A new era arrived Tuesday morning at Hollywood Burbank Airport.
The airport’s nearly $1.3 billion replacement passenger terminal opened to travelers after a decades-long effort to replace an aging buildings that opened in 1930. The old terminal’s proximity to the runways raised longstanding safety concerns.
The new 355,000-square-foot facility replaces the existing 232,000-square-foot complex.
The new terminal, located on the opposite side of the airfield, will retain the airport’s 14 gates while offering expanded security screening areas, additional passenger amenities and a new parking structure, according to airport officials.
Travelers will also encounter changes to airport access, with the main entrance moving to Winona Avenue and Hollywood Way from its longtime location off Thornton Avenue.
Valet service will move to the new terminal, and Lot E will close permanently. Rideshare passengers will use a new pickup lot near the terminal, while rental-car customers will take shuttles to the existing consolidated rental-car facility across Hollywood Way.
The Burbank Airport-North Metrolink station will be connected to the new terminal by a pedestrian path and on-demand shuttle.
The new terminal features expanded Transportation Security Administration screening areas, additional charging ports and kiosks and a baggage claim area with three carousels in a single indoor hall.
Passengers will continue to board and deplane aircraft outdoors rather than through covered jet bridges, maintaining one of the airport’s longtime operating practices.
The terminal also meets current seismic and accessibility standards and operates entirely on electricity, according to airport officials.
Planning for a replacement terminal dates to the 1980s, when the Federal Aviation Administration determined the existing terminal was too close to the runway to provide an adequate aircraft safety margin. The project stalled for decades amid neighborhood opposition before Burbank voters approved Measure B in November 2016 with 70% of the vote, clearing a major hurdle for construction.
Ground was broken in January 2024.
Airport officials conducted a series of operational tests leading up to the opening, including a Sept. 19 trial involving 1,500 volunteers who tested parking, ticketing, baggage handling, security screening and gate operations.