A $60 million project that has been years in the making now has completed another phase.
Billings Logan International Airport celebrated the grand opening of its new terminal Friday.
For some, flying into and out of Billings may change with the new concourse A.
After some delays because of Covid and supply issues, the grand opening after phase two brought out a celebration to the airport.
Mayor Bill Cole and Kevin Ploehn, director of aviation and transit, led the celebration with two ribbon cuttings to open the new terminal.
And they flew some toy planes as the first unofficial flight.
The terminal expansion project started in 2019, before COVID.
"When we saw our travel industry drifting away to nothing, then we appreciated it in a way that we never had before," Cole said. "And it showed us that we can't take travel, tourism, any any of that infrastructure for granted. And that we have to continue to invest in those infrastructure items continuously."
That infrastructure includes the very latest technology.
"Puts us in the 21st century," Ploehn said.
The design also features a view and some art when passengers exit.
"When people come here for the first time to get a good look at what Billings has to offer on the right, and then what our state has to offer on the left," Ploehn said.
"Montana artwork to really give people a taste of Montana and of Billings," Cole said.
More room in the terminal means more opportunities for dining.
"We've contracted with a concessionaire out of Sioux Falls, South Dakota named Sky Dine," Ploehn said. "So they're the ones that'll be building up the new restaurant right here and doing the gift shop as well. They went out and cut a deal with Mountain Mudd to be the coffee supplier. And then they'll operate the bar as well."
"This is the more or less end of phase two," Cole said. "There are still three more phases ahead of us."
The plan ids to start using concourse A next Wednesday.
"Thank you to the taxpayers of the United States," Cole said.
