In less than a month, passengers will have an upgraded and improved traveling experience when flying out of the greater Los Angeles area.
The Hollywood Burbank Airport is scheduled to open its brand new terminal on Oct.13, 2026. But on Saturday, airport staff, alongside local authorities, held a passenger trial to test readiness and provide a preview for local media members.
Here’s what to expect when the Hollywood Burbank Airport’s new terminal opens
The new Burbank terminal will solve a lot of issues currently found at the historic, albeit dated, primary airport terminal.
Namely, the new airport terminal offers a streamlined design centered around ease and modern travel.
A large, 5-story parking structure is located directly across the street from the airport’s primary entrance. Depending on where you find a parking space, the current parking structure can be a bit of a hike, especially after a long flight.
As travelers enter, they’ll be able to walk directly up to security and TSA, roughly twenty feet from the main entrance. Those dropping off bags or checking in for their flights will go right to check in, and then need to only walk a few feet to security.
Currently, travelers at the Burbank airport enter one of two primary entrances where they can drop off luggage before walking down a winding corridor to security and, eventually, their gate.
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The new terminal is a more modern airport alignment, aka, a straight line. Parking, security and ticketing are now all within sight of one another—no twists, no turns.
Passenger drop-off and pick-up is also in a straight line, unlike the familiar curving roadway that made Hollywood Burbank a favorite of film and television shoots.
Just like those using the parking structure, when a traveler is dropped off, they’ll be some-twenty feet away from security or baggage drop.
It remains to be seen if the airport will continue to employ the enthusiastic ground security teams armed with whistles and hand signals to keep traffic flowing, but the new terminal’s design should reduce bottlenecks and delays that made their vigilant service a necessity.
Once advancing through the security checkpoint, which is much larger and open than before, travelers will need to take only a brief walk to their gate—of which there are 14.
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What you won’t find at the new airport will be welcome to some but a loss for nostalgic airport loyalists.
There’s no carpet from a previous decade. The only carpet is in the immediate seating area at the gates.
No closet-sized bathrooms servicing half of an entire terminal. Two “passengers” during Saturday’s test run called it a major improvement.
It’s unclear if the local NBC affiliate will be sponsoring the (arguably) worst Wi-Fi network in Los Angeles. Although there were several listed Wi-Fi networks available for connecting. (Cellular coverage remained spotty on my AT&T service.)
What is returning to the Burbank airport?
Well, a Guy Fieri-branded restaurant was previously announced for the new terminal. Jones Coffee Roasters will also return (hopefully with later hours, but that’s a personal vendetta). There are more shopping and restaurant options that are closer to each gate, including several local shops like Pasadena Mercantile, Tansy and Arts District Market.
And, ultimately, airport officials tell me the ease of access and convenience for which the airport is known will remain intact, they hope.
For a complete list of the technical and architectural changes at the Hollywood Burbank Airport’s new terminal, click here.
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