The oldest section of Newark Liberty International Airport is slated for a major renovation as a proposal to replace the entire terminal advances through the planning process.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey commissioners recently approved the first phase of work on Terminal B at Newark Airport. The first component of the agency’s 2026-2035 Capital Plan allocates $75 million for the work.
The terminal, which opened in 1973, is slated to receive $200 million in upgrades over the next three years. The improvements will upgrade the facility while plans for a completely new Terminal B are finalized; the Port Authority hopes to have it open by the mid-2030s.
“These investments reflect what matters most: our customers,” said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole in a statement. “The Board’s authorization of this funding is a commitment that the experience of traveling through Newark Liberty today is just as important as the terminal we’re building for tomorrow. As these interim improvements are implemented, passengers should see and feel the difference: in the seats they wait in, the restrooms they use, and the systems that move them through the terminal.”
The $200 million three-year program will refresh gate areas with new seating, flooring, and lighting, replace escalators and elevators, improve ADA accessibility, renovate restrooms, and upgrade passenger boarding bridges. Other work will include improving HVAC systems and controls, and refurbishing baggage handling systems.
The initial $75 million phase, launching this year, prioritizes the terminal’s most pressing needs: gate areas, restrooms, high-traffic circulation spaces, frontage and lighting, and the elevator, escalator, and boarding bridge systems that are most critical to daily operations.
“Newark Liberty is undergoing a major transformation, but that cannot come at the expense of the passenger experience today,” said Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia. “This investment goes directly at the things customers encounter on every trip: the gate areas where they wait, the restrooms they rely on, the escalators and elevators that move them through the building. We’re replacing what’s worn, upgrading what’s outdated, and making targeted improvements that will be immediately noticeable to anyone who travels through Terminal B.”
The Port Authority says that when Terminal B opened in 1973, it was designed to serve approximately 6.8 million annual passengers. In 2025, it served about 11.5 million passengers.
The sprucing up of Terminal B is one of several initiatives to modernize Newark Airport. The most prominent recent upgrade to the facility, a new Terminal A, opened in 2023 and won several awards and garnered widespread praise.
