Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is moving forward with plans to spend millions on a gate that can handle the A380 super-jumbo jet on Concourse F at its international terminal.
The airport is striking a deal with joint venture New South-Synergy on a contract worth up to $13.78 million to modify gate F3 so it can accommodate the double-decker jet, which currently flies into the airport once a day at most.
The work will include a second loading bridge, a new fuel pit, new escalator, elevator and stairs and an extension of a corridor. Work could take nearly a year to complete.
The airport already spent $30 million for runway and taxiway widening and modifications on Concourse E before Korean Air launched the first A380 flights to Atlanta in 2013. Korean Air’s version of the plane seats just over 400 passengers.
One problem that arose was the long walk to Customs for arriving international travelers from the A380 gate on Concourse E.
When the international terminal opened in 2012, some complained about the up to .6-mile trek from gate E1 to the Customs processing area at the new terminal. After an AJC story on the complaints, the airport began planning for an additional moving walkway on part of the path that doesn’t have one.
Now, the airport said in documentation submitted to the Atlanta City Council, it “desires to have an A380 capable gate on Concourse F to minimize travel time for A380 passengers.”
The A380, built by European consortium Airbus, is flown by 13 foreign airlines but no U.S. carriers. Korean Air currently alternates an A380 and a Boeing 777 on daily service between Atlanta and Seoul, though later this month the A380 will fly the route every day, according to schedules on the carrier’s website.
