South Terminal at Orlando airport makes progress despite travel woes
Photo by Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
ORLANDO, Fla. - Despite the damage the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked across the travel industry, officials with Orlando International Airport (OIA) say one thing is still on-target: the new South Terminal.
“We're continuing the project,” said Carolyn Fennell, Orlando Airport Spokesperson. "The pandemic has impacted certainly travel, but we are cautiously optimistic as much of the resources in this region are that travelers will return.”
The South Terminal is a big bright spot for a hurting local economy, keeping 2,000 workers employed. Fennell explained that “this project is already funded, so there was not a ceasing of service and it also continued, a ceasing of activity."
The project is 60 percent complete. Crews are putting in features to make the terminal safer.
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“The new airport will have innovative processes,” Fennell said. "Moving certainly to touchless processing.”
Officials hope the terminal will be part of visitors' “Orlando experience.”
“Part of our goal is to make sure we're doing things in the airport, region, and various areas to help instill passenger confidence,” Fennell said.
The South Terminal will feature 15 more gates. It's slated for completion in February 2022.
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