US airports expand, but at what cost?

Brent Kelley is a principal of the aviation sector practice for Corgan, a Dallas-based global architectural group with more than 70 years of experience in airport design.

The group has more than 400 current projects at airports worldwide, including JFK’s Terminal 6, and counts America’s top 50 gateways as clients.

“In addition to increased demand, many of the US airport terminals are reaching the end of their useful life,” says Kelley, “so airports are modernising out of necessity to create a better experience for passengers, meet current aviation operational demands, and reduce their ongoing maintenance cost.

“There is a large backlog of airport improvements that are needed, and funding will continue to be a challenge.

“There was a time when airport terminal developments were noted in the millions of dollars. But that discussion is changing now to billions.”

“The airport of tomorrow will continue to evolve over the next several decades to be more than just a terminal to move passengers and baggage,” says Kelley.

“The commercial side continues to change, with airports becoming small cities in their own right. Commercial opportunities are being created on the campus and are not limited to just concessions in the terminal.”

Those opportunities also extend to airport access, says Kelley, with so-called air taxis increasingly in discussion, and many gateways already planning how they can incorporate landing pads (or ‘vertiports’) atop garages and other structures, even before the first of these craft has been certified.