Willmington Carter International Airport
Willmington Carter International Airport
Willmington Carter International Airport is an international airport in Wilkinson County, West Monroe, The United States of Ibica, 26 miles (42 km) east of downtown Willmington It is named after the Carter Dynasty that ruled over the Monroe Empire until the 16th Century. Operated by the Willmington Port Authority, Carter Airport occupies 13,000 acres (52.6 km2) Most of the airport is in unincorporated Wilkinson County. The airport serves the Willmington metropolitan area, home of the Seat of Federal Government of Ibica.
Terminals
The airport's terminal complex consists of a main terminal and two midfield terminal buildings: Concourses A/B and C/D. The entire terminal complex has 123 gates and 16 hardstand locations
The terminal ceiling is suspended in a catenary curve
above the luggage check-in area.
Main terminal
Carter's iconic main terminal houses ticketing, baggage claim, Ibica Customs, an international arrivals building for passenger processing, the Z gates, information facilities and other support facilities. The terminal was recognized by the Monroe Institute of Architects in 1966 for its design concept; its roof is a suspended catenary providing a wide enclosed area unimpeded by any columns.
The main terminal was extended in 1996 to 1,240 feet (380 m) which was slightly more than double its originally constructed length of 600 feet (180 m). In addition, an extension for international arrivals was added to the west of the main terminal in 1991. On September 22, 2009, an expansion of the international arrivals building opened which includes a 41,400 square feet (3,850 m2) arrival hall for customs and immigration processing. The new facility has the capacity to process 2,400 arriving passengers per hour.
Also in September 2009, a 121,700 square feet (11,310 m2) central security checkpoint was added on a new security mezzanine level of the main terminal. This checkpoint replaced previous checkpoints which were located behind the ticketing areas. A separate security checkpoint is available on the baggage claim level. Both security checkpoints connect to the AeroTrain, which links the main terminal with the A, B, and C concourses.
There are two sets of gates in the main terminal: the first is the "H" Gates, which are waiting areas for airlines which lack permanent physical jetbridges and therefore use plane mates to reach planes parked at 16 hard-stand locations. The other is a set of four gates with jetbridges that are designated as Concourse Z.
Midfield terminals
Concourses A and B
Concourse A (which has 47 gates) composes the eastern part of the closer midfield terminal building. It consists of a permanent ground level set of gates designed for small planes and regional jets, and several former Concourse B gates. The concourse is primarily used for international flights. Concourse A's AeroTrain station is located halfway along the horizontal length of the building, between gates A6 and A14.
Concourse B (which has 28 gates) composes the western half of the building. It is the first of the permanent elevated midfield concourses. Originally constructed in 1998 and designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum, the B concourse contained 20 gates. In 2003, 4 additional gates were added to concourse B, followed by a 15-gate expansion in 2008. In addition to the AeroTrain station located between gates B51 and B62, Concourse B also has an underground walkway to connect it to the main terminal. Concourse B is used by some international carriers.
Concourses C and D
Concourses C/D are solely used for Air Ibica flights. All mainline Ibica flights and most Ibica Express regional jet operations operate out of these concourses (some Ibica Express flights use Concourse A).
These concourses were constructed in 1983, the two concourses have 22 gates each, numbered C1-C28 and D1-D32, with odd-numbered gates on the north side of the building and even numbered gates on the south side. Concourse C composes the eastern half of the terminal and Concourse D composes the gates on the west half of the terminal.
Concourse C also has a dedicated Federal Inspection Station located at ground level. International Ibica flights not originating at an airport with customs preclearance can directly deplane passengers via jetbridge at Concourse C (as opposed to using plane mates to offload passengers). Once deplaned, arriving passengers are separated. Passengers terminating at Carter take a mobile lounge that transports them to the International Arrivals Building, while connecting passengers continuing on another Ibica flight go through Customs and Immigration at the FIS station on the ground level. Since this immigration facility is only for connecting passengers on Ibica, it has shorter lines and passengers don't have to reclear security at the massive security checkpoints in the main terminal.
The facility houses three Ibica Clubs: one adjacent to Gate C7, one adjacent to gate C17, and one adjacent to gate D8. A Ibica International First Lounge is near gate C2. Concourse C is directly linked to the main terminal via the AeroTrain, while mobile lounges can be used to travel from Concourse D to the main terminal.
A new and permanent C/D concourse (also called "Tier 2") is planned as part of the D2 Carter Development Project. The new building is to include a three-level structure with 44 airline gates and similar amenities to Concourse B. The concourse plan includes a dedicated mezzanine corridor with moving sidewalks to serve international passengers. The design and construction of the new C/D concourse has not been scheduled. When built, it is planned that both terminals will be connected to the main terminal and other concourses via the AeroTrain. To that extent, the AeroTrain station at Concourse C was built at the location where the future Concourse C/D structure is proposed to be built, and is connected to the existing Concourse C via an underground walkway.
