Airport Authority President Tyron Hampton on Burbank Airport’s New State-of-the-Art Replacement Terminal’s October 13th Opening
On October 13, Hollywood Burbank Airport will open a replacement passenger terminal a decade in the making—the first new terminal on the airfield since 1930, and one of the largest capital projects any Southern California joint powers agency has delivered this cycle. To offer readers an advanced preview of the new terminal, TPR spoke with Councilman Tyron Hampton, the Pasadena Councilmember elected in July to a one-year term as president of the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority. The interview’s focus: 1) what a 14-gate, 355,000-square-foot building does and does not change, 2) how a three-city commission holds together under supermajority voting, and 3) what a deliberately small airport offers a region that is about to host the world in LA 2028.
Tyron, Measure B – passed by Burbank voters in 2016 – gave the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority the right to build a replacement terminal on a 49-acre site adjacent to the present airport. You closed on a $724 million airport revenue bond a little later than that, and it’s about to open on October 13. Share What’s being built?
Tyron Hampton: I should start off by saying this: it’s a safety project. This is a safety project for our passengers as much as it is for our airlines. We are building a 14-gate terminal – a brand-new, state-of-the-art terminal that our community, all three communities, all the communities in the region, is going to enjoy into the next 100 years of this region. That is what is being built.
To inform our readers, it took many decades to get this replacement terminal approved through the three cities involved. Measure B also changed the rules to give Burbank commissioners supermajority voting rights. Elaborate on What has changed, and what’s the implication of those voting rule changes?
Tyron Hampton: The supermajority is for every member city. If two Pasadena commissioners vote no on something, it kills it—it’s done. So the supermajority works for every city. But ultimately, how we see ourselves now is we see ourselves as one, working on behalf of the authority. As much as I love my city – Pasadena, born and raised there, six generations – when I come to Hollywood Burbank Airport, we look at what is going to be the best benefit for our region, and for our airport, and for our passengers most importantly.
Please explain for our readers what it took so long to Measure B to pass and these commission voting rules approved?
Tyron Hampton: You know, that is a great question for community members within the Burbank region. The airport lies mostly in the city of Burbank, and there was at one point in time (not now, of course) some, I would say, pent-up anger and frustration from residents as it relates to the noise and concerns from the airport. And those are all fair concerns. But the airport does exist, and ultimately, like I said, this is a safety project.
I think the residents of Burbank, when passing Measure B, said, you know what, we do need to have a safety project here – but we do not want an airport that is bigger than what we have, because we do not want it. We don’t want this to grow its footprint. We have 14 gates. We haven’t changed that.
We also have not changed some of the historical values of our airport. Something every passenger loves about going to Hollywood Burbank Airport is being able to walk out onto the concrete and back into the terminal. We’re keeping that history, but we’re also updating it with state-of-the-art technology.
Lastly, because so many ask, Valet parking at the Airport will stay.
The price tag approved for this new terminal project was $1.3 billion, and in 2024 Commissioner Ara Najarian pushed the design team from LEED Silver to Gold. Address the design goals, and whether $1.3 billion gets the job done.
Tyron Hampton: Our original goal as the commission, under the leadership of the president at the time, President Najarian, was to have a Platinum LEED-certified airport. Based on the configuration of where our airport is set, kind of landlocked, we had to drop our initial goal to get between Silver and Gold. We’re looking at Gold right now, because it is important that when spending these types of dollars, when spending this type of money, we are good stewards of our environment. All of us on the commission saw the value in making sure that we are being good stewards of the environment.
Not only do we want to have a state-of-the-art airport – one that, as you’ve probably seen in pictures, or driven past, or even come by to see, will probably win a lot of design awards – we also want to have one that is responsible and gives back to our environment, not just takes from our environment. A lot of times construction projects aren’t value-adds. We wanted to make sure that this building was a value-add to our environment.
When you cut that ribbon on October 13, what are you going to be most proud of?
Tyron Hampton: Interesting you say that. I’m going to be most proud that this was built as a safety project, and I’m going to be proud to say that people who come to our airport are going to come into an airport that is even safer than we were before.
They’re also going to come into an airport knowing that those who worked on this project – as you’ve probably seen from some of the numbers on our construction – were part of a very, very safe construction project. We did this on a timely basis. We did this within our budget, and it’s still slightly under right now. But we still have a couple more days left, right? And also to say that we are proud that this is going to be a major addition to our region.
Could you address how ingress and egress to the new terminal, both for passengers and for Metrolink and rail passengers arriving, will be improved?
