On Tuesday, October 13, Hollywood Burbank Airport moves its passengers into a 355,000-square-foot terminal on the opposite side of the airfield. It still has the same 14 gates, and you will still walk out onto the tarmac to board. Officials designed a nearly $1.3 billion building to keep the flying experience close to what Burbank already knows. The part that changes, and the part a local will notice next week, starts when you turn off Hollywood Way.
The building was designed to stay the same size where it counts
Planning for a new terminal goes back to the 1980s. That's when the FAA decided the old terminal sat too close to the runway to leave a safe margin for aircraft. Plans stalled for decades. Burbank voters then approved Measure B in November 2016 with 70% of the vote, and construction started in January 2024. According to the Los Angeles Times, the old terminal and its taxi lanes sit inside zones that FAA rules say must stay clear. Both date to the airport's 1930 opening.
The new building is larger than the 232,000-square-foot complex it replaces, but the gate count did not grow. Airport officials call the project a replacement, not a capacity expansion. The extra room goes to the planes. Every gate can now handle larger modern aircraft. Burbank Mayor Tamala Takahashi told LAist that this means "the same number of flights, the same number of planes, the same number of gates, but more people going through the airport every day."
Inside, the upgrades are the practical kind. TSA screening areas are bigger, there are more charging ports and kiosks, and all three baggage carousels now sit in one indoor hall. The building also meets current seismic and accessibility standards. Officials say it is one of only two all-electric airport facilities in the country.
With the gates and boarding left alone, the real changes land between your driveway and the security line.
The drive in now starts at a different corner
The main entrance moves from Thornton Avenue to Winona Avenue at Hollywood Way. Parking moves with it. The airport's parking page sets October 13, 2026 as the day parking-structure and valet operations move to the new terminal and shut down at the old one.
| What you used before | Starting October 13 |
|---|---|
| Main entrance off Thornton Avenue | Main entrance at Winona Avenue and Hollywood Way |
| Parking structure and valet at the current terminal | New seven-level structure directly across from the new terminal |
| Lot E | Closed permanently |
| Lot C | Already closed since Sunday, August 16 |
| Rideshare pickup | New rideshare pickup lot near the terminal |
| Rental-car shuttle | Still runs to the consolidated rental-car facility across Hollywood Way |
Back in July, the Los Angeles Times reported that the new structure would have 2,007 stalls, 400 of them valet. Total airport parking was expected to stay at 6,637 spaces. So the lots that close are being consolidated into the garage, not cut. Valet customers can still request a full car wash, and parking still allows a maximum stay of 30 days.
The train connection now depends on which line you ride
The ground-side change that matters most to someone who takes Metrolink to fly is that the two airport stations now work differently. Metrolink's connection page lays out the post-October 13 routes:
- Burbank Airport–North, on the Antelope Valley Line. It's about a half-mile walk to the terminal via Cohasset Street. You can also call 818-729-2245 for a free on-demand shuttle, which picks up on San Fernando Boulevard at the north end of the station. There is no parking at this station.
- Burbank Airport–South, on the Ventura County Line. Cross Empire Avenue to the Regional Intermodal Transportation Center and board the free shuttle in its ground-floor bus area. No phone call is needed.
- Heading home from either station. Both return shuttles leave from the ground floor of the new parking structure across from the terminal.
The hours are longer. Both shuttles now run from 4:45 a.m. to 1:00 a.m., and service continues until 45 minutes after the last flight when flights run late. Under the old arrangement, the airport listed South-station shuttles from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. and North-station service from 5 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. For anyone landing on a late flight into the Ventura County Line side, that's three more hours of shuttle coverage.
Past security, the restaurant lineup comes from the three cities that own the airport
The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority owns and runs BUR. The three cities created it as a joint powers agency in 1977, and each appoints three of the nine commissioners. That ownership shows up in the food. Steve Mora of Metropolitan Culinary Services runs every food and beverage location at the airport. According to myBurbank, he chose well-known local businesses to represent each of the three cities.
The names confirmed in coverage of the opening and the summer tours:
- Poquito Mas, the San Fernando Valley Mexican spot founded in Studio City in 1984.
- Tansy
- West Coast Smash Burger
- Octavia's Bookshelf
- Jones Coffee Roasters of Pasadena and Perry's Joint sandwiches, both carried over from the old terminal.
- Pete's Pubk, a new gathering spot in the middle of the terminal.
Poquito Mas owner Kevin McCarney has been in Burbank for 34 years. The airport location will make tortillas from scratch every day, and travelers can watch them cook.
"I feel so grateful that I can't put it in words. I feel honored to be a part of it."
Pete's Pubk carries the deepest local story. It's named for Steve Mora's father, Pete, who began running the airport's barbershop in 1977. His customers included local first responders and Lockheed designer Kelly Johnson. In 1992 he moved into the terminal's food concessions with his son. Around Burbank he was known as "The Cookie Man" for handing out jumbo homemade chocolate chip cookies, and the pub serves them.
One gap is worth knowing about before the first trip. A June concessions plan listed a Porto's pop-up, but the airport told the Los Angeles Times it would not be ready for the grand opening. A longer food list that circulated in July was described as tentative, so the names above are the ones confirmed for now.
The art tells the airport's own history
The public art follows the same local thinking as the restaurants. Past the TSA checkpoint hangs Glenn Kaino's suspended installation "When We Reflect." It's based on the camouflage nets that incarcerated Japanese Americans made at the Santa Anita Assembly Center during World War II. Nets like these hid the Burbank airport and nearby Lockheed operations from possible air attack.
Cliff Garten's "The Two Electras," a pair of 16-foot illuminated stainless-steel sculptures, flank the entry. Brent Kelley of the architecture firm Corgan told LAist that classic Hollywood was one of the design themes. The small dots on the ceiling recall the glittering dress Marilyn Monroe wore to sing "Happy Birthday, Mr. President," and a "silver screen" canopy runs across the outside of the building.
What the first week is likely to test
The airport ran three operational tests before opening. The last one, on September 19, had 1,500 volunteers working through parking, ticketing, baggage handling, TSA screening and gate operations. Officials said 98% of the feedback was positive, and they named signage and wayfinding as the areas to improve. That fits the rest of this list. Every change a Burbank traveler will face, from the Winona entrance to the new garage to the two shuttle routes, is a wayfinding change.
The 1930 terminal will be demolished, not reused. Mayor Takahashi said it isn't up to code and sits too close to the airstrip. Opening coverage did not give a demolition date. The first flights from the new terminal are scheduled for October 13.
A new front door at the airport will change the drive for a lot of Burbank households, especially those living near Hollywood Way or using the North Metrolink station. If you're weighing how the new terminal and its access routes affect a home you own or one you're considering nearby, Chris Reisbeck can walk you through the local picture street by street. Let's Connect.
