Airport completes first phase of $99 million renovation
Published Wednesday, May 7, 2008
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John and Kathy Nussbaumer tested the new talking moose head mounted on the southern wall of their gift shop at Fairbanks International Airport on Tuesday.
The couple was prepping for today’s early morning opening of the airport’s new terminal, part of a $99.2 million overhaul of the facility.
So while the moose will be greeting guests at the gift shop’s new digs, the Nussbaumers and the airport’s staff will be welcoming travelers, starting today, to a brand new terminal — one with a heck of a lot of windows and glass walls.
“It’s so spacious, and it lets in so much light,” said Kathy Nussbaumer, who has run Twigs Alaskan Gifts at the airport for 12 years. “And it is better set up for getting people through security.”
The new terminal gives the airport three new gates, with another three to be completed in a second construction phase that will wrap up next summer. Work crews consolidated baggage claim areas and check-in counters into one spot apiece in the new terminal, airport manager Jesse VanderZanden said.
Aside from a few odds and ends — a bit of flooring left to be finished, some artwork left to be hung — the new terminal is open and ready for business. The five major carriers — Air North, Alaska Airlines, Condor, Delta and Northwest — have moved in. So have the charter companies Japan Airlines and Shared Services Aviation.
“Everybody checks in at one spot, everybody gets their bags at one spot,” VanderZanden said.
Well, almost. Actually, three carriers — Era Aviation, Frontier Flying Service and 40-Mile Air — will temporarily keep their old counters near the northern end of the airport until a second phase of construction, which will renovate space just north of the new terminal, wraps up in 2009.
Car rental desks also moved to the new terminal this morning.
The construction and renovation, part of which will continue through this summer and into next year, basically replaces an airport that had been pieced together between the 1950s and 1980s.
Representatives from the airlines were given a sneak peek at their new ticketing counters Tuesday morning. They walked the floor, checked out intercom systems and got ready to settle in.
Travelers waiting at the terminal’s second-floor security gates have a far better view of trees to the east and west than at the airport’s old gates.
The new terminal’s southern gate was built to streamline the customs process for international travelers, which VanderZanden said will make arrivals more efficient. The southern-most upstairs gate has a retracting wall used to separate it from the rest of the terminal. The new setup will also prevent travelers from having to briefly leave the airport between customs processing and baggage claim, he said.
“Now we can secure the area with the push of a button. Literally,” he said.
Alaska Airlines took advantage of the construction to modernize its ticket check-in process. Travelers are now greeted by automated check-in kiosks similar to those in Anchorage and Seattle. The company calls it its “Airport of the Future” station, with separate check-in kiosks and baggage-check stations. The patented design replaced the company’s old ticket counters and Mary Hefty, the company’s regional station manager, said it will reduce waiting times for customers.
“We want to make it a much quicker process,” she said.
Community Discussion
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Quick
Lets name this one for Don Young before he is indicted
I'm happy we get an airport that sets a better first impression...
Wonder who they bought their green credits from...
Kind of ironic where we're told to reduce and conserve energy and driving by see the whole front is glass; guess the State has the money to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in heating the new airport -- wonder which energy expert conducted the audit before approving the funding?????
I think it looks pretty but I'm not sure it is really quicker. The new airport in Anchorage also looks pretty...also not quicker. The new electronic check in makes for a mess during tourist seasons or even just full flights. You know have to wait in line to get your electronic ticket while negotiating all your bags don't hit someone. THEN you have to remanuever to a different line to wait again to turn your bags over to the airlines.
Faster? No.
firefighterswife...if the new terminal just opened this morning...and unless you traveled before 7am...how can you say it's not any quicker than the old terminal? Are you basing your comments on how Anchorage handles traffic flow? In case you don't know Fairbanks and Anchorage do things a lot different.
Too bad it will be empty as airline ticket prices double from two years ago.
I have always thought the Fairbanks airport was one of the easiest ones to get in and out of. There are not many airports where you can park right across the street from the terminal (not counting the hub village terminals). I hope the new rennovation doesn't start following the Anchorage airport where one has to walk 2 miles from the car, hauling heavy baggage, to the terminal. Well, it feels like 2 miles! I welcome tourism, but a lot of these changes are made for the tourists and not for the residents of this state. We don't have to keep up with the Jones'!! I like the old Alaska better.
>Too bad it will be empty as airline ticket prices double from two years ago.
My wife is flying outside in about two weeks and asked me just this morning where to shop for a bigger suitcase, but not a cheap one, a really good one that will last a long time. And the first thing I said was, "Why, we aren't going to be flying anywhere when tickets go up to $4,000 a piece."
Just a quick FYI:
The goal of the new terminal was to correct seismic deficiencies (safety) as well as increase overall efficiency at the airport. It was designed and constructed locally so things like lighting and heating in our Fairbanks enviroment were taken into consideration, this new terminal should save money not cost the state more money. It was not crafted soley for the ease of tourists but for the entire traveling public. I assure you no one will be walking 2 miles to get to their vehicles nor will you have to check in at one location and then haul your bags to another, it is all done in one convenient location. I encourage all of you to come to the airport and take a look for yourselves ( I have been through today myself)I think you will be impressed by the functionality of the new terminal as well as it's design and layout, it is very much a representation of Alaska and of Fairbanks. Ask the designers, project managers and airport management as they are all on hand to answer your questions.
I think we can all say we are proud to live in Fairbanks and no one aspires to be just like Anchorage or any other city and our new terminal represents that value.
Sometimes change is good :)
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