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New Satellite Concourse Provides Efficient Gate Expansion at Nashville Int’l
New Satellite Concourse Provides Efficient Gate Expansion at Nashville Int’l
To accommodate increased passenger demand, Nashville International Airport® (BNA®) recently constructed a standalone Satellite Concourse adjacent to its main terminal. The 89,000-square-foot structure opened in October 2023 and now houses operations primarily for Allegiant Air and Spirit Airlines.
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Dallas Fort Worth Int’l Bolsters Employee Security Screening Program
Dallas Fort Worth Int’l Bolsters Employee Security Screening Program
Efficiency and efficacy are the watchwords for employee security screening at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW).
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Denver Int’l Completes State-of-the-Art West Security Checkpoint
Denver Int’l Completes State-of-the-Art West Security Checkpoint
In the last two decades, passenger volume has nearly doubled at DEN, and security technology has changed considerably. As part of the airport’s Great Hall Program, a $2.1 billion capital improvement project, all checkpoints are moving up a level—both physically and technologically.
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Harry Reid Int’l Tests Self-Service Checkpoint
Harry Reid Int’l Tests Self-Service Checkpoint
For 23 years, TSA has screened passengers and their belongings at U.S. airports to help keep air travel safe. The traffic is staggering, with an average 2.5 million people passing through checkpoints at more than 430 airports each day, and even more during holidays and other surges.
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Safety Management Systems: Lessons from the Airline Sector
Safety Management Systems: Lessons from the Airline Sector
Nearly a decade ago, the FAA Safety Organization issued a final rule requiring Part 121 certificated operators—scheduled commercial airlines—to implement Safety Management Plans. The goal was to help carriers detect and correct safety risks before they become hazards.
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Historic Wildfires Prompt Kelowna Int’l to Move Commercial Flights From Day to Night
Historic Wildfires Prompt Kelowna Int’l to Move Commercial Flights From Day to Night
With wildfires raging throughout British Columbia last summer, two things kept Kelowna International Airport (YLW) ahead of the game: good working relationships with the provincial and national governments, and partners such as Nav Canada.
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Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Completes Five-Gate Addition
Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Completes Five-Gate Addition
With an eye on growth and a heightened commitment to passenger comfort, Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport (AZA) unveiled a 30,000-square-foot terminal expansion in mid-February.
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New ARFF Facility Boosts Efficiency, Paves Way for New Terminal at Monterey Regional
New ARFF Facility Boosts Efficiency, Paves Way for New Terminal at Monterey Regional
A new $9.9 million aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) station is enhancing operational efficiency at Monterey Regional Airport (MRY), as well as providing a more comfortable environment for the personnel that call it home for days at a time.
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Punta Gorda Closes Runway, Powers Through Rebuild Project
Punta Gorda Closes Runway, Powers Through Rebuild Project
File it under “good things come to those who wait.” The roughly year-long reconstruction and rehabilitation of the primary runway at Punta Gorda Airport (PGD) was a welcome improvement that took patience, planning and lots of enabling projects.
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Moving Walkways Replace Decades-Old Monorail at Tampa Int’l
Moving Walkways Replace Decades-Old Monorail at Tampa Int’l
Guests at Tampa International Airport (TPA) can now use a series of moving walkways to quickly travel through the long-term parking garage to the adjacent main terminal, and vice versa.
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New Outdoor Deck Relieves Passenger Congestion at Charlottetown Airport
New Outdoor Deck Relieves Passenger Congestion at Charlottetown Airport
While some airports have struggled to recover passenger traffic lost during the COVID-19 pandemic, the opposite is true at Charlottetown Airport (YYG) on Prince Edward Island in eastern Canada. In 2023, the airport recorded 402,686 passengers—an increase of more than 18% from 2022.
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Southwest Hangar Complex at Gulf Shores Int’l is Full
Southwest Hangar Complex at Gulf Shores Int’l is Full
If Gulf Shores International Airport (JKA) were a hotel, management could hang up a “No Vacancy” sign regarding its available hangar space. Airport Director Justin Fletcher proudly reports that all 13 sites of JKA’s Southwest Corporate Hangar Complex are filled.
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Hawaii Provides State-Owned Airports with Online Platform for Environmental Systems Management
Hawaii Provides State-Owned Airports with Online Platform for Environmental Systems Management
Recognizing the need for robust environmental systems management, the Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) Airports Division provides a cloud-based, no-code system for its 15 state-owned and state-operated airports.
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Art Without Borders - San Diego International Airport (SAN)
Art Without Borders - San Diego International Airport (SAN)
San Diego International Airport (SAN) is celebrating that longtime binational bond with a temporary art exhibit titled Espacios & Lines.
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Terminal Modernization at Boston Logan Has Passengers and Locals Seeing Red, But in a Good Way
Terminal Modernization at Boston Logan Has Passengers and Locals Seeing Red, But in a Good Way
Nearly 250 years after Paul Revere rode out of Boston warning of a pending advance by British Redcoats, a shimmering red coat of paint warmly welcomes international visitors to the modern airport in his colonial hometown.
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Airports Find New Way to Track Airfield Traffic

