Ten years ago, McCarran International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas became one of the first U.S. airports to offer passengers free Wi-Fi inside its terminal. Now, the airport is beaming Wi-Fi outside, to passengers sitting on its ramps in arriving and departing aircraft.

Winnipeg Richardson International Airport (YWG) is partnering with Plaza Premium Lounge to add a common-use lounge to its lineup of customer services. Scheduled to open in April, the 3,200-square-foot facility is the Manitoba airport's first lounge without a specific airline affiliation.

For years, Aruba's Queen Beatrix International Airport (AUA) didn't reflect the vibrancy of its Caribbean locale. These days, the terminal is awash in ocean blues, foliage greens and the warm yellows and oranges of an island sunset.

With average snow accumulations of 4 1/2 feet per winter, snow removal is serious business at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP). Crews plow, blow, broom and deice more than 28 million square feet in airfield pavement alone - the equivalent of a two-lane highway running from the Twin Cities to New Orleans.

After losing their respective carriers and being declared “dead” by one consultant’s study, two southern Mississippi airports have joined forces and secured shared service with the help of a new consultant and an essential air service contract. In early November, Meridian Regional Airport (MEI) and Hattiesburg-Laurel Regional Airport (PIB) both celebrated the beginning of new service to Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) on ExpressJet, operating under Skywest for American Airlines. After picking up passengers at PIB, 50-seat regional jets continue to MEI, just 60 miles north, to pick up additional passengers before heading to DFW. “Do you know how much fun it was to announce we had jet service with American?” asks Tom Williams, president and chief executive officer of the Meridian Airport Authority.

Hancock County-Bar Harbor Airport (BHB) overcame significant financial challenges to remodel its facilities. And in the end, the small Maine airport doubled the size of its terminal, upgraded its security area, added new customer conveniences and generally made the building more aesthetically pleasing and energy efficient. The $2.5 million facelift, completed late last year, increased BHB’s terminal from 5,000 to 10,000 square feet. It also created separate arrival and departure areas — a critical upgrade for small airports, due to post-9/11 security requirements. (BHB logs about 34,000 total operations annually.) But the project required intense number crunching to keep it within budget. A collaborative effort by airport officials, the contractor, design team and engineering consultant cut nearly 20% from the original $3.1 million cost estimate.

Getting to and from Oakland International Airport (OAK) is drastically easier for many passengers since the new connection opened in November between the airport and California’s Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) train system. OAK’s financial share of the project was $45 million — just less than 10% of the total cost. “It’s important that we invest in transportation infrastructure that serves today as well as into the future,” explains Deborah Ale-Flint, Director of Aviation for the Port of Oakland.

Recent enhancements to baggage handling at Halifax Stanfield International Airport (YHZ) are setting new precedents for efficiency in the front of the house and behind the scenes. A fully automated self-service baggage drop is the first of its kind in North America; and associated backroom systems have more than tripled the Nova Scotia airport’s overall handling capacity.

From new restrooms and giant video walls to updated architectural finishes, Tampa International Airport (TPA) has undergone a gradual yet comprehensive transformation during the last four years. Now that its $23 million Main Terminal Modernization Project is complete, it may be more accurate to refer to the Florida airport as “43 years young” rather than 43 years old.