A $75.6 million plan to keep parked planes comfortable

The air keeping aircraft cabins comfortable between flights is the subject of a proposed $75.6 million overhaul at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Atlanta’s Transportation Committee is scheduled to consider the agreement Monday, Nov. 9, at 10 a.m., for systems serving 60 gates on Concourses B and E.⁠[1][2]

Called pre-conditioned air, the system supplies heating or cooling to planes parked at gates. The Phase 2 project would replace the centralized equipment that produces chilled and heated glycol for air-handling units mounted on passenger boarding bridges. Chillers, pumps, heat exchangers, tanks and piping are among the components slated for replacement, with the system sized for current gate configurations and aircraft.⁠[1][2]

The aviation general manager and chief procurement officer recommend awarding the work to NSAS Constructors II, a joint venture. The proposed agreement caps the price at $75,620,549 and calls for substantial completion within 530 calendar days after a notice to proceed—not 530 days from a council vote.⁠[2]

The construction funding plan assigns $28 million to an FAA grant and $47.6 million to the airport’s Aviation Encumbrance Program. A companion budget ordinance would add the federal grant to the airport’s FY2027 budget.⁠[2]

The grant ordinance describes an 80% federal share paired with a $7 million city contribution—a $35 million calculation, not 80% of the full construction agreement. The construction resolution lists the larger $47.6 million airport contribution; the packet does not explain how the grant’s cost calculation maps to the larger contract.⁠[2]

Neither measure should be read as a completed construction authorization. The City Council referred the grant budget ordinance to committee on Nov. 2. The packet lists the construction agreement as pending before the Transportation Committee on Nov. 9 and the full council on Nov. 16.⁠[2]