Chemung County Executive Tom Santulli and Elmira Corning Regional Airport Aviation Director Bill Hopper, and Chemung County Legislator Rodney J. Strange are pleased to announce operations at the Elmira Corning Regional Airport will transition into using the new terminal starting August 1. While construction in the new terminal is not yet complete, it is necessary to move operations to begin construction on the existing facility.
It is important to note, opening the new portion is operationally necessary to close the existing ticketing area and stay on the aggressive construction schedule. Therefore, passengers will not be experiencing the finished product, but rather will be getting a preview of things to come. The exterior courtyards will be under construction and not yet available to the public, only the first of the three jet bridges will be installed and operating and the airline ticket counters will be temporarily located in the baggage area while the permanent location is under construction. Food will only be available by vending machines until the new restaurant is built.
“I believe the public will be extremely impressed with the terminal construction that has taken place in the last 12 months. This major renovation and terminal expansion project, though not complete, has only been possible because of the hard work and great cooperation between government, airport staff and architectural and construction firms involved,” says Chemung County Executive, Tom Santulli.
The opening of the new terminal completes the next major milestone of the overall Elmira Corning Regional Airport Terminal Revitalization project. The new terminal will feature an additional 34,000 square feet, four new airline gates, and six aircraft parking spots. Virtually every exterior wall is predominantly made of glass, offering views of the beautiful Twin Tiers landscape to visitors in the facility.
“It is exciting to give the public a sneak peek into the new era of air travel in the Twin Tiers and Finger Lakes regions. Passengers using the terminal will get a sense of the vision for the new facility when it opens October 31. We are going to provide a spectacular first impression to people visiting our area,” says Bill Hopper, Director of Aviation.
Flights landing at ELM the evening of July 31 will carry the first arriving passengers to use the new facility. The next morning at 6:00 AM, the first full day of activity will begin with departures on Delta Airlines to its Detroit hub and on United Airlines to its Newark hub. The rest of the day will be bustling with activity with additional flights on Delta, United and Allegiant Airlines. Passengers may want to allow a little extra time for departing flights as the airlines, TSA and airport staff will be using the facility for the first time, and there may be a learning curve.