New Orleans airport plans upgrades

A $755-million overhaul is planned for Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. The upgrades include new signs, brighter lighting and a new concourse. Design or construction has already begun on 10 of the 16 projects identified for the suburban New Orleans airport. Interim aviation director Patricia Malone says travelers next year should begin to see extensive terminal renovations. For example, flat screens are set to replace the 1980s-style flight information monitors to lend to a more modern feel. Over the next few years, Malone says the airport will dramatically change into a facility of which the community can be proud. This is good news for tourism officials, particularly with New Orleans set to host the 2013 Super Bowl. Dan Packer, chairman of the New Orleans Aviation Board, says Hurricane Katrina set back upgrade plans, including work inside terminals and a concourse expansion. Airport finances also were problematic, and there was turmoil, including the resignation earlier this year of the airport’s director and talks of privatizing the airport. The airport projects passenger levels will return to pre-Katrina levels by 2016.