"Orlando, Fla., Airport to Revamp Passenger-Boarding Buildings"

Thursday, June 19, 2003

Orlando, Fla., Airport to Revamp Passenger-Boarding Buildings
The Orlando (FL) Sentinel


Still unable to build its long-delayed south terminal, Orlando
International Airport has decided to focus instead on improving what it
already has.

The board of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority signed off Wednesday
on the beginnings of a plan to revamp the airport's two oldest "airside"
buildings -- those areas where passengers board airplanes.

It was a project once slated to be done after completion of the south
terminal, which remains in an indefinite holding pattern while airport
officials wait for passenger traffic to recover from two years of
turmoil.

"These buildings are old. And we were going to have to do it anyway,"
said Steve Gardner, the airport's senior director of engineering and
construction.

The move is further evidence that the south terminal is getting no
closer to reality. The $800 million project, once slated to open in
2002, was delayed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, which sent
air traffic into a slump across the nation.

Various traffic forecasts have suggested the south terminal's opening
could be delayed until 2012 or later. Airport officials say it will be
built only when passenger growth demands it.

They have been hesitant to assign the project a new opening date,
however, saying traffic could rebound at any time. Traffic at Orlando
International is still off by more than 10 percent from levels before
the terror attacks in New York and Washington, D.C.

There are no cost estimates yet for the improvements to the two
airsides, which sit on the main terminal's western flank and contain 59
gates. But Gardner said work could be completed within four years.
Several modifications to the 1970s-era structures are being considered,
including making them 50 percent larger, adding more seats, installing
modern wiring, and updating their overall appearance.

One of the biggest obstacles will be finding ways to do the work without
interrupting passenger traffic into and out of those areas.

"We're kind of limited in what we can do," Gardner said. "We don't think
we can close an airside down."

The project also will have to be approved by the airport's signatory
airlines, who have a say in airport capital projects.

Among other projects being undertaken:

Making way for the new Airbus 380. The airport is preparing for the
eventual arrival of the behemoth, which is capable of carrying more than
650 passengers. The plane is expected to be used by some international
carriers on overseas routes. Its size will require some modifications to
the airfield and terminal gates.

No more double bag handling: Passengers on international routes have
long complained about the cumbersome process that requires them to claim
their luggage twice -- once when it comes into the customs area and
again from the regular baggage area in the main terminal. The airport is
looking for a solution that will allow passengers to claim their bags at
customs and then leave the airport.

Developing a new financial model: In September 2008, the airport's
lease-and-use agreement with its signatory carriers will expire. That
arrangement makes those signatory carriers responsible for the airport's
financial health but also gives them veto power over capital projects.

"We're not sure that agreement is really meeting our needs or that of
the airlines," said Bill Jennings, the airport's executive director.


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