San Diego International Airport New Terminal 1

San Diego is replacing its cramped, 1960s-era Terminal 1 with a 30-gate building that roughly doubles the airport’s oldest concourse. Phase 1A opened in September 2025 with 19 gates. Crews started Phase 1B in early 2026, and the full terminal won’t finish until 2028.

Project Scope
The $3.8 billion New T1 is the largest project in the airport’s history. A Turner-Flatiron/Dragados joint venture is building it, with Gensler as lead architect. The program adds a new terminal building, an on-airport entry road that pulls traffic off Harbor Drive, a central utility plant, and a stormwater capture system. Phase 1B brings three more gates online in spring 2026, with the last eight opening in early 2028 to reach 30 total. The design leans on daylight, local materials, and a passenger flow built around a single consolidated security checkpoint.

Why It Matters
San Diego runs one of the busiest single-runway airports in the country, and the old Terminal 1 had become the bottleneck. The new building adds gate capacity without a second runway, which the site can’t fit. The roadway and transit provisions also matter: the airport authority is trying to cut the curbside congestion that has plagued the Harbor Drive frontage for years. It’s a rare case of a major U.S. airport rebuilding its oldest terminal from the ground up rather than patching it.

Project Team & Details