CALGARY – The new international terminal under construction at Calgary International Airport has been delayed, and is now slated to open in the fall of next year.
“We’re on schedule to finish out construction probably the end of this year, maybe the latest January of 2016,” said Garth Atkinson, CEO of the Calgary Airport Authority.
“But then we have about six months for the tenants to come in. So the airlines, all the retail concessionaires, the lounge people – they all have to come in. So there’s about six months of work they have to do after we’re finished,” he added.
The terminal was originally scheduled to open in the fall of this year. But Atkinson, in his annual report to city council, said the airport authority has had to make some design adjustments.
“We started this design a decade ago – good news, we’ve reacted to some regulatory changes mid-stream. When we open we want it to be the finest terminal in Canada,” he said.
For his part, Mayor Naheed Nenshi doesn’t mind the delay. The mayor says it makes sense to get it right from the start.
“In my past life, I had to fly through the Denver International Airport every week, and this was a couple of years after they opened, and they were still having trouble with their baggage system,” said Nenshi.
“So hopefully we’ll open it properly and open it well, and I have faith in the airport authority to be able to do that.”
A highlight of the new terminal will be the indoor Compact Transit System (CTS), which will shuttle passengers and their luggage across the entire airport.
The goal is to make it easier for travelers to make domestic and international connections without having to go through security a second time.
“It’ll be a driver-driven, electric vehicle with service on a scheduled basis,” said Atkinson after the council meeting.
Atkinson said a firm date for the grand opening will be set at the end of 2015, or early in 2016.
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