First look inside Burbank Airport’s $1.3B facelift

Hollywood Burbank Airport’s long-awaited $1.3 billion makeover is finally approaching the finish line.

The airport’s massive Elevate BUR replacement terminal project is now slated for completion by Oct. 13, according to an updated construction timeline released Wednesday.

The new passenger terminal promises to give travelers a major upgrade, featuring a modernized TSA security checkpoint, roomier gate areas and an expanded lineup of restaurants and dining options.

BUR was originally built in 1930, but the almost 100-year-old airport lacked modern safety codes.

Airport officials touted major upgrades, saying the new facility increases the distance between the terminal and the runways while meeting the latest earthquake-resistant building codes and ADA accessibility standards.

Passengers will also get a sprawling 45,900-square-foot aircraft boarding area, a new parking garage equipped with EV charging stations and a redesigned airport access road, according to the airport.

Along with the updated safety improvements, Elevate BUR will have “two levels and a basement, like the existing terminal, but will have more space for a total of 355,000 square feet” for the airport’s fourteen gates.

A new ticketing lobby, airline check-in counters, baggage drop-offs, and new shopping options are also planned.

The long-awaited project was first unveiled in 2023, with crews breaking ground that December.

Construction on the massive overhaul is being spearheaded by the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, which tapped the Holder, Pankow, TEC joint venture to build the new terminal, while Jacobs oversees project management.

The sleek new terminal is rising just north of the airport’s existing building, along San Fernando Road and North Hollywood Way. Once travelers move into the new digs, the decades-old terminal will be torn down, marking the end of an era for the airport.