GREAT FALLS — The Great Falls International Airport terminal building is more than 50 years old. But as time goes by, jets get bigger, and more seats are necessary. Now, the airport is expanding the area of Terminal Gates One and Two.
Heather Hoyer has seen first-hand the space struggles in the Great Falls International Airport; she said, “I’ve been here for a while today as I prepare for my flight. It's been comfortable, but it's getting fuller every second.”
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On busy travel days, the seats fill quickly, and restroom lines extend.
Hoyer said, “Everyone wants to use the restroom when they deplane or as they're getting ready to get on the plane, so there's always those prime times to use those, those, areas of the airport.”
Adding more room for Gates One and Two is an issue that Airport Director John Faulkner is excited to be addressing.
Faulkner said, “We're basically going to push the hallway out to the width of those hold rooms and, and make the hold rooms wider, add some restrooms down at the end and just create more space for waiting.”
The project is expected to cost $5.8 million, paid for in majority by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. On Wednesday, the Airport Authority Board approved the first package of $1.8 million.
Faulkner said, “That's the structural steel, the windows and the foundation for the, the new expansion.”
At the current rate of the airline industry, Faulkner expects this expansion will be satisfactory for the next two decades, and he does not expect travel to be greatly affected during construction.
Faulkner said, “There may be a time in there where it gets really small…while we're doing that construction. But I'm hopeful we can kind of keep everything, moving in in the existing gate areas.”
The airport is planning to start the project this summer and have it completed by December of 2026.
