Gallery-Airlines, Airports Invest in Expansion Projects

United Airlines is investing in a $2.6 billion renovation and expansion project of Terminal B at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston, which also includes a new United Club location and Early Bag Storage facility. These investments are part of the Chicago-based airline’s “United Next” growth plan and include the expansion of 40 gates at IAH to accommodate larger aircraft, resulting in a 40% increase in the overall number of people who can fly on peak travel dates in 2026 compared to 2023.

The Terminal B transformation includes expanding curbside and roadway capacity, along with expanding the ticketing lobby, offering passengers convenience through signage, intuitive wayfinding systems and a ground-level check-in area. The third floor is expected to house a streamlined security processing area. Once through security, the New Terminal B North expansion comprises two new passenger concourses, replacing the 1969-era Flight Stations. The Terminal B North Concourse, spanning approximately 765,000 sq. ft. over three levels, will house 22 narrowbody gates. The Terminal B South Concourse project involves converting 30 gates that currently house smaller, 50-seat regional jets to accommodate larger, two-class regional jets.

London Heathrow Airport’s (LHR) largest shareholder, Spanish infrastructure specialist Ferrovial, is selling its entire 25% stake to two investors for £2.4 billion ($3 billion). French private equity house Ardian had agreed to buy 15% of FGP Topco, Heathrow’s parent company. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) is also buying 10% of FGP Topco, divesting the Madrid-based firm of its holding in the airport.
 

A new airport currently under construction in Greenland’s capital Nuuk will welcome its first international flights in November 2024. The opening of Nuuk International Airport will take place in two stages: the terminal building will be operational from May 2024, with final completion and a formal opening slated for Nov. 28, 2024. 

The airports will be equipped with runways that are 2,200-m long and 45-m wide, allowing for direct flights to and from North America and Europe. In addition, a new airport is being built in Qaqortoq, a town in southern Greenland set within a system of fjords. This work will include a new 1,500-m runway.
 

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) and Delta Air Lines have started work on a $242.5 million upgrade of the airport’s Terminal 1. Atlanta-based Delta, which has a hub at MSP, will invest $60 million in a project that will include a “full refresh” of around 75 gates controlled by the airline. Delta operates 332 daily departures on peak days at MSP. The Metropolitan Airports Commission, which runs MSP, will invest $182.5 million in the upgrade. Construction work in MSP Terminal 1’s D and F concourses started in late October. Renovation work on the C Concourse is scheduled to start in February 2024. Pictured: Delta jets at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) in Utah and Delta Air Lines opened the remaining 13 gates of SLC’s Concourse A on Oct. 31, finishing a 22-gate concourse completely controlled by Atlanta-based Delta. The initial five gates of the 900,000-sq. ft. Concourse A were opened in May, with four more going online in August. The final 13 gates give Delta, which has a hub at SLC and is by far the airport’s leading carrier, an even more solidified position at the airport. Delta bases 5,400 employees at SLC and now controls 50 gates at the airport.

Brisbane Airport (BNE) has began a A$5 billion ($3.18 billion) upgrade program, to prepare its infrastructure ahead of the 2032 Brisbane Olympics and the growing city. Known as Future BNE, the scheme will see the implementation of more than 150 individual projects to improve the domestic and international terminals, as well as the construction of a new terminal. Currently, 20 million passengers pass through BNE, and the airport forecasts 10 million more in the next 10 years. The number of airport staff is also expected to grow from 20,000 to 30,000 by the Olympics in 2032.

Construction has commenced on the new Dalian Jinzhou Bay International Airport, which will be China’s first airport built on an artificial island and the world’s largest offshore airport. Set to be completed in 2026, the new hub will replace Dalian Zhoushuizi Airport (DLC), which serves the port city of Dalian on the Liaodong Peninsula.
 

Vinci Airports and IFM Global Infrastructure Fund have been selected as the preferred bidder to become minority investor in Centralny Port Komunikacyjny Airport (CPK), the new airport under development in central Poland. The partners are willing to invest up to 8 billion zlotys ($1.91 billion) into the construction of CPK in exchange for a minority stake in CPK. Poland’s government will continue to hold a majority stake. Pictured: Poland’s Deputy Funds and Regional Policy Minister Marcin Horała.
 

ULCC Allegiant Air moved to the newly opened satellite concourse at Nashville International Airport (BNA) in Tennessee, which the Las Vegas-based carrier says sets “the stage for the airline's next phase of growth at BNA.” The new satellite concourse is a free-standing, eight-gate facility located off of the airport’s C Concourse. The 89,000-sq. ft. concourse’s opening comes on the heels of the September launch of the airport’s new six-gate international arrivals facility.
 

Osaka Kansai International Airport (KIX) in Japan has opened a renovated international terminal with the expanded capacity to handle 17 million more annual passengers. According to Vinci, capacity at Osaka Kansai's international terminal has grown from 23 million to 40 million yearly passengers. A new international departure area features a plaza with “commercial islands based on Vinci Airports’ concept of design by mood,” Vinci says.