Airport studying terminal expansion
Glacier Park International Airport might soon look at adding terminal space if airport activity continues to grow at its present rate.
That's what figures indicate in the airport's long-range master plan, which became publicly available earlier this month.
Airport master plans are updated roughly every five years and usually look ahead five or 10 years. The 2006 plan looks ahead through 2050 because the Flathead Valley has grown rapidly since the last plan came out in 2001, airport director Mike Daigle said.
Additional terminal space looks like the part of the plan most likely to be tackled first, due to several factors:
. Commercial passenger totals were 190,109 in 2005 and 178,334 in 2004.
. That number is expected to hit 293,330 in 2010 at the present rate of growth.
. The plan calls for the airport to start planning extra terminal space when the commercial passenger number hits 210,000 a year.
. The plan further says the addition of extra terminal space should be completed by the time the commercial passenger number hits 250,000 a year.
Potential additions to the current 77,400-square-foot terminal would include more passenger gates on the south side of the current three-gate passenger-loading area, Daigle said. The number of possible extra gates is undecided. Also undecided is whether they would be added in a single project or one at a time.
No cost figures have been calculated for adding to the terminal or any other possible projects in the master plan. The biggest income source for these projects would be federal appropriations.
The new master plan also looks at the eventual addition of a new runway and extra cargo and fixed-base operator areas, plus buying and leasing land to businesses along U.S. 2 to raise more income.
None of these proposals are etched in stone, Daigle said. They depend on whether airport use significantly increases and on whether land becomes available for purchase.
Right now, the 2.23-square-mile airport holds one 9,000-foot-long runway. In 2004, 62,990 airplanes - with 27 percent being commercial airliners - took off or landed on that runway.
The master plan calculates that planning should begin for a new runway when that figure reaches 117,000 takeoffs and landings a year, and the runway should be in place when that annual number reaches 156,000.
The 117,000 figure could take between 20 to 50 years to reach, depending on how fast the Flathead Valley's population and air traffic grow, Daigle said. Or current growth could flatten out and no new runway might be needed, he said.
The airport owns two small segments of land where an extra runway would go. Airport officials will keep an eye on whether parcels of the remaining needed land go up for sale and will try to buy those segments when they go on the market, Daigle said.
The airport has not ruled out condemnation, but hopes it can buy the land without going that route over the decades before a new runway might be needed, he said.
As the number of airplanes based at the airport grows, managers will begin looking at building new cargo and fixed-base operator facilities south of the terminal and possibly just across the existing runway on the south end. A fixed-base operator is in charge of fuel, airplane maintenance and other activities at an airport. Glacier International's current fixed-based operator is Edwards Jet Center.
The airport also owns some property along the west side of U.S. 2 south of its main entrance. The master plan calls for the airport to consider buying the remaining west-side property south to Birch Grove Road to create a business district that would provide leasing revenue to the airport.
Reporter John Stang may be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at jstang@dailyinterlake.com