San Francisco's old international terminal, which shut in 2000, is to undergo renovation and reopen as a domestic terminal in 2010.
The US$383m renovation of San Francisco International's Terminal 2 will include a new control tower and four gates, bringing the total to 14.
Virgin America is the only confirmed tenant so far for the refurbished terminal.
Operations ceased at Terminal 2 in December 2000 when the new US$950m international terminal was opened, as part of a US$2.5bn airport masterplan.
Airport officials wanted to convert the terminal to domestic use by the third quarter of 2001, but the decline of air traffic in the wake of the September 11 attacks deferred the project indefinitely.
San Francisco architecture, design, planning and consulting firm Gensler is the primary architect, and Turner Construction Co is the contractor.
By Elizabeth Clifford-Marsh
