Bangor International Airport, Maine, USA

Bangor International Airport (BIA) is a small airport located around three miles from the city of Bangor in Penobscot County, Maine (the site is 2,079 acres). The airport is a public concern owned and operated by the city of Bangor and was formerly an air force base (even now the airport retains some use as a National Guard base).

The airport has a single small terminal building with eight gates and a single runway 11/33 11,439ft long (3,486m, around two miles) and 200ft wide (60m). The runway, first built in 1958, was refurbished in 2001–2002 using a $10m grant from the Department of Defense.

There is also a full-service hotel at the airport, the FourPoints by Sheraton Bangor Airport, which is connected to BIA via an enclosed skywalk.

The airport serves central, eastern, and northern Maine and also parts of Canada and is one of three international airports in the state.

Bangor Airport has an international role for refuelling stops, low-key transfer of military personnel, charter flights from Europe and unscheduled stops for undesirable passengers from Europe (the runway is of a size that can handle any military or commercial airplane).

Bangor also has a large domestic role in the US with flights to major cities such as Boston, Detroit, Philadelphia, New York, Atlanta and Minneapolis. There are however no regular international flights to Canada.

Passenger figures at the airport reached 397,866 in 2007 but are in decline (linked to economics and management) with the highest number occurring in 2005, with a record 487,000 passengers (the airport is however a very convenient refuelling stop and diversion). Allegiant Air (which makes a total of five carriers) is one of Bangor Airport's success stories with a route established from Bangor to Orlando, Florida in November 2007 (Sanford Airport).

BANGOR AIRPORT REFURBISHMENT

In April 2008 the airport received a $2.9m grant from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to upgrade the terminal building and also aviation equipment. The project is due to start in June 2008 and be completed by December 2008.

The construction will add a second storey to the area around gate 1 and give the terminal two levels. There will also be new passenger toilet facilities beyond the security checkpoint (a matter of complaint for many years).

Ed Barrett, city manager said "This [grant] will significantly improve the amenities to passengers beyond the security screening checkpoints and improve our flexibility and utilisation of existing space." There is also funding for upgrading the fire alarm and public address systems and also the terminal seating and furnishings. The FAA grant will fund 95% of the project, 2.5% will be paid by the State Department of Transportation and 2.5% from airport revenue.

During the project gate 1 will not be used (it will be out of action throughout summer 2008). Instead passengers will use the security at gates 2 and 3. Gate 3 is usually reserved for international flights but there will be little or no overlap between international, domestic and military personnel flights. However with some recourse to disruption the retail facilities at the airport may have to relocate during the course of the project.

There are also a number of infrastructure improvements on the cards including a new access road, a new parking garage and an update of the stormwater system at the airport.

UPGRADE PROJECTS

In December 2007 as part of the terminal upgrade SIGNET Electronic Systems, Inc. of Scarborough in Maine installed a new access-control system on secure doors at the airport to improve security. The $500,000 project took a year to complete and required a smart-card system on over 80 doors in both the international and domestic areas of the terminal building.

The system combines elements of a smart-card system and also biometric technology to improve security. The smart system can be programmed to allow access to certain areas according to their identity and what time of the day it is. Wireless (mobile) communications have also recently been improved at the airport by the introduction of a new wireless cell in the area by Verizon.