What improvements does your local airport need the most?

I live at YHM and we need Jetways and I think a large amount to terminal expansion or even a new terminal. Also expansion to the apron.

What does you airport need?

Jetways to regional jets!! It would make the city a much better candidate if they had these!!!

LGA needs to extend its runway they built it too short, they say they are going to but i think they are waiting for a few more planes to go into the river

Here in Montreal, we should only have 1 airport, not 2. Mirabel sucks, Dorval rules. Mirabel is only charter and cargo while Dorval is schedueled flights. You don't know how much we are loosing out of C3 and Royal because their forced to fly to Mirabel. The damn airport is 1 hour away from Montreal WITHOUGHT TRAFFIC ON THE HIGHWAYS!!! If only all flights were at Dorval, it would be great!

Dorval is small but they are making a MAJOR expansion. 15 gates will be added and 2 new concourses will be hadling trans-border and international flights. Dorval is the airport of the futur!

You can view the photo of the expansion at http://www.cam.org/~hill/YULextention.JPG .
It is a great photo and I think you should go see it for yourself!

My home airport(HKG) definitely needs a spotting area for spotters because staffs of the Airport Authority does not like spotters to stand slong the side of the airport to take photos.

Here in DUS we currently have the following deficiencies:
1. The main RWY (23L/05R) is too short for many intercontinental routes (its length being just around 9800ft.). There have been discussions concerning an extension of the RWY for more than a decade now but it still seems unlikely that any plans will come to life in the current political situation.
2. A court verdict from the Sxties is currently limiting the number of air traffic movements to single runway capacity (despite we also have a second, parallel one here). It is currently unter consideration to lift this ban, but due German planning laws, it might take another couple of years until all Federal courts have agreed to this application.

Anyway, we will finally get a couple of new terminals by 2004! After two out of three terminals were severely contaminated after the airport fire of 1996, DUS has started to constructed a new S-shaped main terminal building with three terminal fingers and highspeed rail access. So that's good news...

Well my local is now LHR (used to be STN).

Heathrow pretty much has everything you need, except that it never seems to catch up with itself in terms of capacity. Maybe thats just the sign of a succesful airport/gateway.

Perhaps its biggest weakness is public transport from all sides except London. Both STN and LGW are serviced by 'thru' train services whereas LHR has rail terminals.

A cheaper carpark would also be handy, hello BAA, anyone listening...?

Raleigh-Durham needs a bunch of work.

1st. more gates
2nd. new terminal a.k.a. back to number one
3rd. more parking always seems like christmas now
4th. more gates
5th. curb side check in
6th. remodel current terminals
7th. new runway
8th. tram service connecting terminals
9th. a food court
10th yet more parking
11th. non-stops to west coast
12th more international service
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125th. circus midgets  

My home airport Wilmington (ILM), NC would benefit from the following expansions:

1. Jetways to regional aircraft instead of walking halfway across the apron.

2. MORE SERVICE!!!!

3. Expanding the current terminal where 1/3 of it is unfinished to put in more gates and shops.

4. Possibly longer runways- the main rwy can(and has) handle Air Force One.

I also know that RDU needs alot more expansions with parking.

usairwys4lyfe@hotmail.com

Here at my airport of Watertown,SD we need a new termanal the one we have now hasn't changed sence the 60's I think, it is so bad i even think the roof leekes.

Miami needs more space which aint gonna happen.
more english speaking people
higher and wider walkways
more domestic flights
independent airport authority instead of the county
demolish concourse C and G
a fifth runway
American Airlines to beef up its hub instead of remainig stagnant for the past 6yrs

ROC: Less props and RJ's and more jet service from more airlines.

SAN needs, well, A WHOLE NEW AIRPORT because the current is so crappy. If that doesn't happen, though, SAN will need to:

1. Completely overhaul 75% of the terminals (demolish and rebuild is the best way)

2. Build an international terminal (there is already an int. arrrivals hall being considered.

3. More terminals in general!

4. Lengthen the runway or build a whole new runway to accomodate fully loaded 747s, 777s and A340s. Unfortunately this will not happen efficiently because of the several large hills (and subsequently the people living on them) boxing in the airport. But the amount of traffic able to use the airport would still be the same because of the ways the runways could be constructed. So the only way to get around this is to:

5. Evict the thousands of people in the heavily populated areas around the airport, demolish the buildings & infrastructure and flatten the large hills in front and beside the airport to pave the way for the badly needed construction.

So in other words, construction on SAN would not be as useful as a completely new airport would be!

Aaron G.

Is the fourth runway done yet? I aggree with you about everything else, American better watch out before someone else figures out they havn't changed since Pan Am. I do have to say they are atleast trying to work on the airport, it has changed a lot in the past 5 years or so. That new control tower is saying something.

LGA needs longer runways, a major remodeling since some of their buildings look like a throw back to the 1950s. EWR, JFK, and LGA can use a nice sky mall and a great indoor/outdoor place to go and spot and take pictures of planes. I'm glad to see that the remodeling at EWR made it a better airport and JFK will look great once the remodleing of Terminal 2, the new AA terminal, New parking garages, building of the sky train and the teardown of the old international terminal and building of the new one will be complete. LGA can also use a much newer control tower which is higher, has new navigational equipment and one that doesn't look so damn ugly.