Airports Find New Way to Track Airfield Traffic
For years, personnel at Murfreesboro Municipal Airport (MBT) manually tracked aircraft to estimate daily traffic at the central Tennessee airfield. Based on crude visual tallies, MBT officials began this year thinking the general aviation facility logged about 225 operations per day.

Pittsburgh Int’l Boosts Energy Resiliency, Reliability

Pittsburgh Int’l Boosts Energy Resiliency, Reliability
Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) made history in June when it flipped the switch on its own natural gas and solar energy powered microgrid. In an era when energy resiliency and independence have become a Holy Grail of sorts, PIT is the first airport in the world to be completely powered by its own microgrid. And, it did so at no cost to the airport or local taxpayers.

Halifax Stanfield Builds Cargo Park With Cold Chain Capabilities

Halifax Stanfield Builds Cargo Park With Cold Chain Capabilities
As airports around the globe are seeing an uptick in passenger traffic, Halifax Stanfield International (YHZ) is experiencing incredible growth in cargo operations. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, officials at the Nova Scotia airfield believed in the old maxim, “If you build it, they will come.” And they were right.

Larger Than Life - Jacksonville International Airport (JAX)

Larger Than Life - Jacksonville International Airport (JAX)
Two passengers stand head and shoulders above the crowd.

McGhee Tyson Airport Expands Scope of Simple Runway Rehab

McGhee Tyson Airport Expands Scope of Simple Runway Rehab
The internet is full of videos about home improvement projects that mushroom in size and scope. What starts as a simple fix all too often becomes a complete redo. McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) near Knoxville, TN, experienced a similar storyline when it undertook what was initially envisioned as a simple runway rehab in 2009. Spoiler alert: TYS installed fresh concrete, but also ended up extending and completely redesigning the runway…and installing a new instrument landing system (ILS) on the parallel runway.

Regional Municipality Funds Runway Improvements at Fort McMurray Int’l

Regional Municipality Funds Runway Improvements at Fort McMurray Int’l
At a time when some airports were pressing the proverbial pause button on all construction and improvements, Fort McMurray International (YMM) in Alberta was moving ahead with plans for a major runway rehabilitation. The $15 million project was completed in May, funded entirely by the regional municipality of Wood Buffalo.

Casper Int’l Upgrades ARFF Training Center at Opportune Time

Casper Int’l Upgrades ARFF Training Center at Opportune Time
Practice makes perfect, and everyone wants aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) teams to be as close to perfect as possible when they respond to airfield emergencies.

Redmond Municipal Builds New Facility for Snow Removal Equipment

Redmond Municipal Builds New Facility for Snow Removal Equipment
The team that maintains the airfield and operates snow removal equipment at Redmond Municipal Airport (RDM) worked out of a 7,000-square-foot building with modest heavy equipment storage bays. Equipment was stored in several different places across the airfield, some outside. That led leaders at the Oregon airport to invest in a larger facility.

Critical Runway at Dallas Fort Worth Int’l Receives New Life

Critical Runway at Dallas Fort Worth Int’l Receives New Life
It’s not an exaggeration to say that airfield operations at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) impact the entire global aviation system. It is, the fourth-busiest airport in the world. When officials determined it was time to rehabilitate one of the critical hub’s seven runways, care was given to the design, planning and phasing of the project.

Smart Runway at Hill Air Force Base Could Change the Future of Airfield Pavement Design

Smart Runway at Hill Air Force Base Could Change the Future of Airfield Pavement Design
Every time an aircraft lands on the runway at Hill Air Force Base (HIF) in northern Utah, a mountain of data is captured. More than 80 sensors collect information about pressure, temperature, moisture and other key factors for pavement engineers to parse and dissect. There are even wireless sensors shaped like pebbles mixed into the pavement that transmit data about pressure and slight movements within the pavement system. The goal of this project is to learn more about the way environmental factors and various aircraft affect runway pavements.

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Regional Municipality Funds Runway Improvements at Fort McMurray Int’l

Regional Municipality Funds Runway Improvements at Fort McMurray Int’l
At a time when some airports were pressing the proverbial pause button on all construction and improvements, Fort McMurray International (YMM) in Alberta was moving ahead with plans for a major runway rehabilitation. The $15 million project was completed in May, funded entirely by the regional municipality of Wood Buffalo.

