In the cold December air, the 230,000-square-foot lobby on the north side of Reagan National Airport was ready for passengers. The outer wall is upward. The roof opened. The terrazzo floor is almost fortress. Eleven of the 14 new jet bridges are being installed, and the remaining three are expected to arrive soon from Texas.
In the year when the coronavirus pandemic has destroyed the aviation industry, Project Journey, which cost $1 billion, is a rare bright spot for the airport. It consists of two parts: a new lobby and an expanded security inspection area. It is paid for by the fees collected from airline passengers when purchasing tickets.
National’s first major upgrade in more than two decades will eliminate the cumbersome boarding process at gate 35X, which requires gathering passengers to the waiting area on the first floor and then loading them to transport them to the plane On the shuttle bus.
Before construction starts in 2017, efforts will be made to build a new terminal to replace the 14 outdoor boarding areas that have been stagnant on the drawing board for many years. However, the expected opening next year is an unusual moment for the aviation industry.
When the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority broke ground, National Airlines’ traffic boomed. An airport with a capacity of 15 million passengers usually attracts nearly 23 million passengers each year, which forces officials to find novel ways to provide space for the passenger base.
October is the most recent month for which statistics were obtained. The number of flights that had just passed American Civil Aviation exceeded 450,000, compared with 2.1 million in the same period last year. In 2019, the airport received more than 23.9 million passengers. According to current trends, this number may be less than half of 2020.
Officials say that even so, the passenger slowdown does have benefits: it enables airport officials to speed up all aspects of the project. Work that usually has to be completed during the day and at night. Roger Natsuhara, senior vice president of the Airport Authority, said the crew were not forced to install and dismantle equipment to accommodate the busy airport traffic.
Richard Golinowski, vice president of operations support for the administration, added: “It’s actually much better than we expected.”
Even with the vaccine, most experts do not expect passenger traffic to return to pre-pandemic levels within two to three years, which may mean that the new hall will be opened with few people flying.
”This is good for us,” Golinowski said. “Since we expect to increase the number of customers, the timing is very good. We can start operations and adapt to the new system.”
Xia Yuan said that with the widespread use of vaccine doses, more people will start to travel again.
Natsuhara said that although it was designed before the pandemic, the new lobby will be a safer experience for travelers because people will no longer be crowded on buses to get on planes.
The nearly completed lobby will be connected to Terminal C and will have 14 gates, an American Airlines Admiral Club lounge and 14,000 square feet of retail and food stores. The restaurants expected to occupy the new building include: Altitude Burger, Mezeh Mediterranean Grill and Founding Farmers. Construction in these areas is underway.
Sensitive to complaints about airport flight noise, officials have carefully characterized the new hall as the new location of the 14 long-distance gates used by the airport, rather than an expansion.
The hall was originally scheduled to open in July, but plans to have a “soft opening” before that date. It is expected to be released early next year.
The project also includes new security checkpoints, which will be housed in another building opposite Terminal B and Terminal C. Airport officials originally hoped to open the checkpoint this fall, but encountered construction problems, which delayed the opening time. The reason for the delay was the need to relocate the old utilities, unexpected soil conditions, and the foundation and steel structure elements that had to be modified. Officials said the weather also played a role.
Now, these checkpoints are scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2021. Once completed, the number of checkpoints at the airport will increase from 20 to 28.
The opening of the building will change the way people travel through the airport. The security checkpoints previously placed in the National Assembly Hall will be moved, and the glass-enclosed area (where the French seafood and Ben’s pepper bowls are located) will no longer be open to the public.
Post time: Dec-31-2020