Feb 28, 2019 - 01:01 pm CST



The 9-gate expansion of the Barbara Jordan Terminal opened on Feb. 21, 2019, on her birthday.

The 9-gate terminal expansion at the Austin airport is now servicing passengers as the 175,000 square foot facility opened its doors to flights and services. Haymaker is now open near Gate 24 and more wayfinding monitors available in ticketing.

Expansion of Barbara Jordan Terminal Opens on Birthday

Happy Birthday to Barbara Jordan. On Feb. 21, the date that the Austin airport’s terminal namesake was born in 1936, the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport opened Phase I of the new 9-gate expansion. The expansion became operational on the day Jordan would have been 83 years old with a Delta, 5:40 a.m. flight to Atlanta.

The completion of Phase I of the expansion includes the opening and operation of the terminal addition, and the north facing jet bridges of Gates 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9 and 11.

Phase II includes the removal of the temporary jet bridges used during construction that are each 720, 560, 440 and 300 feet long. Construction to remove the jet bridges has already started. Phase II also includes the opening of Gates 6, 8, 10 and 12, additional apron work and the completion of the concession and store locations.

Adding nine new gates to the terminal will increase the total number of gates to 34. This includes increasing international flight gates from two to six. The terminal expansion project is nearly 175,000 square feet and includes:

88,359 square feet of concourse space

52,282 square feet of apron level space for baggage makeup conveyors, additional inbound baggage systems, airline operations space, airport support space, and other related ancillary facilities

28,205 square feet of mezzanine and platform level space

5,770 square feet of outdoor east terrace

6,000 tons of steel was used in the construction of the 9-gate expansion

20 consulting firms were engaged with a five-person, all women on-site project delivery team

The paved aircraft area around the terminal was expanded by 48 acres to better accommodate larger and more aircraft and increased overnight aircraft parking at Austin’s airport

Designed to meet LEED Silver certification for overall energy and environmental sustainability.

The original Barbara Jordan Terminal, which opened in 1999, was designed to serve 11 million passengers annually. In 2018, the airport served 15.8 million annual passengers. With the expansion opening, the terminal if stood on end would be taller than the Frost Tower in downtown Austin.

The terminal and apron expansion is a $350 million project to increase the terminal with additional 9-gates. Opening in 1999, the terminal was named after Barbara Jordan, the first African-American to serve in the Texas Senate since Reconstruction and the first African-American woman elected to the U.S. Congress from the South (1972-78). She was the first woman to deliver the keynote address at a national party convention, the Democratic Convention in 1976 and in 1992. Jordan was known for her eloquent opening statement at the House Judiciary Committee hearings during the impeachment process of Richard Nixon.

The first life-sized statue of the late Jordan resides in the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in the lower-level bag claim area. Created by California artist Bruce Wolfe, the bronze sculpture depicts Jordan seated, in deep thought, with her fingertips pressed together; her glasses and a book placed in her lap.

Neighborhood Bar – Haymaker Opens Near Gate 24

Bringing the neighborhood sports bar feel to the Austin airport, Haymaker is now open near Gate 24. A local Austin favorite originally located on Manor Road in Austin, Haymaker is known for delivering regionally inspired, comfort crafted food.

This new 1,645 square foot Haymaker restaurant and bar is open every day at 5 a.m. serving up a full breakfast menu until 10:30 a.m. Haymaker closes at 7:30 p.m. or after the last flight from the gates near the establishment. Haymaker also features an interactive memorabilia wall to promote and embrace Austin’s sports history, including some University of Texas Longhorn pride, and a live music stage.

The new airport location offers a similar menu to the original Haymaker, including their hallmark big and burly open-faced sandwiches on Texas toast and poutine topped with country brown gravy and melting Wisconsin cheese curds.

Operated by Delaware North, the interior follows an industrial bar concept design and has window, bar, and booth seating to accommodate up to 74 people.

New Electronic Displays Helps Passengers With Wayfinding in Ticketing

To help passengers navigate, the Austin airport has replaced static signs in the ticket counter level of the Barbara Jordan Terminal with new wayfinding electronic displays.

There are 16 panels joined together to make eight electronic displays located in front of the Fara Café in the East Ticket lobby and in front of SoCo Market in the West Ticket lobby. The displays give directions to the closest checkpoints, directional information to ATMs, exits to the rental car facility, Ride App, hotel shuttles and taxi pickups, and to the individual airline ticket counters.

There are also real-time estimated security wait times on monitors at each of the three checkpoint entries at the Barbara Jordan Terminal. Passengers can also remotely check the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) wait times and speeds online at the Austin airport at http://aus.tsa.iinside.com.

Tanya Haden and Christina Mendoza contributed to the Haymaker article.