Casper Int’l Upgrades ARFF Training Center at Opportune Time

Casper Int’l Upgrades ARFF Training Center at Opportune Time
Practice makes perfect, and everyone wants aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) teams to be as close to perfect as possible when they respond to airfield emergencies.

Redmond Municipal Builds New Facility for Snow Removal Equipment

Redmond Municipal Builds New Facility for Snow Removal Equipment
The team that maintains the airfield and operates snow removal equipment at Redmond Municipal Airport (RDM) worked out of a 7,000-square-foot building with modest heavy equipment storage bays. Equipment was stored in several different places across the airfield, some outside. That led leaders at the Oregon airport to invest in a larger facility.

Critical Runway at Dallas Fort Worth Int’l Receives New Life

Critical Runway at Dallas Fort Worth Int’l Receives New Life
It’s not an exaggeration to say that airfield operations at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) impact the entire global aviation system. It is, the fourth-busiest airport in the world. When officials determined it was time to rehabilitate one of the critical hub’s seven runways, care was given to the design, planning and phasing of the project.

Smart Runway at Hill Air Force Base Could Change the Future of Airfield Pavement Design

Smart Runway at Hill Air Force Base Could Change the Future of Airfield Pavement Design
Every time an aircraft lands on the runway at Hill Air Force Base (HIF) in northern Utah, a mountain of data is captured. More than 80 sensors collect information about pressure, temperature, moisture and other key factors for pavement engineers to parse and dissect. There are even wireless sensors shaped like pebbles mixed into the pavement that transmit data about pressure and slight movements within the pavement system. The goal of this project is to learn more about the way environmental factors and various aircraft affect runway pavements.

Daytona Beach Int’l Rehabilitates Its Longest, Busiest Taxiway

Daytona Beach Int’l Rehabilitates Its Longest, Busiest Taxiway
After decades of continuous use by commercial and student aircraft, the taxiway parallel to the primary runway at Daytona Beach International Airport (DAB) was exhibiting multiple pavement distresses. The most prominent issues were weathering and longitudinal and transverse cracking. Pavement cores revealed that many of the cracks extended completely through the asphalt.

When Funding Became Available, Harrisburg Int’l Was Ready to Go With Levee Project

When Funding Became Available, Harrisburg Int’l Was Ready to Go With Levee Project
The recent rehabilitation of an aging levee will help protect Harrisburg International Airport (MDT) from flooding for decades to come. In the meantime, the $22 million project also offers a valuable lesson about the benefits of planning ahead.

O’Hare Nearing End of Monumental Airfield Initiative

O’Hare Nearing End of Monumental Airfield Initiative
O’Hare International Airport (ORD) is in the final leg of a long journey to completely reconfigure its airfield. Soon, Chicago’s primary airport will have six east-west parallel runways and two crosswind runways—with far fewer intersections. Last November, ORD moved one step closer to an improved configuration when officials opened the airport’s first new runway since fall 2015.

St. Pete-Clearwater Int’l Expedites Rehab Project by Shifting Commercial Traffic to Crosswind Runway

St. Pete-Clearwater Int’l Expedites Rehab Project by Shifting Commercial Traffic to Crosswind Runway
When it came time for St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE) to rehab its primary air carrier runway, closing the airfield was not an option. Officials needed a plan to keep commercial aircraft flying in and out of the Florida airport. Airport officials brainstormed with consulting engineer Kimley-Horn and other project partners to devise a way to complete most of the work during daytime hours.

San Diego Int’l Installs New Engineered Material Arresting System

San Diego Int’l Installs New Engineered Material Arresting System
SAN was nearing the end of a $10 million project to replace the aging engineered material arresting system (EMAS) at the departures end of its runway with a brand new model. The safety feature is a bed of crushable materials to help stop aircraft overruns. If a plane enters the bed, its tires will sink into the crushable materials to help decelerate the aircraft. The original EMAS was “aging out” right on schedule, and airport officials were thrilled that an aircraft had never entered it.

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Publisher's Blog

What’s in a Name?
I’m all for improving our airports. But do new names necessarily make them better?
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Industry Insider

Cyberattacks on the Aviation Sector: Threats, Trends and Strategies
The aviation industry has been a prime target for nefarious cyberattacks over the last few years.
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Project Nominations

Know of a project that should be covered in a future issue of Airport Improvement?

Artscapes

Art Without Borders - San Diego International Airport (SAN)
Art Without Borders - San Diego International Airport (SAN)
San Diego International Airport (SAN) is celebrating that longtime binational bond with a temporary art exhibit titled...
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