New SLC International Airport Opens For Travelers
Sep 15, 2020, 7:29 PM | Updated: Sep 16, 2020, 5:50 am
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The wait is over. After a quarter-century of planning and six years of construction, the new Salt Lake City International Airport is open for travelers — and so far, they like what they see.
From the curb to the gate, passengers will walk into a new experience at the new $4.1 billion facility.
“I was really excited to see passengers in the airport,” said airport spokesperson Nancy Volmer.
Passengers saw it for the first time Tuesday.
It’s stunning!! The new @slcairport is open. Here’s an inside look at concourse A. @KSL5TV pic.twitter.com/41KrOX9NpE
— Felicia Martinez (@FeliciaKSL) September 15, 2020
“People are taking selfies in front of the artwork. They’re in awe of this new airport,” Volmer said.
If somebody drops off a passenger for a flight, they’ll walk in on the third level. It’s spacious and beautiful, but very functional as well. Passengers are never too far from a bathroom, a charging outlet or a bite to eat.
“It’s big, it’s spacious, it’s beautiful,” said Bill Wyatt, executive director of airports for Salt Lake City.
He said the designers wanted the new airport to boldly reflect the beauty of Utah. They wanted to make sure that whenever anybody was at the airport they knew that they were in Salt Lake City, Utah.
It’s also designed to be efficient.
“Easy in. Easy out. Five minutes from downtown,” said Wyatt. “There is not another hub airport in the United States that has the access to the city center that this one does.” And skiing is only 45 minutes away.
“It’s beautiful,” said April Slaughter, who came in to drop off a daughter for a flight. “It’s different. Coming in, it doesn’t even look like Salt Lake. It looks more like, I don’t know, a California-type airport. It’s just cleaner, sleeker … we just really like it.”
“It really does seem more professional and a little easier to look at,” said her daughter, Madison Greenawalt, who was flying out-of-state Tuesday.
The central terminal and 25 Delta Airlines gates opened in Concourse A-west Tuesday.
In six weeks, Concourse B-west will open with 20 gates for Alaska, American, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest and United.
