The Sioux Falls Regional Airport could be in store for some substantial upgrades.
The Sioux Falls City Council is looking into a proposed expansion, which was shared by airport officials at an informational meeting this week.
This comes after the airport added a parking garage to meet long-term parking demands for travelers.
According to airport officials, passenger traffic has set a new monthly record in 30 of the past 34 months. That number is only expected to grow over the next decade.
Dan Letellier is the Executive Director of the Sioux Falls Regional Airport. He said it’s high time the airport grows.
“Basically, what we have today existing, seven gates, that waiting area’s about 10,000 square feet. And this is actually from 2021, the schedule we had at that time [indicates] we should have 10 gates and three times the amount of hold room space, you know 11 gates. And yet we’re far from that. So that’s what we’re trying to remedy,” Letellier said.
He also said the “generational” improvements and additional gates could allow for more travel opportunities.
“If we had the ability to grow and add capacity, there are realistically several other destinations, hub destinations, whether that be Salt Lake or Houston, but also kind of focused cities: the New York area, D.C. area. I think all would be very doable if we had the capacity and the gate space to do that,” Letellier said.
He also mentioned leisure destinations like San Francisco and New Orleans as direct-flight possibilities.
The airport proposal has a total confirmed project cost of $83.5 million. That includes l five additional gates and upgrades to the airfield. However, there are three additional alternate bid items included in the proposal that could bring that price over $100 million.
Although a majority of that funding is covered through state and federal dollars, Letellier said about $20 million needs to be made up. He suggested the city could cover that – as well as potential additional state or federal dollars.
No action was taken at the meeting.
