Hollywood Burbank Airport celebrates new terminal

Officials on Monday celebrated the completion of Hollywood Burbank Airport‘s nearly $1.3 billion replacement passenger terminal, eight days before the 14-gate facility is scheduled to open to travelers.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Monday in the new terminal’s ticketing hall, with regional, state and local officials in attendance.

The 355,000-square-foot terminal is scheduled to open to passengers Oct. 13, replacing the airport’s existing terminal complex, whose original facilities opened in 1930.

The new terminal is larger than the existing 232,000-square-foot complex but will retain the same 14 gates. Airport officials have described the project as a replacement rather than a capacity expansion.

State Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin noted the safety benefits of locating the new terminal on the opposite side of the airfield and farther from the runways. The building also meets current seismic and accessibility standards and is one of only two all-electric airport facilities in the country, officials said.

“You can see just exactly that, that they didn’t want to lose that sort of nostalgic feeling from the other terminal,” Omishakin said, referring to the airport’s design.

The new building is farther from the runways than the existing terminal. Airport officials have said the replacement addresses longstanding safety concerns involving the existing terminal’s proximity to the runways.

Burbank Mayor Tamala Takahashi said the community was involved in developing the terminal’s design.

“This beautiful new facility takes everything you love about the experience, and brings it into the new era with modern amenities, greater accessibility, enhanced safety, and a welcoming design, all while maintaining the 14-gate airport our community knows,” Takahashi said.

Planning for a replacement dates to the 1980s, after the Federal Aviation Administration determined the existing terminal was too close to the runway to provide an adequate aircraft safety margin.

Plans stalled for decades amid neighborhood opposition. Burbank voters ultimately approved Measure B in November 2016 with 70% of the vote, clearing a major hurdle for the replacement terminal.

Ground was broken in January 2024.

During the final of three operational tests last month, 1,500 volunteers tested parking, ticketing, baggage handling, Transportation Security Administration screening and gate operations at the new terminal.

Airport staff, airline employees and TSA personnel also participated in the Sept. 19 trial. Airport officials said 98% of feedback was positive, while signage and wayfinding were identified as areas for improvement.

The new terminal will feature expanded TSA screening areas, additional charging ports and kiosks and a baggage claim area with three carousels in a single indoor hall.

The airport will retain its practice of boarding and deplaning passengers outdoors rather than using covered jet bridges.

The project also includes a new seven-level parking structure across from the terminal entrance. Rideshare passengers will use a new pickup lot near the terminal, while rental-car customers will take shuttles to the existing consolidated rental-car facility across Hollywood Way.

When the terminal opens Oct. 13, the airport’s main entrance will move to Winona Avenue and Hollywood Way from its current entrance off Thornton Avenue. Valet service will also move to the new terminal, and Lot E will close permanently.

The Burbank Airport-North Metrolink station will be connected to the new terminal by a pedestrian path and on-demand shuttle.

The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, a joint powers agency created by the three cities in 1977, owns and operates the airport. Each city appoints three members to the nine-member commission.

According to the authority, no state, county or local funds from Burbank, Glendale or Pasadena were used for the project. Funding sources include airport revenue bonds, federal grants, passenger facility charges and authority funds.