An airport official on Thursday outlined a new $1.2 billion plan for redeveloping the international terminal at Bush Intercontinental Airport, and it’s a dramatically different approach from the proposal detailed nearly three years ago.
The new plan is to, essentially, combine Terminals D and E by 2024. All of the ticketing counters, security lanes and baggage claims will be consolidated and moved to Terminal E. Then there will be two concourses — one in the current Terminal D and one in the current Terminal E — where passengers will board their planes, grab food or relax in an airport lounge.
The previous plan sought to tear down and rebuild Terminal D. Houston Airport System Director Mario Diaz detailed the differences, new timeline and budget on Thursday during a meeting of the City Council’s Economic Development Committee.
The new plan will demolish a parking garage to build a new ticketing area in Terminal E. The loss in parking spaces will be offset by adding two additional levels to the Terminal C garage.
The Airport System will also demolish the old Terminal C North — United Airlines already built a new Terminal C North to accommodate the airport’s expansion plan — to make way for six wide-body gates that can accommodate the largest planes calling on Houston.
Source: Houston Chronicle