John Wayne Airport Adds Another Terminal and Goes International

On a recent flight to Phoenix I got a peak at the new Terminal C at John Wayne Airport. It means more parking, more restaurants and more elbow room but does it mean more flights and more noise for Bluffs residents? The new terminal will be home to Frontier and Southwest Airlines as well as a customs area. International flights to Canada are already scheduled and the airport hopes to add flights to Mexico. Does anyone else remember being able to catch a JWA flight to Vegas in the early 70′s by simply running across the tarmac and waving your boarding pass at a non-threatening looking airline employee? It is very clear those days are long gone.

This latest expansion is the largest since the Thomas F. Riley Terminal opened in 1990. Thank goodness due to the airport’s runway limitations the nation’s 41^st busiest airport will never be able to handle the jumbo jets. Or will that change too? At least through the efforts of noise abatement volunteers the curfew of 10:00 PM departing and 11:00 PM arriving flights has stayed in place. Still, one must wonder after Canada and Mexico is Latin America in JWA’s future?

Categorized under Bluffs Community News by Larry Trusley