The Burbank airport new terminal opened to passengers on 13 October 2026, eight days after officials cut the ribbon on 5 October. The nearly $1.3 billion building replaces Hollywood Burbank Airport's 1930s-era terminal with a 355,000 sq ft (about 33,000 m²) hall designed by Corgan with CannonDesign. It keeps the same 14 gates, moves to the far side of the airfield, and is one of only two all-electric airport facilities in the United States, according to officials.
Key takeaways
- The dates. The ribbon-cutting was held on Monday 5 October 2026 in the new ticketing hall; passenger service began on Tuesday 13 October, with an Alaska Airlines departure at about 7 a.m.
- Bigger, not busier. The terminal grows from 232,000 sq ft to 355,000 sq ft, but stays at 14 gates. Officials call it a replacement, not an expansion.
- The cost. The airport authority puts the total at $1,298,700,000, and says no state, county or city money from Burbank, Glendale or Pasadena was spent.
- The design. Corgan's sweeping entry canopy and angled columns are meant to recall the searchlights of Hollywood premieres.
- Carbon. The building is all-electric, carries rooftop solar panels and is pursuing LEED Gold.
Update, 14 October 2026: opening day
The first departure from the new building was an Alaska Airlines flight to Santa Rosa, which left at about 7 a.m. on Tuesday 13 October, MyNewsLA reported; the first arrival, from Las Vegas, landed shortly before 7:30 a.m., according to LAist. Passenger service in the old terminal was scheduled to end the day before, on 12 October, Pasadena Now noted.
LAist found the hall already busy before the first plane landed and the day largely smooth, apart from some last-minute gate changes and screens showing the wrong information. Not everyone had heard about the move: airport staff were posted at the old building to send travellers across the airfield, AirlineGeeks reported, citing the Los Angeles Times. The first reactions were about scale rather than spectacle. "It's like a neighborhood airport," one Calabasas passenger told ABC7, which is roughly what the airport authority set out to keep.
The opening also confirms the details that matter on the ground. Travellers pass through a single eight-lane security checkpoint, under ticketing-hall ceilings of 48 ft (about 15 m); the roof carries a 750-kilowatt solar array; and the new garage has about 310 EV charging ports in its self-park levels, according to Pasadena Now. Boarding is still on foot across the apron. The old 1930s terminal, renovated and enlarged in the 1970s and 1980s, is expected to be demolished in 2027, according to AirlineGeeks.
What happened: the Burbank airport new terminal is finished
More than 1,000 people gathered for the ceremony on 5 October, myBurbank reported. Senator Adam Schiff, California Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin and Burbank Mayor Tamala Takahashi spoke, and Pasadena Now quotes Schiff calling the project "a testament to how we can work together to transform our local infrastructure."
The building has been a long time coming. In the 1980s the Federal Aviation Administration found the old terminal too close to the runway for an adequate safety margin, NBC Los Angeles reports; Engineering News-Record puts the gap at 250 ft (76 m). Neighbourhood opposition stalled every plan until Burbank voters passed Measure B in November 2016, with 70% of the vote. Ground was broken on 25 January 2024 and the steel topped out in January 2025, according to the Elevate BUR project site. On 19 September, about 1,500 volunteers rehearsed a full day of travel in the building, and the airport reported 98% positive feedback.
The money came from airport revenue bonds, federal grants, passenger facility charges and authority funds. The project site breaks it down as a $1.11 billion guaranteed maximum price for design and construction, $164 million in owner costs, and $24.4 million to demolish the old terminal and garage.
The building: a canopy for the arrival
Commissioners chose the scheme, called "The Icon", from three concepts on 17 April 2023. Its argument is made at the curb. A long canopy, folded and curved, reaches out from the entrance over the plaza and the drop-off, and its perforated metal underside, which Corgan calls the "Silver Screen", runs on into the double-height hall. The angled columns that hold it up recall premiere searchlights. It is a film-set reference, but a useful one: in the San Fernando Valley sun, deep shade at the door matters more than any logo.
