Frequently Asked Questions

The FAA prepared an EIS for the proposed replacement terminal building and associated projects, and the FAA issued a combined Final EIS and ROD approving the Proposed Project on May 21, 2021.  The City of Los Angeles challenged FAA’s decision in August 2021. On March 29, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (the Court) held that FAA’s environmental review largely complied with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) but remanded the matter to FAA for additional, limited environmental review of noise impacts from simultaneous operation of construction equipment associated with the Proposed Project. The Written Re-evaluation provides the supplemental analysis required by the Court related to construction noise resulting from the Proposed Project.

The Draft Written Re-evaluation can be viewed under Documents, Resources and Reports, or viewed here. The public comment period on the Draft Written Re-evaluation closed on Wednesday, November 22, 2023.

The Final Written Re-evaluation and Record of decision can be viewed under Documents, Resources, and Reports, or viewed here.

The Proposed Action stems from several problems with the existing passenger terminal building. The existing passenger terminal building does not meet current FAA standards related to runway separation and object free areas. It is also obsolete in terms of contemporary passenger terminal design and efficient utilization standards. Further, it does not meet current State building requirements. The purpose of the Proposed Action is to provide a passenger terminal building that meets all current FAA standards, passenger demand, and building requirements as well as improve utilization and operational efficiency of the passenger terminal building. FAA’s need is defined by the statutory requirement to decide whether to approve the Proposed Action as depicted on the Airport Layout Plan (ALP) developed by the Authority, pursuant to USC § 47107(a)(16).

An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is being prepared in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The FAA must consider the EIS in preparing their Record of Decision for the Proposed Action.

An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is a document prepared by the Federal Government consistent with Section 102(2)(c) of NEPA to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of major Federal Actions.

The Proposed Action includes replacement of the existing 14-gate passenger terminal building, located in the southeast quadrant of the Airport, with a new 14-gate passenger terminal building in the northeast quadrant (also known as the former Lockheed-Martin B-6 Plant site) of the Airport. The existing passenger terminal building would be demolished, and parallel Taxiways A and C would be extended full length to the ends of Runways 15-33 and 8-26, respectively.

