LATEST BUZZ
BIG SKY, BIG GROWTH Tourism, Population Growth Prompt Expansions Of Montana Airports BY DAVID WARD
Above: Set to open in April, the new South Concourse at Missoula Montana Airport will feature hold rooms with amenities such as charging stations, Wi-Fi, and windows with electro-chromatic glazing and tinting that offer spectacular views of the Montana landscape.
riven by a rapid recovery in tourism combined with general business growth as more people and companies move to Montana’s wideopen spaces, Missoula Montana Airport (MSO) and Glacier Park International Airport (FCA) have both embarked on major terminal expansions to add gates and improve the passenger experience.
D
Missoula Montana Airport Like many older airports, MSO found that steady annual passenger growth during the past decade left it struggling with a pre-9/11 design that had too many amenities and more space than necessary located pre-security.
“Our terminal was maybe the right size, but the space was all in the wrong places,” says Brian Ellestad, MSO airport director. “It was small and there was really no room to expand.” By the middle of the last decade airport officials were actively working on a solution and in 2018 broke ground the new MSO South Concourse, the first part of a two-phase, $110 million project. Expected to be completed in April 2022, the South Concourse will increase the total MSO terminal square footage by more than 50 percent to about 153,000 square feet, while also boosting the number of gates for carriers. “Currently we have seven [aircraft] parking spots and that will increase to eight when the first phase is completed,” Ellestad said.
A X N E W S N O V E M BE R / DE C E M BE R 2 0 2 1
5
