New Orleans Airport will Soon Need New Terminal, Parking Garage

Jul. 22—Officials at New Orleans' Louis Armstrong International Airport say if passenger growth continues trending upward at the rate it has been until recently, the airport will need 15 more gates, another parking garage, and new ticket counters, security check points and baggage claims areas by 2031.

In order to meet the additional needs, the airport is beginning to plan for a second new terminal, Aviation Director Kevin Dolliole told the New Orleans City Council Transportation Committee on Tuesday.

While it seems virtually impossible that the airport could have another new terminal underway, much less completed, in six years, the facility will need the increased capacity once its passenger count reaches 9.7 million "enplanements" a year, Dolliole said. Enplanements measure the number of departing passengers from an airport.

Armstrong International has been on target to hit that passenger count by 2031, though a recent softening in domestic and international air travel could slow the projection, he said.

" New Orleans, like the rest of the country, is experiencing it," Dolliole said. "It's seen in the industry as a temporary thing and that we will get back to normal."

Dolliole's remarks were part of an update on the airport's master planning process, which kicked off nearly two years ago and is nearing completion. As part of that process, consultants have been studying travel trends and mapping out the airport's needs over the next 5, 10 and 20 years.

Later this summer, the airport will present its findings to locals, who will have an opportunity to weigh in. Then the airport will finalize a more detailed master plan with construction timelines, estimated price tags and funding sources.

Steady growth

In the six years since it opened, Louis Armstrong International Airport's $1.3 billion North Terminal has won rave reviews from designers and customer satisfaction surveys, bounced back from the COVID pandemic, and continued to attract new air service.

Among the new routes at the airport in the past year are Alaska Air's daily service to Portland, Oregon; Avelo Airlines' service to New Haven, Conn.; Breeze Airways' service to Tampa, Fla. and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and Spirit Airlines' service to Honduras and Mexico.

Even more are on the way, including direct nonstop service to Los Angeles and Las Vegas on Breeze, Dolliole said.

Meanwhile, passenger counts have grown from 5.9 million enplanements in 2022 to 6.6 million last year.

Based on the increased traffic, airport planners have been forecasting a "high growth" scenario for the local airport, which would call for significant expansion quickly.

Dolliole said projections call for 15 more gates and an additional 31,000-square-feet of ticket lobby space, 53,000-square feet of security checkpoint space and 78,000-square feet of baggage claim area.

"The additional capacity needs will drive the growth of a second terminal," he said.

As currently envisioned in future phases of the plan, the new terminal would be built to the west of the existing terminal, which would be expanded to the west and to the east and connect to the new terminal. Eventually, the facility would have the capacity to accommodate 60 gates.

Airport officials say it's critical to begin planning for growth and expansion, which is required by the Federal Aviation Administration which, through Congress, approves and helps fund airport construction projects.

"The airport industry standard is to begin implementation of facility growth at least five years ahead of the projected timeframe of when it will be needed," said airport spokesperson Erin Burns. "Now that the airport is nearing completion of its Master Planning process, we are preparing to move into the design phase of the project and subsequently into construction."

New roads, more capacity

Dolliole also updated the council committee on several projects currently underway at the airport. The first phase of a new $52 million road will be built on airport property connecting the north terminal with the old south terminal, where economy parking, employee parking and rental car lots are located.

The road will be dedicated for shuttle buses that currently have to navigate public streets to get between the old airport terminal and the new one. It is expected to cut the drive time between the terminals in half.

A $45 million baggage explosion detection system is also under construction. When completed in late 2026, it will give the airport 25% more capacity to inspect bags.

Upgrades to existing runways are also underway.

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