SALT LAKE CITY -- The holiday hustle and bustle is already in motion which can only mean one thing: more traveling. Traveling can be stressful, crowded, and all around, a tiring process -- especially during the holidays!
The Salt Lake City International Airport is doing everything they can to improve the traveler’s experience. It all started with an idea back in 2012. Now, the airport has been under construction for the last five years.
Program Director for the Airport Redevelopment Program, Mike Williams, said the construction started in July of 2014. Essentially, the SLC airport is getting a full facelift to meet safety regulations and accommodate this fast-growing state.
Williams said, “Today it gets pretty congested because we have so many people using the existing airport.'
Salt Lake City has become one of the major hubs for Delta Airlines with about 70 percent of total traffic, so the size of the current airport just wasn’t cutting it.
If you’ve been to the airport recently, you can see the new airport is almost up and running. Yet, the difficulty has been building a new airport while the current one still stands.
“We’re really building a new house on top of our existing house,” Williams compared.
Yet, Williams said the new airport will benefit flyers, “They're really going to be impressed with the efficiency of the new airport -- the fact that it's going to be very easy to get into the airport because we'll have a very robust roadway system.”
In addition, the airport will feature plenty of natural light, a Utah-inspired color palette and design, more concessions and retail, and great spaces where flyers will be able to relax before their flights.
The airport redevelopment team said the project is expected to finish in September of 2020, so by next holiday season, you’ll get to enjoy all these amenities during your travels.