1. Construction of a replacement passenger terminal building: The 355,000-square-foot replacement passenger terminal building would have 14 gates and would meet FAA standards. The replacement passenger terminal building would be developed in accordance with modern passenger terminal design standards to provide enhanced passenger amenities, security screening facilities that meet the latest TSA requirements and adequate space for other airport facilities including holdrooms, baggage claim areas, and public areas that are designed for the aircraft that airlines routinely operate. Additionally, the replacement passenger terminal building would be designed to meet California Building Code seismic design standards for a new building. Because the type of aircraft used at the Airport is dictated by the length of the runways and because the length of the runways would not change, the aircraft that would be used by the airlines would be the same as that being currently used (e.g., Boeing 737, Airbus 320, Airbus 319, and regional jets).
2. Construction of a 45,900-square-yard aircraft apron: The aircraft apron would accommodate 14 aircraft.
3. Construction of replacement employee automobile parking: About 200 spaces would be provided for employee parking in a surface parking lot north of the proposed replacement passenger terminal building. Additional employee parking would be provided by converting existing public parking facilities in the southeast quadrant to employee parking.
4. Construction of a public automobile parking structure: The public automobile parking structure would be at least five levels, but not more than seven levels, and would include a valet drop-off and pickup area. The total number of public parking spaces at the Airport would not exceed 6,637 spaces, per the Conceptual Term Sheet agreed upon by the Airport and the City of Burbank. The 6,637 parking spaces is consistent with the current number of public parking spaces that exists at the Airport.
5. Construction of a new passenger terminal access road: A new multi-lane road extending from the intersection of North Hollywood Way and Winona Avenue would be constructed. This road would loop around the proposed parking structure to provide vehicle access to the replacement passenger terminal building and parking structure, thus allowing curb-front access to the replacement passenger terminal building and recirculation around the Airport. A secondary point of access would connect the passenger terminal access road with Cohasset Street and Lockheed Drive, providing access to North San Fernando Road from both Cohasset Street and Lockheed Drive.
6. Realignment of Avenue A: Avenue A, the existing passenger terminal loop road in the southeast quadrant of the Airport would be realigned. The east-west segment of Avenue A would be shifted to the south to permit the extension of Taxiway C, and the north-south segment of Avenue A would be shifted to the east to permit the extension of Taxiway A. The realigned Avenue A would continue to provide access to the Regional Intermodal Transportation Center and long-term parking in the southeast quadrant of the Airport.
7. Construction of replacement airline cargo building: An 8,000-square-foot replacement airline cargo building would be constructed adjacent to the north of the replacement passenger terminal building.
8. Construction of replacement Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) station: The existing ARFF station is in a hangar in the northwest quadrant of the Airport. A new ARFF station would be constructed south of the replacement passenger terminal building, and existing ARFF operations would be relocated. Vehicle access to the new ARFF station would be provided via the new passenger terminal access road. The existing ARFF hangar in the northwest quadrant of the Airport would become available for general aviation uses.
9. Construction of a ground support equipment (GSE) and passenger terminal maintenance building: A new 8,000-square-foot GSE and passenger terminal maintenance building would be constructed adjacent to the north side of the replacement passenger terminal building just south of Cohasset Street. About 2,000 square feet would be used for equipment and tool storage in addition to office space for maintenance staff.
10. Construction of a central utility plant: A new central utility plant would be constructed adjacent to the north side of the replacement passenger terminal building in an area just south of Cohasset Street.
11. Construction of ground access vehicle storage and staging area: A ground access vehicle storage and staging area for taxis, shared vans, and transportation network companies (e.g., Uber, Lyft, etc.) would be constructed on the north side of the new passenger terminal access road west of the North Hollywood Way / Winona Avenue entrance.
12. Taxiway A and Taxiway C Extensions: Taxiway A would be extended from Runway 8-26 south to the Runway 33 threshold, and Taxiway C would be extended between Taxiway G and the Runway 26 threshold. Thus, both Taxiways A and C would be extended to provide full-length parallel taxiways.
13. Realignment of the Airport service road: The Airport service road in the southeast quadrant of the Airport would be relocated.
14. Relocation of Shuttle Bus Dispatch Office: The shuttle bus dispatch office and staging area would be relocated to the southeast quadrant near the existing valet parking structure.
15. Demolition of existing passenger terminal building: The existing 232,000-square-foot passenger terminal building would be demolished.
16. Removal of commercial aircraft apron and adjacent taxilanes: The existing commercial aircraft apron and adjacent taxilanes would be demolished.
17. Removal of parking booth: The existing parking booth would be removed to allow for vehicle storage and staging.
18. Removal of employee parking lot: The existing employee surface parking lot in the southeast quadrant would be removed.
19. Removal of Parking Lot A: Existing Parking Lot A would be closed and all structures would be removed.
20. Removal of Parking Lot B: Existing Parking Lot B would be closed and all structures within Parking Lot B would be removed.
21. Removal of Parking Lot E: Existing Parking Lot E would be closed and all structures within Parking Lot E would be removed.
22. Removal of public parking structure: The existing public parking structure adjacent to the existing passenger terminal building would be demolished.
23. Removal of tenant lease area: The existing pavement for the tenant-leased property would be removed to allow for the development of the replacement passenger terminal building.
24. Demolition of airline cargo and GSE maintenance building and associated pavement: The existing 16,000-square-foot airline cargo and GSE maintenance building would be demolished.
25. Removal of shuttle bus dispatch office and staging area: The existing shuttle bus dispatch office and staging area would be removed from the northeast quadrant.

The following potential alternatives were identified:

