.
When San Diego International Airport (SAN) decided to build its first parking garage, officials did not want a dingy gray concrete box. Instead, they asked designers to build a parking plaza.
It has been about seven years since Uber and other transportation network companies (TNCs) first hit the streets in the United States. And just as airports begin to secure and analyze meaningful data about their effect on parking and other non-aeronautical revenue streams, another major force is preparing to merge into the market. In less than 18 months, the first autonomous vehicles are scheduled to be in commercial operation.
