Tag: Concourse B

The new concourse at Memphis International Airport (MEM) will not open this year as airport officials had planned, but is now expected to open sometime in early 2022. 

The airport has been under construction since the project to build a new, modern B Concourse was announced in 2014. Officials previously stated the project would be complete as early as early 2021. 

The project has stalled, however, on Covid-related staffing and supply chain issues, according to MEM spokesman Glen Thomas. No firm date or timeline has been set for the opening. 

“We’re probably several weeks away from knowing the date,” Thomas said. “We’ve been very intentional about not setting that date until we know with certainty that we can open up.

“It’s probably no surprise to anyone that many things have happened in the past year-and-a-half. Certain things slowed us down a little bit. Covid slowed us down. Staffing. Supply chain. But we are working very hard.” 

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The gate area for passengers looks finished. Art is hung. News plays on screens above empty seats. Barstools line up neatly at restaurants. Empty store shelves need only to be filled with snacks and paperbacks. 

However, Thomas said the airline operations area one floor beneath the gates needs more work. Specialized equipment for airplanes has been hard to come by, he said. But so have ordinary building supplies like water heaters, paint, fire alarms, and door frames. 

“It’s the same thing everyone else is going through in various construction projects; we’re all running into the same things,” Thomas said. “Ours just happens to to be large and complex and involves virtually dozens of companies all moving into the same area.”

New details:

Back upstairs in the gate area of the new concourse, the easiest upgrade to spot is the size. Gone are the low, drop ceilings that have welcomed Memphians back home for decades. The ceiling in the new concourse is high enough to disappear from thought.  

That ceiling forms over the massive concourse, wide enough, it seemed on a recent tour, for a game of polo. That space is veined in the center by two large moving walkways. Massive windows frame both sides of the concourse, flooding the space with pleasant, natural light, even on a gloomy day. 

Twenty-three gates line both sides of the gleaming concourse. More gates can easily be added in the future, Thomas said, should growth demand them. The 23 gates to be opened can accommodate 6 million annual passengers, about 50 percent more traffic than pre-pandemic levels. The new gates are wider than before to accommodate more people and make them more comfortable as they wait. 

At the gates, and throughout the concourse, travelers will find seats with wireless chargers for smartphones and other devices built into the armrest. Most seats come, also, with USB charging ports and a standard electric port for plugs. 

New restaurants inside include Memphis Made Brewing Co., a Memphis Grizzlies-themed eatery, and a pizzeria called Stage Left. Old favorites like Lenny’s and Starbucks are in the new concourse, too. 

A children’s play area has slides and nooks for playing and benches for parents. A stage for live music promises performances inside the concourse. 

Families with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will have their own place to rest and wait with a large room on the concourse that features televisions, refrigerators, and places to lounge. Members of the military also have a space of their own on the new concourse. 

Other amenities include larger bathrooms, a bathroom for pets, work spaces, a lactation room for mothers, numerous stores, air-conditioned jet bridges, and more.