Cascadia Coleman International Airport

Satellite imagery of the airfield taken in February 2023

CCIA's official logo

**Coleman International Airport** (French: *Aéroport International de Cascadie Coleman*) (IATA: **CDX**, ICAO: **ACSC,** colloquially **CCIA**) is the main international airport serving Cascadia. It is the largest and busiest airport in Armonia by both passenger and cargo traffic. As a result of it's proximity to the United States and Canada, and it's unique immigration system, CCIA is also one of the world's busiest airports for international transfers.

CCIA is the hub for national flag carrier Air Armonia and a focus city for U.S. carrier Delta Air Lines. As a result of Project Cascadia, the airport has been dramatically expanded within the span of a year to include a new terminal, concourses, parking garage, runways, and ground transportation connections.

## History

Until 2021, the airport was originally named Mattupolis International Airport, and included one large terminal with seven gates, and one smaller regional terminal with three gates. Within the announcement of Armonia moving the capital to Cascadia, the airport was considered a marquis focus of Project Cascadia. Aimed to be "a modern, world-class welcome mat to nation," a massive expansion program was announced, which included a brand new main terminal complex, a total of seven new concourses with dedicated international, transborder, and domestic areas, an lengthened runway, and a brand new parking garage with an attached METRO station. Additionally, the plan was used to announce arBorders' new immigration pilot program entitled Passcontrol. As a result of effects on aviation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, construction was able to occur as the airport remained fully operational. The project was masterplanned by massArchitecture, and featured collaborative interior design with Fletcherworks.

The following is a timeline overview of the airport's expansion plans:

## Immigration and Flight Designations

CCIA uses three official designations to label the origin and destination of flights. These labels determine the arrival, departure, and connection process for passengers moving through the airport and are controlled and monitored electronically via boarding passes and airline reservation details kept by arBorders.

* **International:** Flights departing/arriving to or from another country except the U.S. or Canada
* **Transborder:** Flights departing/arriving to or from a neighbouring country, referring exclusively to the U.S. and Canada
* **Domestic:** Flights departing/arriving to or from other cities within Armonia

### Passcontrol

The airport utilises a unique immigration system called Passcontrol which enables passengers interchanging on flights between neighbouring countries (transborder flights) to bypass formal Armonian immigration, and instead pre-clear the immigration required of their connecting flight. This allows for CCIA to serve small airports in the U.S. and Canada and connect them together. Passcontrol is manned and maintained by arBorders agents, and is electronically monitored by boarding passes, passports, and airline reservation numbers in order to prevent illegal or undetected entry.

Passports of departing passengers are inspected upon entry thru the security checkpoint, and are then directed to U.S. and Canadian pre-clearance facilities as required. Arriving passengers from domestic and transborder flights are separated from the main terminal immediately upon arrival and clear the required immigration and customs process of their next flight, or complete Armonian immigration to access baggage claim, at the dedicated Passcontrol area on the lower level. Passengers arriving on domestic flights where Cascadia is their final destination can avoid Passcontrol by taking a dedicated walkway directly to baggage claim from Concourse R. All international arrivals clear Armonian immigration regardless of connecting flight destination at the dedicated Immigration and Customs Facility underneath Concourses F and G, and can complete U.S. and Canadian pre-clearance before taking a train back to the main terminal.

If a passenger does not complete a step within the Passcontrol process correctly, or at all, they are refused from boarding. Armed security agents and airport police are present at all times to escort passengers back thru Passcontrol as needed.

## Facilities

The airport has one bi-level terminal which houses check-in, two security checkpoint facilities, baggage claim, and Passcontrol facilities. The terminal is connected to METRO via the parking garage. Four concourses (A, B, C, R) are connected directly to the terminal which serve transborder and domestic flights. Two other satellite concourses, one dedicated to U.S. transborder flights and one serving international flights are connected to the terminal via an underground automated people mover called SkyConnect. One concourse (E) is completed, while two concourses (F and G) is planned in the future. In total, the airport currently has 31 gates, with an estimated 51 once all satellite concourses are completed.

The airport has one main terminal building, six (eventually seven) concourses, several air cargo buildings, one runway (eventually two), and an air traffic control tower. Four concourses (A, B, C, R) are connected directly to the terminal which serve transborder and domestic flights. Two other satellite concourses, one dedicated to U.S. transborder flights and one serving international flights are connected to the terminal via an underground automated people mover called SkyConnect. One concourse (E) is completed, while two concourses (F and G) is planned in the future. In total, the airport currently has 31 gates, with an estimated 51 once all satellite concourses are completed.

