LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) — The first flights for Lafayette Regional Airport’s new terminal will take off Thursday, Jan. 20, according to officials.
The new facility will be twice the size of the existing terminal — 120,000 sq. ft. Officials will begin the process of decommissioning the old terminal when the new one opens. Eventually, the old terminal will be demolished to make way for future expansion.
Features of the new terminal include:
- An additional 200-plus parking spots
- 194 security cameras, covering all public areas
- Two TSA security screening lines with the option to add a third.
- Five departure and arrival gates, all with new jet bridges
- Two rooms for mothers inside the terminal
- A Service Animal Relief Area (SARA)
- An all-new baggage handling system, including a security screening area in a secure, non-public location
- Access to food and drinks on both sides of the security checkpoint
- A rotunda area equipped with Sage Glass, which tints automatically, depending on the angle of the sun
- A new area for rental cars just outside the rental car agencies’ counters
- An all-new LED lighting system and state-of-the-art public address system
The journey to the new terminal began when voters approved a one-cent, eight-month sales tax in December 2014. The tax collected $33 million between April 5, 2015, and November 30, 2015, which jumpstarted the $150 million project. The tax was temporary and could not be renewed. Along with federal and state matching funding, the project became the largest in Lafayette Parish in decades, according to airport officials.
Officials said this allowed the new terminal to be built on-budget and debt-free.