Today marked the December meet of the Airport Consultative Committee, so here is my update with regard to Infrastructure, as reported today.
The new terminal roof extension is now completed and forms an integral part of the plans for this winter, which are as follows:
Further enhancements and changes to the Security hall to work towards ensuring that 96% of passengers clear the security scanning area within 5 to 6 minutes from next Summer.
A revamp of the Sports Bar and Saltaire Bar (which will then be targeted towards families), plus a new retail outlet to be known as The Cabin. There will also be a brand new Starbucks outlet, which will be situated where the current Executive Lounge is (although it will not take up all of that space - see below).
The Executive Lounge and Family Lounge will relocate to the newly completed roof extension area - so if you want to see the airfield whilst you wait, that is the place to be!
The remainder of the space vacated by the Executive Lounge will be taken up by the installation of the 500 seats previously reported and already on site awaiting installation. These will NOT be linked to any retail outlet, although David Laws (Airport CEO) did say, somewhat mischievously, that they will be situated close enough to the Starbucks and other outlets to hopefully tempt passengers. Passengers will literally be able to wake up and smell the coffee!
The area outside the terminal front will be improved. Current block paving will be removed and a new surface installed as far as the bus stops. At the same time a covered walkway will be installed from the terminal to the bus stops (only to that point at this stage, although it sounded like it may be extended at a later date).
The new car park on Warren House Lane will be constructed and will be known as The Viking car park - bringing new LBA jobs. It will be bookable on the airport website in the not too distant future and will compete directly with the private enterprise over the road.
David Laws made it clear that these changes were intended to maximise retail revenue for the airport - and that this revenue is then intended to go towards funding a major change in the terminal next winter, hopefully ready for use by Summer 2019. These changes are as I previously suggested and will go a long way towards improving the efficiency of the airport and I believe they are quite exciting. They comprise:
All Check in facilities to be relocated to the NW end of the terminal, using the current Hall B and space within the terminal adjacent to Hall B.
From there, all passengers will proceed to the new Security Screening area, which will be relocated to the area currently used for International Baggage Reclaim on the Ground floor.
From there, all passengers will use the existing escalator location to move to the upper floor from where they will access the retail outlets and seating areas, moving through the terminal from the NW down to the SE ends.
From the first floor retail and waiting areas, passengers will use the escalators to descend down to the Departure Gate area.
For inbound passengers, they will arrive at the SE end of the terminal and will enter the new Immigration area which will be sited where the current security screening area is, providing more room.
From there, passengers will progress to the Baggage Reclaim area which will relocate to the area currently occupied by Check in Hall A and from there, they will leave the terminal.
These changes also require the provision of a new Airport Fire Station at a location yet to be decided. The present Fire Station will then be utilised as a holding area for baggage.
The changes, overall, eliminate the current problems with passengers crossing over each other (eg Hall B passengers who have just checked in having to cross International Passengers who have just picked up their baggage and ensure all check in, security, immigration and baggage reclaim are on the same (ground) floor with the upper floor exclusively a seating and retail area.
The changes sound logical and should greatly enhance the terminal and passenger experience, although I can imagine a few headaches whilst all the changes are going on.
Finally - Aviador - it was confirmed by David Laws that AMP Capital are content with the Airport Masterplan and have instructed him to 'get on with it'. Mr Laws also stated that securing AMP as new owners was a huge boost to the airport. They are, in Australia, a huge company, and LBA is now funded from a global pot of money worth in the region of $140bn. AMP are in it for the long haul and are not taking on LBA simply to enhance its value and then sell.
