Eppley Airfield’s $950 million terminal expansion and modernization project will increase capacity, but it’s also designed to lower passengers’ anxiety.
When the reconstruction project was being designed back in 2019, the Omaha Airport Authority wanted the terminal layout to be “intuitive,” meaning passengers would naturally know where to go even if there wasn’t any wayfinding signage.
“Eppley has always been known for its convenience,” said Dave Roth, CEO of the Omaha Airport Authority. “We want this terminal to be crisp, clean and efficient.”
Roth said the airport authority doesn’t necessarily want the new terminal to be flashy, rather the goal is for it to be “functional while still looking very classy.”
That intuitive and efficient design was obvious during Grow Omaha’s tour of the under-construction terminal this week. Elevators are immediately visible inside the front entrance, TSA security is just steps from the main escalators and departing passengers are separated from arriving passengers to avoid bottlenecks.
The project expands the terminal from 375,000 sq. ft. to 646,000 sq. ft. It centralizes TSA security, expands the number of gates from 19 to 22 and adds international flight capacity. The upgraded terminal will have 19 restaurant and retail businesses to serve passengers.
Some of the existing building has been demolished, while other parts are being renovated and incorporated into the new project.
“There’s not one inch of this building, were not touching in this project,” said Steve McCoy, Eppley’s Chief Strategy & Technology Officer.
It’s a Herculean effort. About 550 people are working in the construction site each day. That number will increase as the project progresses. And work is being done under challenging conditions – Despite the construction, Eppley must still serve millions of passengers each year.
Several aspects of the project stood out as noteworthy during Grow Omaha’s construction tour:
- Ticketing will move to the second floor. Baggage carousels will remain on the ground floor.
- A third skywalk from the garage to the terminal will be added between the original two. It will connect from the premier parking level right to the second-floor central pavilion. Travelers will only have to walk 75 steps from the garage to the front of the TSA checkpoint.
- Speaking of TSA, security and screening will be consolidated into one, centralized checkpoint in the central pavilion. The checkpoint will have nine TSA lanes with the capacity to add a 10th if needed. For the first time, Eppley will have CLEAR in addition to TSA PreCheck. CLEAR has been described as being similar to a fast pass at a Disney World ride.
- The central pavilion is massive with 33-foot ceilings and a floor space big enough to hold an entire football field including the endzones. In addition to housing the roomy TSA area, the central pavilion will act as a grand hall as well as a shopping mall/food court area. Part of the pavilion’s ceiling will be clad in wood to give the area a “Midwestern look.” Work is currently underway on the terrazzo floors. Colors and patterns throughout the airport are designed “age well” and not be too trendy.
- Plans call for large art installations in the central pavilion. A 16-foot sculpture in the food court area will convey tall prairie grass in the wind. Art at the front entrance will mimic birds flying. “The whole art program encapsulates the beauty of Nebraska’s prairie landscapes,” Roth said.
- The terminal splits into north and south concourses on either side of the central pavilion. Just to the south of the pavilion will be Eppley’s first passenger lounge to be operated by Escape Lounges. Members will enter on the main floor and take either stairs or an elevator upstairs. The lounge features large windows looking down at the airfield operations. The lounge will have a bar, dedicated restrooms, a buffet bar and lots of seating.
- Each gate will have expanded space for passengers waiting to board planes. Omaha’s current gate-waiting areas average 1,500 sq. ft. The new terminal provides 2,600 sq. ft. per gate.
- The number of restrooms is being tripled. The largest women’s restroom will have 28 stalls. The terminal will also feature five mother’s rooms and five family restrooms. There will also be service-animal relief areas.
- The airport authority is investing $40 million into the baggage-handling facility alone. That will allow more bags to flow through the facility in a shorter period of time. The baggage facility will have 1.25 miles of conveyor belts and much more room for TSA bag screening. The public-facing baggage carousel area will be 50 feet deeper than the current facility so passengers won’t feel so crowded. There will continue to be six carousels, but they’ll be longer. Two of them will have international flight capability.
While the terminal project won’t be 100 percent complete until 2028, the traveling public will start using the central pavilion and many of the new concourse gates in early 2027. The final part of project will be the international gates on the far north end.
“By the summer of ’27, it’ll be a totally different travel experience at Eppley,” Roth said.
And what if Eppley’s passenger loads keep growing in future years? The good news is that future expansion is programmed into the design. The concourse can be extended significantly both north and south. The recently completed utility plant has plenty of excess capacity, so as Omaha continues to grow, Eppley is positioned to grow right alongside it.
