Burbank airport's $1.3 billion terminal opens Oct. 13: new entrance, Lot E closing

-

Headline graphic: New terminal opens Oct. 13, over a file photo of the current Hollywood Burbank Airport terminal and control tower

Cover photo: File photo (current terminal) by Ponderosapine210, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; cropped, darkened and text added by The Southbound 105.

By The Southbound 105 | Oct. 3, 2026

BURBANK — Hollywood Burbank Airport will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday, Oct. 5, for its nearly $1.3 billion replacement passenger terminal, eight days before the 14-gate building opens to travelers on Tuesday, Oct. 13, Pasadena Now reported.

The 355,000-square-foot terminal has the same number of gates as the airport has now, but it is about 50% larger than the current two-terminal layout, according to the Los Angeles Times. The project includes 14 restaurants and a new parking structure, and baggage claim carousels move indoors, ABC7 reported.

What changes for travelers on Oct. 13

When the new terminal opens, the airport's main entrance moves to Winona Avenue and Hollywood Way. It is now off Thornton Avenue. The parking structure and valet service move to the new terminal that day, and Lot E closes permanently. Rental cars stay at the Regional Intermodal Transportation Center, with shuttles to the new terminal, according to Pasadena Now.

The new parking structure next to the terminal will hold 2,007 spaces, including 400 valet spots, while the airport's total number of parking spaces stays at 6,637, the Times reported. The walk from the entrance to the farthest gate drops from about 1,600 feet to 1,285 feet. One Burbank tradition stays: passengers will still walk across the tarmac and climb stairs to board, rather than using enclosed jet bridges.

Airport officials told the Times the change will not affect the number of flights or the airport's operating hours, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Safety project or bigger airport?

The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, which the three cities created in 1977 to own and run the airport, describes the work as a safety project, not a capacity expansion. It says the terminal is designed to serve the same size aircraft as the current one.

The existing terminal dates to the airport's 1930 opening and sits inside the runway object free area, a zone beside the runways that federal rules say must be kept clear, Patrick Lammerding, the airport's deputy executive director of operations, safety management systems and security, told the Times. The taxi lanes to and from the gates also sit in the runway safety area. Officials say the new design moves the terminal from as little as 257 feet from the nearest runway to about 880 feet, bringing it into line with Federal Aviation Administration standards. The old building also does not meet current state seismic standards, the Times reported.

"The opening of the replacement passenger terminal and the demolition of the existing terminal correct this condition and comply with all current FAA design standards," Lammerding said.

Some San Fernando Valley neighbors don't buy the safety-only framing. In an Aug. 23 post, the group Sherman Oaks & Encino for Quiet Skies wrote that critics and aviation watchdogs note that "gates do not equal capacity." The group said community advocates believe the terminal is designed to absorb traffic demand generated by FAA flight-path changes rolled out in 2016 and 2017, according to Pasadena Now.

Burbank voters approved the replacement terminal as Measure B in November 2016 with 70% of the vote, after years of disagreement between the city and the authority. That year the three cities also changed the agreement that governs the authority to require a supermajority vote, including at least two commissioners from each city, to add commercial airline gates.

Cost and funding

Ground was broken Jan. 25, 2024. A July 2026 project status report lists an estimated cost at completion of $1.272 billion, with 85% of funding secured, Pasadena Now reported. The authority says no state, county or city money from Burbank, Glendale or Pasadena will be used; the project is funded through airport revenue bonds, federal grants, passenger facility charges and authority funds.

The airport reported about 6.2 million arriving and departing passengers in 2025, and its nine resident airlines fly to about 30 nonstop destinations, the Times reported. Pasadena Councilmember Tyron Hampton, the authority's president, is set to preside over Monday's ceremony. The current terminal is to be demolished after the move.

Sources

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Flea-borne typhus outbreak confirmed in Wilshire Center as LA County cases keep climbing

-
Image
Seven people sickened and six hospitalized in the county's second neighborhood typhus cluster of 2026. Health officials say the risk reaches well beyond Koreatown. LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County health officials are investigating an outbreak of flea-borne typhus in Wilshire Center, the dense Mid-Wilshire neighborhood that overlaps Koreatown, after seven people with symptoms were linked to the cluster. Six of the seven were hospitalized. All have recovered, the Department of Public Health said when it announced the outbreak on Tuesday, Sept. 22. It is the second flea-borne typhus outbreak the department has reported this year. The first, announced July 29, involved five people in nearby Pico-Union; all five were hospitalized and later recovered. Countywide, Public Health has counted 109 typhus cases so far in 2026. As of Friday, Sept. 25, the department had not announced any additional cases tied to the Wilshire Center cluster. As flea-borne typhus cases continue to inc...
Read more

Tropical Storm Rachel surf forces evacuations on Long Beach Peninsula; 8 buildings red-tagged

-
Image
Cover photo: File photo (Alamitos Bay and the Peninsula, 2015; not storm damage) by Don Ramey Logan , CC BY 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons; cropped, darkened and text added by The Southbound 105. By The Southbound 105 | Oct. 10, 2026 LONG BEACH — Long Beach ordered oceanfront residents on the Peninsula to leave their homes Friday night after surf from Tropical Storm Rachel broke through the bulkhead that protects Seaside Walk, sending seawater into homes and side streets. The mandatory evacuation order covers homes on Seaside Walk between 64th and 66th places, the 6400 and 6500 blocks. It took effect at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9, and runs through noon Tuesday, Oct. 13, city officials said, adding that the return date could change as conditions evolve. Residents of nine properties were told to go. Eight buildings too dangerous to enter City inspectors red-tagged eight buildings, covering 13 addresses, in the 6400 and 6500 blocks of Seaside Walk, meaning they are considered too dangero...
Read more

Nightclub, Tahiti trip and ‘ghost’ clients: Feds charge three in LA homelessness-fraud crackdown

-
Image
A Culver City nonprofit founder is accused of diverting more than $7.5 million meant for homeless housing through sham vendors. His arraignment is set for Oct. 22, and prosecutors say more cases are coming. LOS ANGELES — Federal prosecutors on Wednesday, Sept. 16, charged three people tied to Los Angeles-area homelessness nonprofits with fraud and bribery, alleging that money meant to house unhoused people paid instead for a nightclub, luxury travel, a vintage car restoration and video games. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, HUD Secretary Scott Turner and District Attorney Nathan Hochman were among the officials at the downtown announcement. “Nobody was minding the shop. There's no vetting. There's no auditing. There's no accounting. It was just a rush to push as much money out the door. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, responding to a question from LAist All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty; the charges are allegations. ...
Read more