### Main Terminal Complex

The main terminal consists of one building in a corner configuration, informally referred to as Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. They are directly connected to Concourses A, B, C and R. A parking garage which houses rental cars, short and long term parking, and access to the Airport METRO station is available by crossing the roadway outside the terminal. The ground floor (Level 1) contains 7 baggage claims and the main Passcontrol arrivals facility. The upper floor (Level 2) is at gate level, and has 11 check-in islands (A-G in Terminal 1, H-L in Terminal 2) and two security checkpoints (one for concourses A-C + R, and another for concourses E-G). The SkyConnect transfer level is located beneath the terminal underground on Level -1.

#### Concourses A, B, and C

Concourses A, B, and C serve as transborder concourses, with the latter serving regional flights on smaller aircraft via ground gates. Arriving passengers in Concourses A and B are immediately separated via ramps and controlled doors onto the ground-floor arrivals level which convene at Passcontrol. Concourse C contains mixed arrivals and departures traffic, however passengers cannot board connecting flights without having their boarding pass electronic tied to Passcontrol clearance.

#### Concourse R

Concourse R is the only area designed for domestic flights within Armonia. Originally constructed to be part of Concourse A, it was reassigned in October 2022 to strictly serve Air Armonia flights. In order to facilitate domestic arrivals, a walkway was constructed on the arrivals level which leads passengers directly to baggage claim without the need to clear Passcontrol. The concourse sits on the site of the original Mattupolis International Airport regional terminal, "Terminal 2."

### Satellite Complex

When all airport improvement projects are completed, CCIA will be served by four satellite concourses, Concourses E,F, G, and H. Currently, only one concourse (E) is completed, while another (F) is in the final phases of construction. Passengers access the concourses via SkyConnect, an underground automated people mover system with dedicated routes and tunnels depending on flight designation category. Arriving passengers from Concourse E are required to clear Passcontrol at the main terminal before connecting flights, unless their next flight also departs from Concourses E, F, and G.

#### Concourse E

Concourse E exclusively serves transborder flights for the United States. Passengers are allowed to freely connect to other flights within the concourse, or to international departures in Concourses F and G. However, in order to access all other transborder and domestic areas of the airport for connections (including baggage claim), passengers are required to take a secured SkyConnect train back to the Main Terminal complex and clear Passcontrol.

#### Concourses F + G and ICF

Concourses F and G are two matching satellite concourses designed exclusively for international flights. They are bi-level, with departure lounges on the upper level and arrivals hallways on the lower level. The concourses share an underground Immigration and Customs Facility (ICF) located beneath the tarmac spanning between the two buildings. Once processed through Armonian immigration, passengers have the opportunity to compete Passcontrol if they are connecting to a transborder flight, and can then take SkyConnect back to the main terminal to either exit the airport or change aircraft.

#### Concourse H

In February 2023, Project Cascadia announced an additional concourse would be constructed north of Concourses F and G which will exclusively serve transborder regional flights. This enables the airport to connect to smaller cities in the Pacific Northwest, and nearby mountain areas. The bi-level concourse will be connected to the rest of the airport via a separate SkyConnect system, and will house its own Passcontrol area. The concourse will not have any jetbridges. Instead, passengers will board flights via arDA compliant ramps from the second level straight onto the apron. The architecture of the new concourse will be similar to that of Concourse C, but will have a wooden ceiling with grey accents similar to the new San Antonio airport redevelopment in Texas.

Plans to construct the second international satellite concourse (Concourse G) have been pushed back in order to prioritise Concourse H. Therefore when completed, it will be CCIA’s seventh concourse.

Shortly after announcing the new concourse, regional affiliates of Delta Air Lines, Air Canada, United Airlines, and WestJet agreed to launch new routes, primarily leveraging CRJ, ERJ, and Dash8, aircraft.

### SkyConnect

SkyConnect is the name of CCIA's automated people mover system which allows passengers to facilitate connections between the airport's main terminal complex and satellite concourses. Most of the systems operate unidirectionally, allowing arrivals to move through the airport in a secured area before clearing Passcontrol.

### Runway

The airport's 1,031 block (0.58 miles, 3,093 ft) long runway is scheduled to be lengthened in order to accommodate heavier aircraft. Additionally, a second runway is expected to be constructed parallel to Concourse G after it's completion to alleviate single-runway traffic.