It's time to get excited as the brand new Terminal C, the soon-to-be completed South terminal at Orlando International Airport, is nearing completion!
MCO have given everyone a sneak peek at just what's inside the brand new terminal, where passengers will board planes across 15 gates.
The new terminal is very impressive, with it's signature glass ceiling, with Orlando's bright sunshine pouring in everywhere.
New airport CEO Kevin Thibault said Terminal C will deliver “beyond” the “Orlando experience.”
“International arrivals are going to come up through these different corridors and they can see the sunshine when they come out here and really know that they’re in the Sunshine State,” Thibault said. “They’re going to get the whole Orlando experience right away.”
The $2.8 billion terminal will rely heavily on the latest technology. A giant interactive LED wall will help pass the time while automated screening will save time.
At the TSA checkpoint, the baggage bins will always be moving, connected by a continuous conveyor belt to avoid bin pileups.
The 15 new gates will be equipped with boarding pass readers and even facial recognition to speed up boarding.
Every single piece of checked luggage will be shuttled in its own yellow bin, tagged with a tracker so passengers can drop off their luggage early and airlines can tell them exactly where their bag is at any moment.
Baggage claim will be at the top of the terminal, not the bottom, right after getting off the plane so passengers can grab their luggage and go.
The entire terminal will be connected with a bridge to the new Intermodal facility housing Brightline trains to South Florida.
“We’re leveraging that technology to streamline the experience at least when they’re here in our terminal,” Thibault said.
The old North terminal was built to handle only 24 million passengers per year and has been stretched to accommodate 50 million, according to Thibault.
MCO is the busiest airport in Florida and an industry trade group just named it the 7th busiest in the world.
Terminal C will handle up to 12 million passengers per year when it opens. As part of Phase 1 completion, an additional four gates will be added to the existing 15.
Rental cars, however, will not be available at Terminal C. Passengers will be bussed directly to the rental car counters at the North terminal or can take the tram.
Right now some 1,500 workers are on site daily to finish Terminal C by “the summer.” with no exact opening date known at this time.
