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Airport Update
Up and Coming
Airports rebound with new and enhanced facilities in 2023. BY MARY MELNICK
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Airports around the world are rebuilding, keeping up with the latest technology and expanding in order to create the easiest, safest and best experience for travelers. In 2023 expect to see not only new terminals but also entirely new airports.
With a brand-new development set to open on the west coast of Saudi Arabia, the Red Sea is one of the world’s most ambitious regenerative tourism destinations, forging a new relationship between luxury tourism and the natural world. Surrounded by the world’s fourth-largest barrier reef system, the site will offer worldleading experiences across its archipelago of more than 90 pristine islands, idyllic beaches, mountain canyons and historic cultural sites.
The Red Sea International Airport is set to open in late December 2023. With 80 percent of the world’s population able to reach the destination in less than eight hours, location plays a significant role. The airport will consist of five pods, or departure lounges, representing the desert’s dunes. Architecture firm Foster + Partners leads the design which will feature greenery spots where travelers can relax before or between flights.
As an alternative to the existing Quatro de Fevereiro Airport, the new Luanda Airport, also known as Angola International Airport, is set to open December 2023. Construction, handled by Odebrecht, has been ongoing since 2008. In June 2022 the new airport launched its first test flight with a TAAG Boeing 777-300ER. With 60 percent of the project complete, the airport is on track for its projected opening. The structure will include three terminals and two runways with the capacity to handle Airbus A380 and Boeing 747 aircraft and is designed to accommodate 15 million passengers and 50,000 tons of cargo annually.
When visiting Tulum, Mexico, travelers currently fly into Cancun International Airport, the closest at about an hour from the destination, but that may change in 2023. As of now, Tulum International Airport is set to open late December 2023, although the date may be pushed back due to low funding. The purpose of this new airport is to help ease traffic at Cancun International.
Other than fully new airports, new, enhanced terminals will open across the United States throughout 2023. The highly anticipated terminal debuts include the late spring opening of Kansas City International Airport’s new Single Terminal, Orlando International Airport’s South Terminal, the Delta Sky Way at Los Angeles International Airport, and new American Airlines and United Airlines Satellite Concourses at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
Inspired Design:
Red Sea International Airport
PHOTO: © FOSTER+PARTNERS
