Sioux Falls airport makes upgrades as passengers, flights return

A runway project is done, a restaurant upgrade is preparing to start, and several gate areas are under construction at the Sioux Falls Regional Airport.

“We’ve got a lot of people starting to fly through again,” airport executive director Dan Letellier said. “September was down a little, but normally it would be, and October is starting off really strong already, and in a couple weeks, we’ll have a lot of out-of-state hunters coming through.”

Through August, passenger traffic was 83 percent of 2019’s level, he added.

“We’re well on track. We were hoping to maybe hit 85 percent, and I am pretty confident we will,” he said. “We have a lot of extra service in December, especially the last two weeks, than we had even in 2019.”

A runway construction project that lasted much of the season wrapped up last week, and an adjacent taxiway pavement improvement project is scheduled to be done this week.

Inside the airport, renovations are ongoing. The concourse will be seeing new carpet, wall coverings and a family restroom.

“It’s been about nine or 10 years since we expanded and remodeled, so it needed a little update,” Letellier said.

“What’s going to take the longest is replacing all the gate counters and podiums at all the individual gates. Just getting those manufactured and delivered is taking longer. Hopefully, those will be in in the next few weeks.”

The upstairs restaurant is preparing for some significant improvements starting early next year.

Renderings by TSP

“They’re going to redo all the finishes, so give it warmer wood tones and more color,” Letellier said. “They’re expanding the bar to have a craft beer area.”

While there will still be some video lottery, much of the area will be redone for more seating, including booths, and the addition of  Cinnabon.

Farther down the concourse, there will be a new deli area with grab-and-go options, including an additional Cinnabon space.

The children’s play area also has been redone as The Sanford Adventure Play Space. Kids can run up stairs, crawl through a log, hear birds in trees, use binoculars to watch planes take off and land, and jump from lily pad to lily pad on the carpet. Sanford Health began its partnership with the airport almost a decade ago when the first kids area was built.

“As the Sioux Falls Regional Airport does its part in upgrading spaces for travelers, we wanted to make sure Sanford Health was also adding to the traveling experience,” said Stacy Wrightsman, senior director of Sanford community relations.

“It’s so important to move at every age, and we hope this space encourages families to connect with each other while playing. The space gives them the chance to save the technology for their flight and get lost in an adventure wherever their imagination takes them before taking off.”

Sanford also added activity passports for families to take with them to keep kids busy on the plane with fun health facts, puzzles and coloring pages.

Longer term, the airport continues to move forward with design for a parking ramp, with plans to start construction in the spring of 2023.

“We want to get that out there and bid not more than a year out because it can create challenges for contractors trying to estimate prices for their materials,” Letellier said.

More service added

December is expected to bring up to 10 percent more seats than two years ago, Letellier said.

That includes eight destinations from Allegiant Air and added flights from Frontier Airlines, including to Las Vegas and Orlando International Airport.

“So if you’re going to all the resorts and amusement parks, Orlando International is much more convenient than Orlando Sanford, so we’re excited about that. That should help a lot of holiday travelers trying to get out of town,” Letellier said. “We should have a lot of seats available.”

The legacy carriers are “all recovering at different levels,” he added. Delta Air Lines, which used to be the dominant carrier in the market along with United Airlines, now represents about 20 percent of the business as it has reduced its flight schedule despite bringing back an Atlanta flight.

“United is (taking) a similar tactic, but they have resumed more flying to Denver, and I think that continues into the winter,” Letellier said.

American Airlines has been more aggressive about serving the market and increased service to Charlotte, North Carolina, which originally was seasonal, to two flights a day.

“Phoenix also became two flights a day,” Letellier said, adding all the legacy carriers are struggling to find enough pilots.

And while the state has added funds for airports to go after new service, the airlines largely aren’t able to entertain it yet, he said.

“They’re not really thinking about adding new service even if it’s a slam-dunk,” he said. “We’ll continue to try, but it’s just until they can get more pilots in the pipeline. … The regional carriers bear the brunt of having to go out and find pilots.”