• New Airport. Construction of a new airport on a different site.
• Remote Landside Facility. Construction of a remote “landside” facility and an on-Airport “airside” facility. Ground access, public parking, and terminal building facilities would be located off-Airport and connected to the aircraft parking positions and passenger holdrooms on-Airport by a ground transportation link.
• Transfer Activity to Other Airports. Transfer of aviation activity to another existing public airport (or airports) in Southern California.
• Other Modes of Transportation. Use of other modes of transportation, including automobiles, buses, existing passenger trains, or proposed high-speed rail facilities.
• Airfield Reconfiguration. Relocation of Runways 8-26 and 15-33 away from the existing passenger terminal building or constructing an additional parallel runway 8-26 in accordance with FAA airport design standards.
• Replacement Passenger Terminal Building in Southeast Quadrant.  Construction of a replacement passenger terminal building in the Southeast Quadrant of the Airport.
• Replacement Passenger Terminal Building in Southwest Quadrant.  Construction of a replacement passenger terminal building in the Southwest Quadrant of the Airport.
• Replacement Passenger Terminal Building in Northwest Quadrant.  Construction of a replacement passenger terminal building in the Northwest Quadrant of the Airport.
• Replacement Passenger Terminal Building in Northeast Quadrant.  Construction of a replacement passenger terminal building in the Northeast Quadrant of the Airport.
• No Action Alternative. The Authority would take no action to develop a replacement passenger terminal building.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) publishes a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register that informs the public of the upcoming environmental analysis and describes how the public can become involved in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) preparation. This Notice of Intent starts the scoping phase to define the range of issues and possible alternatives to be addressed in the EIS.

The FAA is the lead federal agency for the preparation of this EIS. The EIS is prepared in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA, FAA Order 1050.1F, Environmental Impacts: Policies and Procedures, and FAA Order 5050.4B, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Implementing Instructions for Airport Actions.

Preparation of this EIS is a federal process led by the FAA, not to be confused with the state-led environmental disclosure process that occurred under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

For more detail on the EIS process, please refer to the infographic below.

The Environmental Impact Statement process provided a number of opportunities for public involvement.  Please see the Public Involvement page for details. 

On November 8, 2016, the voters of Burbank approved an agreement between the City of Burbank and the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority. It gives the Airport Authority the right to build a 14-gate, 355,000-square-foot replacement passenger terminal. In exchange, Burbank receives control over critical decisions about the Airport’s future. More about Measure B

The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of their proposed actions prior to making decisions. In this specific instance, NEPA requires that an EIS be completed to assess potential effects and impacts of the proposed Replacement Passenger Terminal project on the environment.

The Proposed Action does not involve changes to any airspace procedures. The proposal regarding airspace departure procedures is an independent project subject to a separate environmental review. The Air Traffic Organization of the FAA has announced that a separate Environmental Assessment (EA) will be prepared that addresses the proposed amendments to the existing aircraft departure routes from the Airport. Public involvement and input will be part of that EA process. For updates on that EA, see https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/community_involvement/bur/.

The Proposed Action does not involve changes to the Airport’s runway configuration, aircraft fleet mix, number of operations, timing of operations, or airspace.

No. The proposal regarding airspace departure procedures is an independent project subject to a separate environmental review. FAA is currently preparing a detailed EIS for the Replacement Passenger Terminal project. In addition, The Air Traffic Organization of the FAA has announced that a separate Environmental Assessment (EA) will be prepared that addresses the proposed amendments to the existing aircraft departure routes from the Airport.

https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/community_involvement/

See the list of airports on the right side of the page.
Under the subheading: “Single sites”  Click on “BUR- Burbank.”

Recorded videos of both public workshops and the public hearing are available at the links below:

• Public Workshop #1
• Public Workshop #2
• Public Hearing

The 45-day comment period was originally due to end on October 5, 2020 and the FAA extended the comment period an additional 22 days. The public comment period for the Draft EIS ends at 5 p.m. PDT on October 27, 2020. All comments must be received by this time. Please visit the Public and Agency Involvement page for details on how to submit comments.

The Final EIS and ROD are available on the project website in the Reports section of the Documents, Resources and Reports page or click here. Copies of the Final EIS and ROD are also available at the following locations until Friday, December 31, 2021:

• Burbank City Clerk: Office of the City Clerk, Burbank City Hall, 275 East Olive Avenue, Burbank, CA 91502
• Glendale City Clerk: 613 E. Broadway, Room 110, Glendale, CA 91206-4391
• Central Library: 110 N. Glenoaks Boulevard, Burbank, CA 91502
• Buena Vista Library: 300 N. Buena Vista Street, Burbank, CA 91505
• Northwest Branch Library: 3323 W. Victory Boulevard, Burbank, CA 91505