New Orleans airport officials are preparing to knock down big portions of the vacant south terminal, a significant step in the broader plan to upgrade infrastructure, expand parking, add hangar space and eventually build another new terminal over the next 20 years.
Demolition of the concourses of south terminals A and B, where passengers caught their planes for decades before the north terminal of Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport opened in 2019, is expected to begin in the next three months, according to airport spokesperson Tara Letort.
Letort noted that a specific start date and cost estimate will come out after the demo contract is awarded.
The McDonnel Group, the general contractor on the project, is currently seeking bids for the work, with responses due later in July.
Portions of the south terminal will remain standing and will be used for servicing and repairing aircrafts. The demolition will create space for a new hangar. At a March news conference, Aviation Director Kevin Dolliole said cargo and private aviation terminals, along with a school for aircraft mechanics, are also planned for the site.
The demolition is among the more noticeable signs that the airport’s larger master plan is being put into motion. It’s an effort that airport officials, parish and city leaders began working on nearly three years ago and presented updates on earlier this year.
Several other infrastructure projects are currently being completed at the airport, including an $84.5 million project to pave a connector road for shuttles.
Demolition plans
The south terminal, originally known as the Moisant International Airport terminal, opened in 1959 and was built for $7.5 million. Two additional concourses were added to the terminal in 1974 and allowed the airport to expand to 42 gates.
When the $1.3 billion north terminal opened in 2019, the airport relocated passenger service and other operations previously housed on the south campus to the new terminal.
Parts of the south terminal remained in use for administrative and public safety purposes. Occasionally, movie and television crews used the space as a set for filming. It’s also been used as a skate park.
Abandoned concourses like this one served as the perfect skatepark for a competition sponsored by Red Bull over the weekend at the former Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport terminal in Kenner, La., Saturday, May 1, 2021. (Photo by Sophia Germer, NOLA.com, The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
Demolishing the south terminal is only one part of the larger master plan to expand the airport. The plan also includes adding more gates, expanding the security checkpoint area, building another parking garage and a second terminal.
In July 2025, airport officials said they would need to open a second terminal in the next six years to meet travel demands.
Airport passenger count grew from 5.9 million to 6.6 million between 2022 and 2024. Passenger traffic dipped nearly 9% in 2025, falling to 6.2 million passengers.
The airport expects to see passenger growth reach 9.7 million “enplanements,” or the number of passengers boarding an aircraft, by 2031, Dolliole said at the time.
