Metropolitan Airports Commission Holds Open House on Upcoming Development Plans

The Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) presented future development plans alongside forecasts of likely aviation activity for the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) at an open house Thursday night.

With the airport's proximity to neighborhoods in surrounding cities including Mendota Heights, the public forum was meant to publicize the commission’s plans for both federal and state environmental assessments regarding two different development options currently being considered by the commission.

While MAC has also considered a "no action" plan, which would leave the airport as-is, on Thursday the public was given a chance to look over two significant construction options, currently termed “airlines remain” and “airlines relocate,” and ask questions of commission members and others involved in the project.

The commission contends that levels of service at the airport, particularly at Terminal 1, or the Lindbergh Terminal, are already unacceptable and will simply continue to deteriorate as plane and human traffic at the airport grows.

“As traffic grows at MSP, there is a land-side need for development,” said Roy Fuhrmann, director of environment for the MAC.

During peak winter periods, traffic at Terminal 2, or the Humphrey Terminal, is also a concern for the commission.

Fuhrmann reported that the MSP Airport’s “land-side” facilities—parking, curbside service space, terminal complexes and security screening locations—are not adequate for current customer needs. The problem will only be compounded as the airport grows.

Giving an example, Fuhrmann reported that on Wednesdays and Thursdays, the parking facilities surrounding Terminal 1 fill up, forcing overflow to parking lots at Terminal 2. As a result fliers must be diverted to park, after which they may ride the light rail or take a shuttle back to Lindbergh.

“That’s a workable process, but it’s an inconvenience to the customers as well, and as the number of passengers grows from where we’re at today with 34 to 37 million passengers, the projections are looking at 44 to 55 million passengers by 2030,” he said.

Between 2010 and 2020 the airport anticipates roughly 2.6 percent cumulative growth in the number of passengers using the MSP Airport each year.

While that may not sound like a lot, the figure means the airport will see more than nine million additional passengers each year. The airport has plenty of capacity to accommodate air traffic—enough runways and taxiing lanes are available to both commercial and passenger airliners—but is lacking the proper space to accommodate those passengers once they’re at the airport itself. Hence the plans for further development, part of the commission’s long-term comprehensive plan, published in July 2010.

The “Airlines Go” Development Plan

Under this plan, which was originally suggested by Northwest Airlines before it began running into problems with bankruptcy, airlines like United, Continental and American Airlines would be moved to Terminal 2. These airlines largely serve their customers at gates along Concourse E at Terminal 1, and would be relocated, in part, so Delta Airlines could expand into that space.

Fuhrmann said that airlines currently serving customers through  Concourse E are more predominantly catering to local fliers, meaning those most likely to park their car at the airport.

Given the trend, he explained it would benefit those airlines' customers if their flights were relocated to Terminal 2, where parking is more readily available. Development under this plan would also entail additional parking being built at Terminal 1, as well as construction to expand curbside facilities.

The “Airlines Remain” Development Plan

While space would be freed up by moving certain carriers to Terminal 2, the “airlines remain” plan would leave all airliners in their present locations and instead expand part of Terminal 1.

The airport could more efficiently handle international and domestic customers by creating corridors for individual flights where none presently exist, allowing international and domestic passengers to share a concourse simultaneously. Presently certain concourses at Terminal 1 are forced to partially shut-down when an international flight arrives, as the airport lacks adequate security checkpoints and the means to partition international customers.

Additional parking facilities would also be built where the post office is housed. Delta Airlines would need to re-configure some of its maintenance facilities at the airport as well.

While funding for the development is borne by the airport entirely, it won’t come cheap. No reliable estimates currently exist, but the final figure will likely be somewhere in the high-hundreds of millions of dollars to more than $1 billion.

According to the project's schedule, public forums regarding airport noise—something the city of Mendota Heights has traditionally taken a keen interest in—will be held at the beginning of November 2011.