ORLANDO, FL. – After decades of planning and nearly five years of construction, on Wednesday (Sep 21), the vision became reality at Orlando International Airport (MCO) as an Aer Lingus flight from Manchester, England helped open Terminal C to the public. The $2.8 billion project features 15 additional gates to increase MCO passenger capacity by 25 per cent or 10-12 million annual passengers.
“This day has been a long time coming but we’re finally here. Terminal C is open and what a benefit it is to the community,” says Kevin Thibault, Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority. “This state-of-the-art terminal is leading the way to a truly intermodal future for all of Central Florida, where passengers will be able to take a plane, a train or an automobile from one location. Today, the vision has become reality.”
The airlines servicing Terminal C include, Aer Lingus, Azul, British Airways, Caribbean Airlines, Emirates, GOL, Icelandair, Lufthansa, Norse and the anchor airline is JetBlue.
Terminal C factoids:
It is estimated the ten Terminal C airlines’ annual economic impact on Central Florida is over $5.6 Billion dollars
15 gates capable of accommodating up to 20 aircraft
State-of-the-art RFID (radio frequency identification) tags on all baggage
Early bag storage
Bags first international arrival area
Automated TSA screening lanes
More than 1000 video display screens provide directional and flight information
33 retail and food and beverage concepts including local and national brands
Designed for certification as one of the first LEEDv4 airport campuses
