Friday, August 1, 2003

Hartsfield continues to grow

Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and the Department of Aviation hosted an open house at the Hartsfield Development Program Technical Campus last week to unveil the conceptual designs for the Airport's East International Terminal.

"The City of Atlanta welcomes the addition of the airport's new international terminal to Georgia's growing landscape. Once the 930,000-square-foot complex is completed during the fourth quarter of 2006, it will become a visual tribute to the region's economic growth and prosperity within the international community," said Mayor Franklin.

The EIT project will create a new Concourse F and provide 10 additional passenger gates, thereby, increasing the total number of international gates to 38 at the Airport. The EIT concept also features upgrades to the airport's international passenger service and support facilities, including new concessions, duty free areas, ticketing, baggage handling, general facility modifications and other traveler comforts.

The airport has experienced increases in international passenger traffic by more than 80 percent since the 1996 Summer Olympic Games.

"Even prior to the Summer Olympics, we experienced substantial growth in the number of international passengers," said Ben DeCosta, aviation general manager of Hartsfield Airport. "A world-class city like Atlanta deserves a world-class international terminal, and that's what we intend to build," he added.