Tyron Hampton: The ingress and egress changes you should know are that there are going to be dedicated lanes for Uber drivers, dedicated lanes for our shuttle passengers, and dedicated lanes for those driving into our airport. So this airport is going to be significantly more efficient than the old terminal.
So anybody coming to Hollywood Burbank Airport—I don’t know if y’all want to quote this or not—but typically when I go, I’m there 15 minutes before my flight. I’m not going to tell you a lie. With this level of certainty, I might come five minutes before my flight.
However, I don’t think we want to advertise to people that you can come to the airport late. But that’s typically when I fly out of Burbank. It’s just such an amazing, convenient airport. And as you mentioned, the valet – you just pull up, jump out of your car, and run straight in. This level of service will be the same.
High-speed rail. The California High-Speed Rail Authority has been long in the planning and slow in delivery. How has the New Terminal accommodated a high-speed rail station at the airport?
Tyron Hampton: We have not seen any updated plans as of yet, but we are in communication with High-Speed Rail, and anything that is going to be a value-add and a benefit to our community, to our region, and to our airport, we are supportive of. We haven’t voted on anything as of yet, just so you know. But we haven’t seen any plans, and we are in communication
As you well know, LA28 will commence 21 months after the Terminal’s opening. What is Burbank’s assigned regional role in accommodating those from the World attending, and what is the Airport ready?
Tyron Hampton: For LA28—21 months? Oh my gosh, you’re right. That seems like tomorrow.
But we are prepared.
We are getting prepared to bring more folks into our region, and to let people know that Burbank Airport is an option to fly into L.A. to view the games. We are preparing for an influx of people coming into our region. As you know, Pasadena is going to be hosting – and it’s really close to Burbank as well – two Olympic events. I’m in Pasadena. There will be Olympic diving at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center, as well as soccer played at the Rose Bowl Stadium. So we’re excited about LA28, and about the prospect of more eyes on our airport, and more eyes from the community to see what our capability is. Based on what I’ve already seen, and based on how our construction is going right now, Burbank Airport is going to be more than ready for LA28.
Tyron, you’re the first Pasadena commissioner in years to lead the authority, representing a city that hosts no airport runway but shares the liability. How do you weigh Pasadena’s and Glendale’s interests/priorities against Burbank’s when it comes to voting?
Tyron Hampton: I think ultimately we all see ourselves as a “Commission”. Yes, I do reside in Pasadena. I love my city. But ultimately, like I said earlier, as a commission we see ourselves as commissioners of one, and that’s how we will continue to operate. We will continue to operate our way in this region, as this is a regional airport.
It comes up from time to time, but as a commission we don’t see ourselves as a city here or a city there, or Pasadena doesn’t get this, or Glendale doesn’t get that, or Burbank doesn’t get that. We see ourselves as one. Ultimately, we’re going to listen to each and every one of us, we’re going to be respectful of each other, and we’re going to continue to do the work of the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority.
Tyron, you mentioned there is a regional system of airports in Metro LA. Thirty billion dollars are being invested in LAX, and th Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority is investing a billion-plus here. Share how the new airport factors into the region’s airport planning/ capacity?
Tyron Hampton: Just as you mentioned earlier: convenience. We’re going to be more convenient than any other airport in our immediate area. And we will fit in because, as we’re looking at different things for the Olympics and other events happening here within our region, Hollywood Burbank Airport will be looked at as a shining star and a shining beacon. If anything, we’re probably going to help LAX alleviate a little bit of the traffic they already have.
To draw to a close, you just touched on all the challenging issues and the complexities of getting Measure B through and aligning all the interests. But related to the promise of the New Terminal, Nine years of lobbying and expending $7 million went into fighting to get a mandatory curfew on the Burbank Airport from the FAA. How important is this curfew to the success of the new terminal and what’s the status of your petition?
Tyron Hampton: We will continue to ask our partners, our airline partners, to abide by our curfew. It’s not mandatory, but it is our voluntary curfew. And so far we have been doing a pretty good job at that, and we will continue to negotiate and work with our air carriers to continue to keep our curfew alive and well.
And we stand as a commission – we stand with that, and we hope that the FAA will come around. But until they do, we will continue to work with our partners, our airline partners, to be mindful that our airport is in the middle of residential neighborhoods.
Tyron, I appreciate your time. I know this interview will encourage a lot of people to come out for the opening and use the airport even more. Thank you very much.
Tyron Hampton: Thank you. It was a real pleasure meeting you, and I hope to meet you in person at the ribbon-cutting.
You got a deal.