Here in Key West we need:

RJ SERVICE
RJ SERVICE
RJ SERVICE

Currently we don't have RJ service because the runway is too short by 200 ft. The runway is 4800ft, but the airline's or airport's insurance companies, I don't know which, will only allow the airlines' current regoinal jets to fly here if the runway is 5000ft. Lengthening the runways was proposed but the many didn't like the idea.

Sadly at HPN, we can do nothing, as the airport gets no respect from the county government. They forced laws on the airport limiting the number of flights, oppose expansion, and have stupidly approved new construction of residential buildings a few hundred feet from the threshold of the runway! If an airplane ever lands short, there will be a very serious catastrophe because he'll be going into a house, not the open field that used to be there. This airport has a lot of potential to ease congestion at LGA, but the county refuses to consider any potential benefits...  

The first thing that comes to my mind is: Frankfurt needs better carparks at Terminal 1. The current situation is awful, labyrinthic. Though I´ve parked there more than a hundred times, I still don´t see a clear system, its a mess. You have to walk for miles when you have a flight going from the new Gates at Terminal 1. Also the whole gigantic Carpark/Hotel-Complex is incredibly ugly in its drab dirty concrete grey - a perfect setting for a horror film.

What a contrast to the airy terminal 2 glass-architecture.

At ALB, there are only 2 items that are lacking -

1. we need longer runways

2. we need direct highway access.

The airport has just been redone along w/a new parking garage (in the process of being added on to!) and a new economy lot, a new (underutilized) cargo facility, we've been able to lure SW because of the new facilities, and I hear nothing but complements on the new layout and buildings. We may not get larger planes as a result of longer runways, but direct highway access would dramatically alleviate traffic congestion on the roadways around the airport, especially around rush hours.

Regards,
TR

DCA is a wonderful airport, and there's only one thing that I think it really *needs*--an observation deck. There are precious few areas of the terminal building where you can watch aircraft landing unobstructed, which forces planespotters out onto Gravelly Point. Admittedly, this is a nice way to see planes land, flying just a couple hundred feet above your head, but travellers passing through should have the option of getting good, unobstructed views of the apron from within the terminal.

Other possible suggestions:

1.) Replace the old finger concourse that used to house the old gates 15, 16 & 17 with a new concourse. Face it, National's gates will soon reach critical mass, and they'll need more space to expand.

2.) Knock down the old interim terminal (now once again a hangar) and replace it with a state-of-the-art commuter terminal, complete with jetways for regional jets.

3.) Replace the old ticketing counters in the Main Terminal with shops and restaurants to promote its continued use in the future. As it stands now, this beautiful, historic building is being ignored in favor of the new terminal, and has been relegated, for the moment, to being little more than a connecting walkway between the North Concourse and National Hall.

IAD sorely needs the proposed underground rail connection between the terminals, as well as Metro access. It's rumored that there is actually a real Metro station buried in the Dulles parking lot, built years and years ago in anticipation of the DART (Dulles Access Rail Transportation) line. That never was built, but the rumors that a station is down there still exist. To boot, there's a covered, circular concrete slab at the front of the parking lot that corresponds to the size of a Metro platform elevator. Hmm.

What I would like to see is United, Northwest, and US Airways use some of their new quiet fuel efficient A319s & A320s to replace their old noisy 737-200s & DC-9s on some of their routes in and out of ALB.

POS needs a new terminal! Period. It is getting one though. The new building will be opened in August 2000 and will be much larger than its predecessor, able to handle 2-3 million passengers annually. It will feature 14 gates including 12 jetways, new parking lots, ramps and a parallel taxiway north of the runway. Other amenities are being provided for within the new terminal and alongside it construction is proceeding on a new postal headquarters nearby. In anticipation of the new terminal a new catering facility was built 5 years ago.

So, we do not have much to complain about here... yet.

 
Trintocan.

my local airport VIX(Brazil), really needs another terminal to be built!!! Also it would need to build another runway! So we could receive some larger planes like 767 and so.!!!!!

the rest is ok

Wow good question, well I work over at Twitchells a small airport in Maine Rw length is 2350 and the other is a grass strip. well first we need a new runway lol then we need to take a bulldozer and runover everything that stands and build somekind of viewing area. Not to bash the airport hey i do have a job there but there are just things to be said about it. another thing is that they should move the airplanes that have crashed into a sepereate area where people dont see them 

Hey Ray. Hamilton is a great airport to fly in and out of. No lineups, no waiting and it isn't Toronto with all its associated traffic problems. Yes perhaps jetways but there is really nothing better than walking across the tarmac to your aircraft and going up the airstairs. ( mind you, I know what Hamilton can be like in the winter )

Nearly every airport needs a good viewing area from which arrivals and departures can be seen, heard and photographed. If this were to happen I would be most content. In times of needed revenue this may be another way for airports and their governing authorities to raise a little cash for a very small initial investment.

How bout it all you airport management types ?

Copper1