2nd lounge for military travelers opening at Detroit airport

Associated Press | AP

ROMULUS - Military travelers including their family members and veterans now have a second lounge at Detroit Metropolitan Airport to help make their journeys more pleasant.

The Freedom Center Military Lounge is located at the North Terminal of the airport in Romulus, near Detroit. Since the 2011 opening of the first military lounge at the airport’s McNamara Terminal, those involved in the project say it has hosted more than 200,000 military travelers.

The Masco Foundation contributed $100,000 for the new lounge. One wall is composed of bricks donated by the Michigan Aerospace Foundation and the Yankee Air Museum, which is located at part of an old factory at nearby Willow Run Airport where bombers were made during World War II.

“The creation of a Freedom Center at the North Terminal will ensure that the special needs of all military travelers connecting through Detroit will be met,” Richard Manoogian, chairman emeritus of building products maker Masco Corp., said in a statement ahead of Thursday’s opening.

The new 800-square-foot lounge includes comfortable seating, free Internet access, a large-screen TV and free beverages and snacks. Wixom-based The Petersen Companies, known as TPC, was the general contractor and designer of the new lounge.

“We are proud and pleased to be able to give back to the servicemen and women, and their families, for the constant sacrifice they have made for us and for their vigilance in keeping us safe,” said Arvid Petersen, chairman of TPC.

Michigan Armed Forces Hospitality Center Inc., the nonprofit that operates the lounges, also has other Freedom Center lounges in Troy and Lansing. The lounges also get support from the Wayne County Airport Authority, Meritor, Delta Air Lines and others.