Airport Business

APR 2016

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SPECIAL FEATURE 18 airportbusiness April 2016 "Back in those days, the '50s, '60s, '70s, flying was a pretty prestigious thing," he said. "Most of those who had flown were business men or people of substantial means. Back in those days, most of us were still getting in the family car, driving four days to Yellowstone, spending two days there, then driving four days back. "Now the airports have become mini shop- ping malls, where you can buy clothing items or shoes if you forgot them at home, and the food and beverage options have significantly expanded. I remember in the '60s there was barely a lunch counter in the airport, but today it's a $200 million enterprise." A BETTER AIRPORT BUILT When Hamiel started at the airport, MSP was moving about 8.3 million passengers per year. Now more than 36 million come through per year and projections place growth to more than 50 million by 2030. Leaders in the Twin Cities area knew changes were needed in order to meet growth and serve the community as best as possible, so in the 1990s they began exploring options for addressing those needs. Hamiel said the "MSP 2010 Building a Better Airport" plan was forged to meet the challenges and prepare MSP for future demands. The plan paved the way for new Terminal 2-Humphrey; new Terminal 1-Lindbergh concourses A and B and additional gates on Concourse C; a fourth runway; new parking, transit and auto rental facilities; new cargo facilities; improved aircraft deicing and storm water retention facilities; new roadways; installation of light rail tunnels and stations; and replacement of hundreds of acres airfield pavement. The MAC needed to address issues with noise pollution, growth, and safety issues around the airport and Hamiel said one of the options included the idea of building a brand new airport about 15 to 20 miles from the cur- rent MSP location. There was a lot of merit to building a new airport, he said, but the more than $3 billion in upgrades to the current facil- ity worked. The airport has worked to address noise problems near the airport as part of the plan, which Hamiel said is the most expansive noise limitation work done in the world. Millions was spent insulating about 15,000 nearby homes to combat noise and nighttime flights were adjusted to mitigate noise issues. "Looking back on this, we made the right decision when we took this up in 2005," he said. "It was the right decision because if we had just built a new airport we would have been carrying about $7-$8 billion in debt into this past recession. "But at some point in the future, the new executive director is going to have to take a look at building a new airport." Hamiel said he's stepping down now because the airport is working on its 2035 plans and it's something the new leaders should guide, such as addressing parking issues with a new major parking facility along with han- dling the contract out to build a hotel on loca- tion at the airport. Terminals 1 and 2 need expansion and more gates and the airport is starting a $2.5 billion runway program. "We've got a lot of things in the works right now," he said. "We're on the very beginning of the next 10-15 years of plans and we just fin- ished a $3.2 billion expansion in 2015." A NEW FUTURE Hamiel said the MAC has a more than $10 billion per year economic impact on the Twin MAC CAREER OF JEFF HAMIEL f 1977: 8.4 million passengers travel through MSP f 1985: Named chairman, executive director and chief executive officer for the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) f 1992: Oversaw the provision of more than $300 million in financing to Northwest Airlines f 1996: Minnesota State Legislature opts to expand current airport f 1998: Retired as a Lieutenant Colonel from the Air Force Reserve f 2001: Named to executive committee of the University of Minnesota's Center for Transportation Studies f 2001: Named chairman of Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) Board f 2003: Inducted into the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame f 2005: Northwest Airlines files for Bankruptcy f 2008: Delta Air Lines purchases Northwest f 2009: Named to Hamline University Board of Trustees f 2014: 35 million passengers travel through MSP

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