b'50 AVL TERMINALSCONTINUED FROM PAGE 47Constructing the new terminal temporarily took a back seat toof building on top of, next to, around, underneath and helping communities that were ravaged by the storm. Even so,adjacent to the existing operation, he emphasizes. Phase 1 of the project was completed on time and on budget.It did drive the ultimate layout and configuration of the Other significant challenges stemmed from changing theterminal, he adds, but we never let [the result] stray from original architectural plans to accommodate passenger growththe essence of what we wanted this facility to be. We never that surpassed planners initial expectations. For example,changed decisions because of a phasing reason. We always the airport is expanding its central TSA checkpoint from fourfound a solution around that.to six lanes (with the capability to bump up to eight lanes ifIts a daunting task for an airport to keep pace when necessary). Its also adding a third luggage carousel to thepassenger volume doubles in a mere five years. Thats why baggage claim area that will be built during Phase 2. AVLs new terminal is designed to handle 4 million annual Gresham Smith not only focused on achieving the right lookpassengers and grow beyond that, including additional gates and feel for the facility, it also prioritized programming andif needed. creating future flexibility.In the meantime, the North Carolina airport is capping its Fleet mixes are changing; airlines are upgauging, Suchernumber of airlines to five and restricting overall daily flight explains. We needed the new terminal to serve smaller aircraftvolume until the new terminal is completed. Additional airlines, in the near term, but we also needed to be able to doublehowever, are waiting for approval to begin service at AVL. those holdrooms and gates to make a single position for largerBleiweis acknowledges that its scary to think about how aircraft. We looked at every operation inside of that facility toquickly the airport could reach 4 million passengers per year. see how we could scale up to match peer airports in the regionBut thats what makes operating one of the fastest-growing in the most sensible and flexible manner. airports in the country so much fun. Project partners never had to compromise what they hoped to achieve with the new terminal despite the unique challenge Airport Seating AllianceNow Offers More For AirportsTRADITIONAL & SOFT SEATING WITH A FULL LINE OF INDOOR/OUTDOOR WASTE RECEPTACLESVisit Us at ACI-NA|Booth 1309airportseatingalliance.com|info@airportseatingalliance.comOctober 2025AirportImprovement.com'