The missed potential of New Terminal 1

San Diego International Airport’s new Terminal 1 is a land of contrasts. On one hand, it’s an unbelievably and undeniably massive improvement over the cramped, outdated, insufficient original it replaced. On the other hand, it’s a project that falls short of its potential experience-wise, and leaves it feeling like just a little more investment could have gone a long way. This contrast makes this new terminal, and the entire airport for that matter, ruthlessly fascinating to discuss.

Honestly, the best part of the entire new Terminal 1 project is operational improvements. The constraining of new Terminal 1 to essentially one long line hugging Harbor Drive has allowed the airport to build a brand new taxiway, taxiway A, parallel to taxiway B—as of now the airport’s only full length taxiway, paralleling the airport’s only runway. For those who haven’t before thought about aircraft ground movements, the vast majority of San Diego airport’s ground-related delays can be blamed on its current single full length taxiway situation. So through that lens, new Terminal 1 is a rousing success, and will be even more successful when the second phase, built atop the now-demolished original, and the planned Terminal 2 East redevelopment are finished.

And it would be foolish to not acknowledge the passenger experience upgrades. The ample seating area, the vast expanses of restrooms, and numerous dining options make the old Terminal 1 pale in comparison. No longer are you sitting at the DMV waiting for your plane to board. And this was a long time coming, too. The original Terminal 1 was built in 1967. When it first opened, it didn’t have jet bridges or a second floor. It had a hole in the center of both circles, too. As further development of the aviation industry and security industry commenced, new additions had to be grafted onto old Terminal 1 to keep pace, creating a grotesque Frankenstein’s monster of a terminal. At some point, the slate had to be wiped clean. So to that end, new Terminal 1 is also a rousing success.

Nova Jiang, Torrey Pines (2025) (Samuel Sharp / BuildSD)

But just because something is an upgrade and a welcome improvement does not mean it is above critique. New Terminal 1 gets some things very wrong. The gargantuan length of the terminal having no moving walkways at all is such a massive failure, that it leads me to believe it had to be in the designs at one point before being cut for costs. For if not, that is incompetence on a scale hitherto unheard of in airport design. Phase 1 of new Terminal 1 is over six football fields long end-to-end, and make no mistake, given Southwest’s gates are at the opposite end of the terminal from the only security checkpoint, you will certainly be travelling end-to-end. Once the second phase is complete, that number will soar to nine football fields, and the end-to-end travel distance of the now-connected Terminals 2 and 1 will be a mile long, carry-on bags in tow of course. If the goal for new Terminal 1 was to make San Diego Airport a “real airport,” then by eschewing moving walkways the airport has utterly failed in that goal.

The problems don’t end there, either. There are little things here and there that also make no sense. The lack of every single seat in the airport having a charging port associated with it, for a terminal opened in 2025, is patently absurd. Even if San Diego Airport thinks that is too lofty of a goal to achieve, just meeting halfway would be an improvement, because there are not enough plugs in this terminal, especially in comparison to The Green Build, a project which opened almost 13 years ago. And while the new Terminal 1 food court area is an improvement over the lack of one in the original, the food court is simply not well lit enough, which is an oversight I didn’t think was possible. It makes it a depressing slog to wait in line to order.

The expanded security lines would be useful, if they were ever fully staffed. The fun looking chairs along the window line would be cool, if they had anything to look at apart from the surprisingly long jet bridges blocking your view. The seating areas have nice, new, chairs, but the areas feel surprisingly cramped when you are in them, and here as well, the lighting is insufficient.

Planespotters look out the large windows of new Terminal 1 on open house day. (Samuel Sharp / BuildSD)

The design is a bit unfortunate, too. Comparing the grandness of Terminal 2 West, a terminal that opened in 1995, with new Terminal 1, leads Terminal 2 West to win hands down—and that’s a shame. New Terminal 1 is extremely bland, extremely basic, lacking nearly any ornamentation or unique attributes. There is nothing truly awe-inspiring about this project on a design level. At best, it’s better than old Terminal 1. But at least old Terminal 1 was, when it opened, a fun meeting of then-in-vogue brutalism with island stylings. New Terminal 1 could be anywhere in the world, and that’s to its detriment.

Charles Faust's original 1966 Sandcast re-installed in the new Terminal 1. (Samuel Sharp / BuildSD)

Through all this, it’s important to remember how incredible it is this project has happened at all. The first rumblings of a new Terminal 1 stretch all the way back to the early 2010’s. We would all rather this project be open than still have to use the old Terminal 1. But even so, it’s hard not to compare new Terminal 1 with other brand new airport terminals in the United States. Portland, New York-LaGuardia, Salt Lake City, Kansas City, Orlando, Nashville, and New Orleans’s new airport terminals all outperform San Diego’s, with well-thought out, roomy, well-lit spaces, aesthetically pleasing designs, in addition to creature comforts that outpace new Terminal 1’s. And this piece isn’t even touching on the inherent absurdity of, as convenient as it is, San Diego Airport still being located where it is in the first place. But that’s a discussion for another time—for now, it’s hard not to feel like, even with the newly opened Terminal 1, San Diego still deserves better aviation wise.