Buffalo Niagara Int'l May Build Baggage Addition

Space limitations in the baggage handling area at Buffalo Niagara International Airport have airport officials contemplating a major physical expansion.

The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority is considering construction of a two-story, 60,000-square-foot addition on the airfield side of the terminal for a state-of-the-art baggage handling operation. Preliminary project cost estimates run as high as $17 million.

"Right now, we know we need to make some kind of change to improve baggage handling capacity, and it's likely to require new construction," said NFTA Executive Director Lawrence M. Meckler.

This would mark the third major expansion of the 9-year-old Buffalo airport terminal since its debut.

When the terminal opened, the NFTA executive said, no one could have envisioned the drastic security screening changes in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The 31,000-square-foot baggage sorting area, which seemed roomy back in 1997, is now bursting at the seams with electronic luggage screening gear, including three massive explosives detection machines, each the size of a Hummer.

Not only is the detection apparatus big and bulky, it is also labor intensive, requiring federal Transportation Security Administration workers to manually load and unload the thousands of checked bags before they are loaded onto aircraft. With the current set-up, crews can process about 750 bags per hour.

"During peak morning travel hours, we're getting 1,200 bags an hour, and the system can't keep up. Planes are being delayed at take-off because we can't get the baggage screened quickly enough," Meckler said.

And the problem will only get worse as passenger counts at the Buffalo airport reach record highs year after year. The number of passengers in 2006 is expected to climb to well over 5 million, a tally that wasn't expected until 2020.

"We're doing fine in terms of gate capacity. Airlines can continue to add new flights to meet demand. But we don't want to run the risk of losing our growth momentum because we can't handle the extra baggage," Meckler said.

The NFTA envisions a new automatic baggage processing system capable of screening and sorting 2,700 pieces of luggage per hour, freeing up TSA staffers to focus on passenger screening.

NFTA executives are currently poring over resumes from eight baggage-system firms that responded to a recent request for qualifications. Five construction companies, including three local firms, also submitted credentials to the authority.

The firms deemed qualified are expected to form architecture/construction teams to submit proposals later this month. A design will be selected early next year, with a completion of the new facility in mid-2008.

The terminal was built as a 15-gate facility but was enlarged to 24 gates in a two-phase expansion in 1999 and 2000.

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