Salt Lake City International Airport opens more gates, concessions

Oct 31, 2023, 12:45 PM | Updated: Nov 1, 2023, 4:06 pm

(Adam Small, KSL NewsRadio)

Reporter

SALT LAKE CITY — Local government and Salt Lake City International Airport officials gathered Tuesday morning to celebrate the completion of Concourse A and Phase 2 of ‘The New SLC.’

Phase 2 is part of a years-long effort to build and expand Utah’s largest airport, and to date, the 23rd largest airport in America.

“The growth of our amazing airport … is indicative of other growth we’re seeing,” said Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall.

On Tuesday, the airport opened the rest of Concourse A-east, which includes 13 new gates and 11 new restaurants and shops. Concourse A-west and Concourse B-west opened along with the new airport terminal in 2020. Concourse A-east initially opened with five gates in May 2023.

With Tuesday’s expansion, the eastern concourse has 22 gates. All gates in Concourse A are operated by Delta.

Fewer busses, better airport experience

The expansion means many passengers won’t have to take buses to get to their gates.

“That’s really a big step … that was not a terrific customer service experience,” said Bill Wyatt, executive director of airports for Salt Lake City.

The new gates will also help alleviate traffic in other areas of the airport.

Some of the new concessions in Concourse A-east include Jimmy Johns, Blue Iguana, a Utah Jazz store, Rockwell Ice Cream, P.F. Chang’s, Millcreek Coffee Roasters, and Red Rock Brewery among others.

What’s next?

All that remains in ‘The New SLC” airport plan is the completion of Concourse B-east and a new central tunnel.

Wyatt said the tunnel will help cut down walking time for many travelers since they will no longer have to cut down Concourse A in the opposite direction to get to Concourse B.

“I think people are going to appreciate not having to walk a half mile out of their way,” Wyatt said.

Airport officials plan to open the central tunnel and the first five gates of Concourse B-east in October 2024. More gates are expected to open in October 2025, and October 2026.

And while ‘The New SLC” will effectively be completed by that point, airport officials have plans far beyond that. Wyatt said in the next 10 to 15 years, they plan to build a third concourse (Concourse C). They also plan to add a train that will transport passengers between all three concourses.

“We want [the airport] to be a first-class experience for everyone,” Wyatt said. “We expect to see ourselves climb. Salt Lake is a growing market.”

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