The Construction of the new terminal at Lafayette Regional Airport is well underway.
The grand opening could be as soon as early next year.
"The building is almost done, there are a couple of items that we have to go through," said Steven Pico, Executive Director of Lafayette Regional Airport. "The legalistic side or the contractual side is after 30 days of substantial completion. The punchless has to be done so we're getting really close. Now the big question everybody wants to know is when are you going to open. It looks like we're gonna be 1st of January is when we're going to be opening. We're going to open as soon as possible.
New terminal fact sheet
- The New LFT Terminal is 120,000 square feet, twice the size of the existing terminal.
- There are 966 parking spots, an increase of more than 200 parking spaces when compared to the existing terminal.
- The canopy over the passenger pickup and drop-off area has stained glass, representing the colors of the Acadian flag.
- Baggage handling features a completely new system. After passengers check their bags at the ticket counter, baggage undergoes security screening in a secure, non-public location.
- There are five departure and arrival gates in the new terminal – all gates have new jet bridges.
- There are two TSA security screening lines with the ability to add a third line.
- The overhead announcement system is a state-of-the-art system.
- All lighting in the new terminal is LED, saving on utility costs.
- The security system has a total 194 cameras throughout the terminal, covering every part of the facility.
- Visitors to the new terminal have access to food and drinks on both sides of the security checkpoint.
- The rotunda area (where the bar and restaurant are located) after the security checkpoint is equipped with Sage Glass, which tints automatically depending on the angle of the sun.
- There are two (2) Mother’s Rooms located in the terminal for the convenience of mothers traveling with small children.
- There is an indoor Service Animal Relief Area (SARA) for the convenience of passengers traveling with service animals.
- The old terminal will be demolished to make room for future expansion of the new terminal.
- Rental cars are located adjacent to the terminal right outside the rental car agencies’ counters.
- A total of 198 contractors worked on the new terminal, many of which are local companies. The prime contractors on the project were CBRE Heery International who oversaw the progress for the Lafayette Airport Commission; RS&H, a leading aviation architectural and engineering firm who designed the terminal; and the Lemoine/Manhattan Joint Venture who completed the construction.
- Pre- COVID-19, over a half a million passengers flew into and out of LFT. Recent months have seen numbers of passengers begin to return to pre-COVID levels.
- The New LFT Terminal project will cost approximately $150 million when completed. The project is 100% funded. No funds from the tax millage up for renewal on November 13 were used for construction. This project includes the terminal, streets, parking lots, aircraft aprons, jet bridges, signage and tenant space for rental cars, restaurant, bar, and gift shop.
- The New LFT Terminal project was funded in part by $34 million in sales tax money approved in 2014 by Lafayette Parish voters. That one-cent sales tax was collected for eight months between April and November of 2015. The remainder of the terminal project funds came from state and federal governments. LFT did not incur any new debt for the terminal project.
- The millage renewal for Lafayette Regional Airport (LFT) operations and maintenance has been collected since 1972 and has been renewed by Lafayette Parish voters every 10 years since then.
- The funds for the millage are used to operate the airport (staffing, security, utilities, etc.) and maintain the buildings around the airport and airfield (private hangars, tenants, runways, taxiways, etc.).
- The ongoing millage contributes $3.7 million to partially fund the $8.2 million in operating costs.
- The remainder of the operating budget is funded by revenues raised from leases, commissions from vendors, such as car rental companies, restaurant, landing fees, parking, and advertising space in the terminal.
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