New $90M Lafayette Airport Terminal will Have Restaurant, Bar, Two Shops

The new terminal building at the Lafayette Regional Airport will have a 3,000-square-foot restaurant and bar with seating area looking out on the runway, airport officials said.

Director Steve Picou and others led a tour of the $90 million building, which remains on schedule for opening in early 2022, on Thursday and revealed some of the amenities. The five-gate terminal will also feature two TSA security checkpoints with the possibility for a third.

But it's the restaurant that could be a popular place for travelers.

"This is the Pièce De Résistance," Picou said. "On the second floor, post-security, we'll have the restaurant and bar for meals and drinks where you can see a great view of the airplanes taking off and landing and see what's going on."

He also said the airport is working with the TSA to start a new program where people can go through security to go eat at the airport restaurant or get drinks at its bar without needing a ticket. Other airports have begun working to return of this pre-9/11 practice, including the new terminal in New Orleans.

Two newsstand/gift shop areas will be on both sides of the security checkpoint at around 650 square feet each, and a 1,065-square-foot seating area will be built before the checkpoint for anyone picking up passengers.

Local, state and federal money has contributed to the airport upgrade, including funding generated by the airport. Lafayette Parish voters approved a temporary 1-cent sales tax collected over eight months in 2015, generating nearly $34 million for the project. The tax expired after eight months as voters were promised.

Airport officials have also received nearly $30 million in federal grants to help with construction costs. Four buildings, including an old hangar UPS once occupied, were demolished starting about a year ago to make room for the new terminal, which is designed to allow for growth through 2040.

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