13 AirportImprovement.com May | June 2026 TERMINALS YHU Convenient connectivity is important to airport leadership, and YHU consequently includes access to public transportation with shuttle service to/from the Metro system every 35 minutes. It also has 2,600 on-airport parking spaces just 25 meters from the main entrance and a dedicated three-lane area for passenger drop-off that is 500 meters long. The design of the modern terminal, led by SCOTT Associates Architects Inc., recalls the historic British R-100 airship that crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1930. After a three-day trip, it anchored with 44 passengers at the Saint-Hubert Aerodrome, attracting more than 800,000 people in just one week. “The terminal is one level in order to have fluidity and make it easier for the passenger,” Roberge says. The open-concept departure lounge can accommodate 900 guests, with soft seating and other details designed to “rival some of the best airport lounges internationally.” Food and beverage options feature Quebec-based operators, including the grab-and-go Café Depot, and Baton Rouge, a sit-down rib and steak house. In the lobby, passengers will find 28 check-in counters and 10 self-service check-in kiosks, including two with baggage drops. The passenger screening checkpoint has three lanes, with space for three more in the future. The baggage handling system, designed by Alstef Group, includes 28 check-in conveyors, a collector conveyor and an out-of-gauge line. From General Aviation to Commercial Planners determined that YHU’s two existing runways (7,801 feet and 3,922 feet) were sufficient to handle the forecasted airline traffic, but developers added a large Jet A1 fuel farm, ground support equipment buildings, a centralized deicing facility, jet bridges and passenger amenities such as catering, concessions and parking. “Basically, we were starting from scratch,” Roberge comments. Projects to optimize the airfield for commercial operations included converting Runway 10-28 into a taxiway; modifications to lighting, signage and markings; rehabilitating Taxiway T, widening Taxiway R from 15 meters to 23, and correcting deficiencies on Taxiway C to ensure the safety and durability of infrastructure. Apron work is scheduled to continue into this summer. The airport also acquired $10 million worth of equipment to support airfield maintenance and operations, fortifying its aging fleet with five more plow-brooms, a deicing truck, a snow blower, a loader equipped with a 25-foot snowplow blade and two new I N T E R N A T I O N A L D I S P L A Y S Y S T E M S , I N C . 1 9 8 2 – 2 0 2 6 TH IDSPIDS.COM We Innovate. You Arrive. Asheville Regional Airport Terminal Modernization & Expansion
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