Best things we saw during a sneak peek inside San Diego airport’s new Terminal 1

“There’s really no comparison.”

It’s a comment you’ll frequently hear from San Diego airport officials when describing the soon-to-open Terminal 1. And it’s a sentiment most passengers will likely feel once they step inside the light-filled, spacious building that is nearly three times the size of the 1960s-era facility it is replacing.

From elegantly designed restrooms adorned with mosaic glass tile and an outdoor dining area with downtown skyline views to swivel chairs that line the glass wall of the concourse-level gates, the new building is a dramatic change from a terminal that was never designed to accommodate the 10 million passengers that now pass through it each year.

While the first full day of operations is still a little less than a month off, members of the media were taken on a guided tour Tuesday of the nearly completed first phase of what will eventually be a 30-gate terminal. It opens Sept. 23 — after nearly four years of construction — with 19 gates, 17 new food and retail concessions, 13 security screening lanes (three more than the existing terminal), and seven baggage carousels (more than twice the current number).

“When you walk in you can see that you’re not in existing Terminal 1 anymore,” said Angela Shafer-Payne, the airport’s vice president and chief development officer who is overseeing what is a $3.8 billion project that includes the second phase of Terminal 1 that will open in early 2028, a new on-airport roadway and a second taxiway. “I’ve stopped trying to compare the two facilities. There really is no comparison. Existing Terminal 1 today is 336,000 square feet. The first phase of Terminal 1 is approximately a million square feet.”

“What have we done differently in this building is we’ve finally come up to modern standards for airports.”

For those eager to know what to expect from the new Terminal 1, here’s a preview of what our reporting team believes passengers will find most useful and appealing.

Spacious, bright and airy

The terminal’s glass facade naturally allows San Diego sunlight to come streaming through the ground-floor ticket lobby, but the terminal’s architectural team had a challenge to make sure all that light didn’t come at the expense of being able to clearly read monitors and displays on the check-in kiosks. The solution? A curved glass facade with fritted glass patterns that are embedded on the inner surface of glass panels that help to diffuse lighting.

“We’ve had a challenge in the past with our other terminals,” Shafer-Payne said. “We have this beautiful San Diego sunlight that we want to let into the building at all times but that really can cause a challenge, even for the ticket agents. So it eliminates the need to put in those sun shades that can be a maintenance challenge for us.”

Also a big change is the ability, upon entering the terminal, to see completely through the building, through security, to the airfield itself.

The terminal’s sense of spaciousness is also readily apparent, whether it’s in baggage claim, at the ticket counter area or along the concourse where food and beverage spaces are still being built out.

The enlarged size also allows airlines to operate more comfortably and with greater volumes of passengers. While Southwest, which is San Diego’s largest air carrier, will be the primary airline using the new terminal, on opening day there will be five other airlines as tenants — Breeze, Frontier, Spirit, JetBlue and Sun Country. In the spring, Air Canada and WestJet will join them, and by early 2028, Delta will relocate to Terminal 1.

Andy Huang, design director for the airport architect, Gensler, explained that the new terminal was designed in a way to reduce congestion and have a wide open feel.

One way the firm did that was to use many bracing columns in a triangular shape that are out of the way of travelers, he said, as opposed to having massive columns passengers need to walk around.

A more Zen security area

One of the most stressful parts of going to the airport can be navigating your way through the security lanes run by the Transportation Security Administration. Airport officials said they deliberately oversized the security screening area to accommodate future technology changes and the potential need to bring in more equipment.

One change that is likely to make the security experience less stressful are the 13 lanes, compared with the three in the old terminal. But designers went way beyond that. The ceiling was lowered slightly to provide a more calming effect, and the design of the wood panels adorning it was inspired by waves coming up onto the beach, which is reflected in the undulation in the darker and lighter wood tones. There are also acoustic features in the ceiling designed to deaden sound.

“You’re stressed out when you’re going through security so we wanted to make it a beautiful space,” said Kris McCann, interior design director for Gensler. “We also have beautiful walnut benches along the side (in the security area), so when you’re putting your shoes and your belts back on, there’s ample space to do that.”

Designer restrooms

Framed on the exterior by varying shades of iridescent-like blue, green and black mosaic tile and accented inside with marble-looking porcelain tile meant to mimic natural stone, the new restrooms are decidedly modern with a touch of elegance. Geometric-patterned tile serves to accent the area above the rectangular-shaped sinks.

