[category]
[title]
Hollywood Burbank Airport has a new terminal, but let's get one thing clear: Passengers will still board and disembark on the runway, letting us all feel like starlets picking our way down the metal ramps.
After not quite a hundred years of serving travelers, the airport did away with its historic passenger terminal and officially opened its $1.3 billion new digs today, October 13, replacing what was essentially a long hallway that offered overpriced bottles of water at discrete intervals since the original facilities opened in 1930.
RECOMMENDED: An entire LAX terminal is going away for the next 3 years
The new terminal, dubbed Elevate BUR, spans 355,000 square feet, which is roughly double the space of the existing complex. It still has 14 gates, but now they're in a modern building with expanded TSA screening, more charging ports and kiosks (and seats!), and an indoor baggage-claim hall. In other words, you might get to actually sit down and carge your phone rather than lean against a pillar or trip over someone sitting on the floor.
The most important update for the new terminal might be where you get out of the car. The main terminal access has moved from Thornton Avenue to Winona Avenue and Hollywood Way, with a new seven-level parking structure and a new lot for rideshare pickups. Rental-car customers will still need to take a shuttle to the rental-car facility across Hollywood Way, while the Burbank Airport–North Metrolink station connects to the terminal via a pedestrian path and on-demand shuttle.
The project has been a long time coming. Decades ago, federal aviation officials flagged the old terminal’s proximity to the runway as a safety concern, but plans for a replacement were delayed by neighborhood opposition. Burbank voters finally approved the project in 2016, and construction began in January 2024. Now, a billion dollars later, the finished terminal has arrived.
So, if you’re flying out of Burbank in the coming days, double-check your route before leaving home, allow a little extra time to find the new entrance and enjoy the rare airport upgrade that doesn’t require a trip to LAX. And make sure your ride-share driver knows where to go!