Inside, ceilings rise to almost 50 ft (15 m), and full-height glazing frames the Verdugo Mountains from the corridors and gate lounges. The interiors mix Art Deco and midcentury touches with pale wood ceilings and bronze and champagne accents. Baggage claim moves indoors into one hall with three carousels. Passengers will still walk across the apron to their aircraft, as they always have at Burbank. There are no jet bridges.
The carbon story is unusually concrete for an airport. The terminal is fully electric, including its kitchens, with no combustion on site, Corgan says. Solar-control glazing, deep overhangs and west-facing shading cut heat gain; LED lighting, daylight controls and demand-controlled ventilation trim the load further. Photovoltaic panels sit on the roof. The plaza is planted with native species and irrigated with recycled grey water. The seven-level garage has about 2,000 spaces, 900 of them EV-capable according to ENR, which reported that Burbank Water and Power was building a new substation to meet the extra demand. The team is pursuing LEED Gold certification.
Why it matters
Burbank's charm has always been its smallness: a short walk from the curb to the plane, with the mountains behind. The risk of a $1.3 billion replacement was that it would trade that for the generic airport of corridors and jet bridges. The early verdicts suggest it has not. Omishakin told CBS Los Angeles that the designers "didn't want to lose that sort of nostalgic feeling from the other terminal." Keeping the gate count and the walk to the aircraft is a deliberate choice of scale, and the canopy turns the arrival into something closer to a public plaza than a kerb.
For Los Angeles it is also a transit test. The Burbank Airport-North Metrolink station on the Antelope Valley Line will connect to the terminal by a footpath and an on-demand shuttle, Urbanize LA notes. If that link works, the region gets an airport you can reach by train. The opening adds to a year of large civic projects in the region, after the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Exposition Park and ahead of Gehry's Colburn Center downtown.
What's next
- 13 October 2026 (done): the first flights left from the new terminal. The main entrance moved to Winona Avenue and Hollywood Way, valet moved with it, and Lot E closed for good.
- 2027: the old terminal and garage are demolished. ENR reported that demolition was expected to take nine months, and AirlineGeeks expects it in 2027.
- Certification: the LEED Gold result is still pending.
More regional stories are under the Journal's Los Angeles tag and in its News section.
FAQ
When did the Burbank airport new terminal open?
The Burbank airport new terminal opened to passengers on 13 October 2026, with an Alaska Airlines departure to Santa Rosa at about 7 a.m. Its ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on 5 October 2026.
Where is the new terminal at Hollywood Burbank Airport?
The new terminal at Hollywood Burbank Airport is on the northeast side of the airfield, opposite the old terminal. Its main entrance is at Winona Avenue and Hollywood Way, near the Burbank Airport-North Metrolink station.
Where do you park at the Burbank airport new terminal?
Parking at the Burbank airport new terminal is in a new seven-level structure across from the entrance, with about 2,000 spaces and EV charging. Rental cars are reached by shuttle, and rideshare pickup moves to a lot near the terminal.
Sources
- Elevate BUR: Replacement Passenger TerminalBurbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority
- Hollywood Burbank Airport celebrates $1.3-billion replacement terminalUrbanize LA
- Hollywood Burbank Airport terminal ribbon-cuttingNBC Los Angeles
- Hollywood Burbank Airport celebrates new terminal, opening Oct. 13CBS Los Angeles
- Hollywood Burbank Airport Unveils Nearly $1.3 Billion Terminal Ahead of Oct. 13 OpeningPasadena Now
- Hollywood Burbank Airport Celebrates New Terminal With Local Businesses and More Space for TravelersmyBurbank
- Hollywood Burbank Airport Passenger Replacement TerminalCorgan
- Long-awaited airport terminal soars swiftly in BurbankEngineering News-Record
- Hollywood Burbank Airport's new terminal is openLAist
- Hollywood Burbank Airport debuts $1.3B terminalMyNewsLA
- Hollywood Burbank Airport opens newly-renovated terminal. Here's what you need to knowABC7 Los Angeles
- Hollywood Burbank opens new, $1.3B terminalAirlineGeeks
- Hollywood Burbank Airport's new terminal opens to travelers TuesdayPasadena Now