In all, there are 23 restrooms in the first phase of Terminal 1, compared with 14 in the existing facility.

Beyond the soothing, esthetic look, the restrooms’ exterior mosaic tile has a very functional purpose, explained Huang.

“We wanted to codify or brand our restrooms, so regardless of where you are in the airport, you know which one is the restroom and where they’re at,” he said. “It’s a way to play up the intuitive way-finding so you’re not always dependent on signs.”

Comfy, high-tech seating

In the gate area, every other seat is powered, and there are also high counters where on one side the seating is fixed, and the other side is left open for standing. The tops of all of them are also equipped for charging devices. There is also modern-looking lounge seating with sofas, all fashioned from eco leather in shades of blue, gray, taupe and green.

The rows of seats at each of the gates were designed with double armrests, Huang explained, to give waiting passengers more personal space.

“We see that gets more usage as opposed to the single armrest where people tend to sit in every other seat,” he said. “But when you put in the second armrest, people will use almost every seat.”

Outdoor dining

Rare for most modern airports is patio dining, but given San Diego’s generally temperate climate, it was a no-brainer. Upon venturing outside on the upper level, you’ll be immediately struck by the vista of the downtown skyline and, once the terminal opens, the jets themselves. In the distance, the large Sheraton San Diego Resort on Harbor Island can be seen.

Large enough to accommodate 341 people, the venue offers a variety of seating choices, including chairs that rock. While covered now for protection, we got a sneak peek of a colorful rectangular dining table fashioned from Catalina tile.

“This is a view you can’t beat,” Huang said. “At that (Sheraton) resort over there, they probably have the same view but you’re probably paying $500 a night there vs. here, where anyone who catches a flight out of here can get that view and ambience.”

Restaurants and stores still under construction

All food and beverage venues, along with retail outlets, are set to open by Sept. 23, but it was difficult to imagine Tuesday, with most still under construction. The flavor will be local, from familiar brick-and-mortar concepts such as The Taco Stand, Better Buzz Coffee, Luna Grill and Ambrogio 15 — plus a restaurant that skateboard legend Tony Hawk and San Diego chef Claudette Zepeda teamed up to create.

On Tuesday, workers were in the process of hanging a Sears catalog motorcycle from the 1960s near the ceiling of the J.T. Bros sandwich shop.

Baggage in the basement

The new terminal will be the only airport building that has a basement, but it has a very specific purpose — to house a 4-mile-long baggage belt. Airport staff have been putting the system through numerous tests to ensure it will operate efficiently come opening day. It should make for a far more fail-proof and well-run system compared to what exists in the old building, Shafer-Payne said.

“So through all of that testing process, we’ve had over a 99% accuracy rate,” she said. ““The system is smart and understands how to keep spacing between the bags, which helps the readers direct the bags to the correct belt or carousel.”

‘A Day in the Sun’

Just past the security area are a series of striking mosaic-clad columns where more than a million glass tile pieces across six columns were set by hand. The yellow- and blue-themed columns are meant to represent a sort of time lapse from sunrise to sunset as one proceeds along the 1,800-foot length of the terminal. Interesting to note, artist Amy Ellington brought the colors of each column down into the terrazzo flooring at the base.

Eye-catching artwork

One of the larger interior art displays for the new terminal is a creative configuration of gold-finished steel plates, meant to represent three Torrey pine trees. Suspended above the entrance to the security line, the plates don’t appear to represent anything specific, but from a certain angle as you move through the building, they appear to come to life as Torrey pines. Still, what it appears to be may come down to the eye of the beholder. Some members of the Tuesday tour guessed everything from clouds and dinosaurs to the continents.

Outside at the curbside arrivals area is a not-hard-to-miss interpretation of a jellyfish that stands 15 feet tall. A mix of red, purple and pink hues, it’s designed to look like the purple-striped jellyfish found off the San Diego coast. One of the tentacles extends to the ground and turns into a bench. Near the entrance of the new Terminal 1 Parking Plaza is another public art piece called “Migrations.” It features red (40 feet tall) and yellow (20 feet tall) sculptures in a circular shape with bird-like shapes throughout. The piece, by artist Walter Hood, is meant to symbolize the connection between earth and sky.

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