If ever thine eyes see the glory of a new St. Louis Lambert International Airport, it will be because a host of things went right—and the person running point right now is Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge (pronounced HOMM-nee-BREE-gee). As airport director, she has labored to make last year’s federally approved master plan a reality by attending to many constituencies: airlines, passengers, businesses, government bodies. This isn’t quite the same work that she envisioned for herself when, in the ’80s, she applied to the CIA. But early in the process, she took an entry-level job at an airline and never looked back, joining TWA and then American Airlines, where she helped downsize its St. Louis hub. Upon assuming her current role, in 2010, she sensed residual anger over that blow to the region and set about building a coalition to create something new. Today, that something is a $3 billion vision that includes a single consolidated terminal. This year, the airlines, which pay the interest on the revenue bonds that will power the project, gave an approval so that the crucial first third can now be spent. Hamm-Niebruegge is hopeful, but she cautions: It’s not a done deal.
What did the airlines’ recent approval allow you to do? We’d looked at 22 different concepts and decided on a single, dual-sided terminal, but only 10 percent of it is designed. Now, we can go out and get the full architectural design. Construction authority would come when we get to 90 percent, which is expected in June 2026. If all goes well, the western half [of the new terminal] would open in 2028 and the eastern half in 2031.
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Gripes about St. Louis Lambert Airport abound. Who allowed it to reach this state? The industry is what changed. When this airport was built in 1956, concessions were not a thing; people didn’t care whether there were restaurants and shops. And it was designed with gate hold areas that seat 50–70 people. Today, most of our airplanes are operating at 160–186 seats, and these aircraft have wider wingspans and longer tails. They don’t fit into a lot of the existing gates, about a third of which are just not usable at all. So when we did our master plan, we found we’d be spending almost as much just to keep the current infrastructure alive in the long term as we would building a new terminal, only a new terminal allows us to create 60 percent more space for concession and retail. And that’s not only a better customer experience but also drives the revenue side.
You surveyed local airport users about what they want. Did you hear anything unexpected? We thought there would be a strong desire for a new terminal. It was an overwhelming desire.
This project isn’t taxpayer-funded, but St. Louisans who fly will pay through the $4.50 user fee tacked onto their tickets, right? Right, but that’s a pretty small piece, in the scheme of things. The airlines pay for all the bonds that are sold, and they pay that through their terminal rentals and landing fees. That’s the biggest source. Then you have concessions and parking. Then federal grants. But no, you’re not using tax dollars to support this.
Parking can be…difficult. Will the master plan make it easier? It will. The current Terminal 1 garage has 2,000 parking spaces. The new garage would have 7,400 spaces. But even before that, we’re building a sixth surface lot—to be managed, like the others, by Super Park—to the east of Terminal 2. And that will open next year.
Will there still be spaces for local artists to display their work in the new terminal? We’re continuing to raise funds for the art program. Over the years, we’ve been able to bring more than 100 local artists in through the rotating exhibits. We had to create spaces within what we had, but in the new design, we could hopefully create spaces targeted just for that.
What about local restaurateurs? You’ll have a master concession program of some kind, but within that, we’ll insist that there be some number of local partnerships. We’ve got seven or eight already: Schlafly, Three Kings, Urban Chestnut, Kingside Diner. We’re putting a Peacemaker in. Crushed Red has a pizza-making machine in Terminal 2. It’s staggering how much that gets used. People like to see local stuff.
The push to privatize the airport fizzled in 2019. What did you learn? People take a lot of pride in their region’s airport, and if you turn that asset over to for-profit entities, you lose control of how it’s operated. This community felt very strongly that this airport belongs to the region and not to outsiders.
Some insist St. Louis can’t have nice things. But you sound optimistic about the airport. I’m extremely optimistic. We’re at the stage where we have all the partners at the table and we have their support. When this airport was built, it was the pride of aviation across the world. St. Louis did that. It’s time to do that again.
