New concourse, more baggage carousels among recommendations for Eugene airport
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A facilities and infrastructure consulting firm has recommended up to $272 million in upgrades at Eugene Airport including a new concourse, improvements to Concourse A to allow for bigger planes, and additional space for ticketing and gate seating.
Eugene’s airport terminal reached full capacity in September 2021, said Airport Director Cathryn Stephens, and the city needs to plan to meet current and future demand.
“Frankly, you don’t really ever want to get to a point where your facility is at full capacity without having a plan forward,” Stephens said. “That’s where we’re at now, is getting going on that plan forward.”
RS&H presented a study in February that’s the “foundation of moving forward,” said Frank Gratton, the firm’s director of aviation architecture design.
The study looks at capacity issues and offers recommendations for expansion. The city's next step is to select a design team that can use the study as a road map, Gratton said.
Demand increased beyond pre-pandemic levels in 2022
Eugene’s terminal was constructed in 1964. There was a major expansion in 1988 and smaller expansions in 2009 and 2014.
The terminal is at capacity despite those expansions. All ticket counters, gates and overnight parking spaces for aircraft are full.
Eugene Airport saw a 75% increase in passengers between 2009 and 2019 when the terminal served nearly 600,000 passengers.
Numbers dropped during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic but recovered nearly to pre-pandemic levels in 2021. The airport then served 30% more passengers in 2022 than in 2019.
Airport officials noted planes have increased in size, not frequency, as passenger demand has grown.
The advanced terminal study expands on a master plan officials adopted in October 2020 as a first step at understanding demand and future facility needs.
Recommendations in 7 different areas of the terminal
The yearlong study resulted in recommendations representing a multimillion-dollar terminal expansion for seven areas:
Ticketing and airline ticketing offices: Relocate and add amenities to airline ticketing offices and add 15,000 square feet for people to stand in line at existing and new ticket counters.
Checked baggage reconfiguration and expansion: Extend the building north to allow more space for baggage screening and support areas and use a fully inline automatic screening system.
Baggage claim: Expand the baggage claim area west and add two new carousels. This would mean relocating the police office area and storage.
Airport administration: Relocate above the checked baggage handling expansion.
Concourse A: Expand seating areas at Gates 2 and 5, relocate Gate 6 and widen the walkway bridge.
Concourse C: Add a new concourse with eight gates and a connecting walkway. The walkway could mean space for a VIP club or airline club and opportunities for artwork, changeable exhibits or other Eugene-centric elements.
Charter terminal: Add a terminal for charter flights, primarily by the University of Oregon, with its own ticketing, screening and baggage areas. A swing gate in the new concourse would allow the use of one gate as either commercial or charter.
RS&H estimates the changes would cost between $232.6 and $272 million:
$18.5 to $21.8 million for baggage claim expansion.
$9.1 to $10.6 million for improvements to Concourse A.
$29.2 to $34.1 million for ticketing expansion.
$42.7 to $4.9 million for checked baggage screening and administration improvements.
$7.7 to $9 million for the charter terminal.
$125.4 to $146.6 million for the new concourse.
Those are high-level cost estimates, said Mark Ip, the project manager and an aviation architect with RS&H. The city could mitigate costs by expanding the terminal in phases, Ip said.
Funding would not come from the city’s general fund budget, Stephens said.
The airport likely would take out bonds it would pay back through a facility charge to airlines and other revenues, she said. There also are grant opportunities, she said.
Airlines sometimes fight airport expansions, Stephens added, but they’re asking for Eugene Airport to build onto the terminal.
Read the study
The entire study is available at eugene-or.gov/DocumentCenter/View/68457/EUG-Advanced-Terminal-Planning-Study.
An executive summary with recommendations and cost information is available at eugene-or.gov/DocumentCenter/View/68456/EUG-Advanced-Terminal-Planning-Executive-Summary. Some of the costs differ from what RS&H presented to the council.
Contact city government watchdog Megan Banta at mbanta@registerguard.com. Follow her on Twitter @MeganBanta_1.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Eugene Airport: New concourse, larger baggage claim recommended
