New Customs Facility Opens at ABIA

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held on December 15 for the new Customs facility of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Designed by Page as part of what is known as the Terminal East Infill project, the new Customs facility will more than double the airport’s capacity to process international arrivals. The facility will speed processing from about 200 passengers per hour to over 400 per hour and has capacity to process up to 600 passengers per hour.

According to Page Senior Principal, Larry Speck, lead designer for the project, the area's new intuitive design helps accommodate the extra traffic. The new Customs area is expected to begin operations and processing international arrivals within the next week.

One of the notable interior features is the 212-foot-long art installation, “Time Lines,” which wraps around the Customs area. Designed by artist Mikyoung Kim, the installation includes 70 lenticular panels mounted to appear as if they are floating in front of the walls. Through holographic imagery, layers of geographical and temporal information appear and disappear as one passes by the artwork.

The Terminal East Infill project is adding around 55,000 square feet to the terminal, and is reshaping the entrance to the airport with a multi-story, windowed and colorful terminal adjacent to much of the pedestrian area of the airport.  The upper level of the Terminal East Infill will build a connection between the ticket lobby and east concourse around Gate 5. The entire project will be completed by mid-2015.

More information can be found at the following links:

"Austin-Bergstrom International Airport gets new customs facility," Airport-Technology.com

"Austin airport unveils new customs facility", Community Impact Newspaper

"ABIA unveils new customs facility", KTBC