$55 Million Renovation Underway at Lincoln Airport
People flying out of the Lincoln Airport are getting their first glimpse at big changes aimed at an improved experience for passengers.
The airport’s $55 million terminal and renovation project is in full swing. Gone are gates at both ends of the terminal. United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, the carriers that serve the airport, now have flights departing and arriving on the south end of the terminal, and there is only a single security checkpoint.
For the most part, things have gone smoothly, airport officials told The Lincoln Journal Star.
“At times it gets pretty busy in the morning,” when multiple flights are leaving at the same time, said Rachel Barth, the airport’s director of communications and customer engagement.
That can lead to backed-up security lines and few available seats in the gate areas. Barth said there have also been times when the gate areas have gotten really full because of flight delays or cancellations.
The airport also has been seeing more passengers, hitting the 20,000 mark in September for the first time since before the coronavirus pandemic. Though that’s still down about 20% from normal pre-pandemic passenger numbers, it’s about 50% higher than six months ago.
To alleviate crowding, the airport has transitioned its former conference room and administrative offices into an overflow space, adding dozens of extra seats in the secure gate area.
While all flight activity is currently taking place on the south end of the terminal, it will eventually shift to the north end. That’s where work is now occurring to expand the terminal.
As part of the project, the north end of the terminal is being expanded by about 35,000 square feet, expanding the existing terminal by more than 60%. The north end will also be home to all six gates once work is complete.
The work area is mostly off-limits to passengers, other than a temporary hallway constructed to allow people to use the skywalk from the parking garage to access the terminal.
“The intent is to keep (the skywalk) open for 99% of the time,” said Chad Lay, the airport’s director of planning and development.
Some other airport services are closed, such as the restaurant. Its space is being turned into the new security screening area.
However, that doesn’t mean flyers don’t have food options. In fact, they now have something they’ve never had before: food and drinks in the gate area.
Last week, the airport completed the move of all concessions and gift items to the secure gate area. It’s something most airports, even small ones, have, but it’s an amenity the Lincoln Airport has never been able to offer because of logistical issues.
Even though the current setup is only temporary, a big part of the terminal improvement project is ensuring that passengers will have concessions options both before they go through security and while they are in the gate area.
In addition to moving all flight operations to the north side of the terminal, consolidating security functions and adding gates, the expansion project also will consolidate airline ticketing areas on the first floor.
The project is scheduled to be substantially complete by sometime late next year, at which point airlines and passengers will start using the new gates. Once that occurs, work will start on the south end of the terminal to reconstruct administrative offices and the board room, which will be enlarged and offered as a free community meeting space for nonprofits, Barth said.
Despite labor and supply chain issues, officials said the project is largely on schedule.
“The great thing is, for the most part, we haven’t had any excessive delays,” said David Haring, the airport’s executive director.
Lincoln’s Sampson Construction is the construction manager at risk for the project, and both Haring and Lay said the company has done a good job of staying on top of potential issues and keeping work on track.
Haring said that not only have passengers been understanding about the changes to the terminal needed to accommodate the project, the airport’s two airlines have as well.
“Both United and Delta have been extremely cooperative working through those issues,” he said.
While passengers have noticed the work up close for a few months, Lancaster County residents will soon get their first look at the bill to pay for it.
The Lincoln Airport Authority voted earlier this year to institute a property tax for the first time since 1986 to pay for the terminal project. The tax takes effect in January and will cost the owner of an average home in Lincoln an extra $17 next year and double that in subsequent years.
Because of the way its bond payments are scheduled, the Airport Authority is using only half of its approved levy in 2022 and plans to use the full levy starting in 2023.
This story first appeared in The Lincoln Journal Star. It was distributed as an exchange story by The Associated Press.
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