Davey updates likely to take a year longer

By Gary Gosselin
HPR Media Services

Plans to refurbish and modernize the J.M. Davey Terminal at Detroit Metropolitan Airport are still in the works, though the timetable for construction has been clouded by the war in Iraq.

The Wayne County Airport Authority plans to spend about $409 million to refit and refinish the old Davey Terminal to house carriers other than Northwest and its partners KLM and Continental Airlines, which are tenants of the new

Edward H. McNamara Terminal. Delta is also expected to move to the new terminal when a new alliance with NWA, Continental and Delta is complete, likely this summer.

“Initial plans are for construction to be complete by 2006 or 2007,” airport spokesman Brian Lassaline said. “But a lot depends on the ongoing military action and its effect on travel.”

Originally, a 2006 completion date was the target, so the current events in the Middle East may produce a delay of up to a year.

Discussions are ongoing with carriers about their needs, Lassaline said, and airport officials have been in discussions since NWA moved to the new terminal last year. Discussions continue because the entire industry is in flux, and the needs of airlines and the TSA continue to change.

The plan, as stated more than a year ago, still remains basically the same, calling for 29 gates in the Davey Terminal. They are expected to be constructed in a linear fashion, much like the McNamara Terminal.

“The fit and finish will be comparable to the McNamara Terminal, with shorter walking distances (than the current Davey), expanded food and beverage and room for expansion,” Lassaline said. “We’re in the process of putting together the financial package, and we are also conscious of developments. We will move forward with development plans, and would sell the bonds for the project when we can make a firm decision (after the Iraqi war).”

Prior to the opening of the McNamara Terminal, the Davey Terminal and the connected L.C. Smith Terminal just to the south had grown to an octopus-like complex with 103-gates that often produced walking distances of up to a mile for passengers.

The linear design will be rid of the “alleyways” created by the concourses, allow for easier movement of aircraft, and make the terminal much easier to navigate for passengers.

Spirit Airlines, Detroit Metro’s second largest carrier, would tentatively want as many as 16 gates, with the rest going to the nine other carriers with a presence at Metro.

The plan has been to sell $800 million in bonds for the project with the remainder of the money going to additional airport improvements over the next 16 years. Passenger facility charges will likely be used to pay for the bonds.

Once the North Terminal is complete, the airlines will move into that new facility, effectively leaving the Smith Terminal vacant. In all likelihood the Smith Terminal will be demolished to clear the way for future growth.

It’s been suggested that the spot the Smith Terminal sits on could at some point be used for a new international terminal, for further expansion of domestic facilities, or it could be further expansion of cargo activities. Much depends on what happens in the airline industry between now and 2006-2007.

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