ORLANDO, Fla. - The Orlando International Airport has announced an opening date for the new Terminal C.
The $2.75 billion project will open over a two-week span.
International flights will start on Sept. 19. Domestic flights will start on Sept. 26.
"Although we could open before Labor Day, it is best that we transition airline operations and our customers at a period with less passenger travel than our normal peak summer season," Chief Executive Officer Kevin Thibault said. "As we get closer to those dates we will notify the board and the community on various milestones, as well as events to commemorate this exciting opportunity."
Thibault says this is the largest construction project ever in the history of the airport.
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Several factors went into choosing the opening dates, including volume of passengers, difficulty of transition for airline partners, and maintaining good customer service throughout the airport.
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"We want to ensure that from day one, Terminal C will be ready to accommodate our growing air service demands while providing the utmost in customer convenience," said Carson Good, Board Chairman of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority. "Going ‘Beyond The Orlando Experience’ has always been our goal for this facility and we’re confident that when it opens, it will exceed those expectations."
The new terminal will help Florida’s busiest airport flow faster and more effectively. Last year, the airport saw 41 million passengers making it the 17th busiest airport in the world, according to Airports Council International.
New features include industry firsts like automated screening lanes at TSA and facial recognition for international flights.