Midlands & East Anglia

Redeveloping East Midlands Airport

Redevelopment of Terminal Buildings- East Midlands Airport

East Midlands Airport is part way through a multi-million pound project which is set to upgrade the terminal facilities over a two year phased project.

The extensive redevelopment of the terminal, which dates back to the 1960’s, begun in November 2012 and is due to reach completion by the end of 2014, having vastly improved the overall terminal experience.

The £12 million investment has seen the security search area refurbished, and will also see the terminal space reconfigured, and the retail units expanded with leading high street brands introduced. East Midlands Airport hope the project will make the terminal a pleasanter environment for the 4.3 million passengers that pass through each year.

Tim McDermott, General Manager at East Midlands Airport, said:

“Over the years the airport has developed the terminal building with a number of significant projects; including an extension to the arrivals area, construction of a bus interchange and an environmentally friendly pier, housing additional aircraft gates. This, however, is the first time in 17 years that East Midlands Airport has made this level of investment in the terminal building.

“It is incredibly important that the airport continues to develop its facilities and services to meet both current and future market demands, improve the journey for its passengers and also adapt as the industry continues to evolve.”

The Security Search area will increase the speed that passengers can be processed. The central departure lounge used to house 14 gates and an additional 5 gates could be found on the western pier. The Arrivals area has an hourly capacity of approximately 1,000 passengers an hour. In order to increase the airport’s capacity and enable it to handle up to 10 million passengers a year the facilities have been substantially extended and remodeled.

In September 2013 works were undertaken to construct the new security search hall by main contractor BAM Construction. Large steel trusses were lifted into place by local company Robinson Structures, each measuring 23 metres long and weighing five tones.

Redevelopment of Terminal Buildings- East Midlands Airport

Speaking at the time Contracts Manager at BAM, Jon Kiteley, said:

“It is great to see the steel frame of the new security search hall taking shape. This is a positive indication of the progress of this important project. We are using a number of local companies on this scheme as we make sure we benefit the local economy and environment as well as the passengers and staff who use the airport. When completed, East Midlands Airport will offer an improved transport experience.”

Speaking about the works in September Nicola McCabe, Head of Customer Services at East Midlands Airport, said:

“The completion of the steelwork marks a significant point in the redevelopment and we can really see what the new space will look like. Improving the customer journey is extremely important to us and we’ve listened to customer feedback to improve the areas that matter most to our passengers. The new security hall will create more space in a lighter environment, while also allowing us to look at installing new technology that aims to make the passenger journey more efficient.”

Additional terminal floor-space will be added increasing the space from 32,000 sq metres to 75,000 sq metres. This space will be split over two levels to segregate arrivals and departures and therefore will reduce the overall footprint of the terminal building.

Other facilities that will be added during the development will include additional check-desks, additional security lanes, departure gates and extra border-control desks in Arrivals. Baggage reclaim belts and baggage handling areas will also be installed during the project.

Land to the south and west of the existing terminal which is currently used for passenger car parking will be utilised to create additional floor space in the terminal. Car parking facilities will be re-provided elsewhere on the airport site.

In order to ensure the terminal is as eco-friendly as possible environmentally friendly features are being installed. Existing lighting and chillers will be replaced and natural daylight and ventilation will be utilised. This will lead to an approximate saving of 315 tonnes of carbon emissions and a 15% reduction in energy usage.

Whilst the works are underway the terminal building will remain operational and the project will be completed in phases in a bid to keep passenger disruption to a minimum.

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