Simplified: The number of people flying in and out of the Sioux Falls Regional Airport has been hitting record highs nearly every month for the past three years, according to data presented to the City Council on Tuesday. As more folks look to fly, here's a look at how the airport plans to expand to accommodate them.

Why it matters

  • Traffic through the Sioux Falls Airport has been increasing at a breakneck pace – with about a 50% increase in passengers over the last decade, according to Dan Letellier, the airport's executive director.
    • And it's not slowing down – with a projection of 3% growth each year alongside the city's growing population.
  • Changes in the industry, including pilot shortages, have meant fewer, larger flights rather than more frequent trips with smaller planes. That means, at peak times, the airport has as many as three times more passengers than seats available in the waiting area.
  • That crowding, paired with a desire to add more flights and destinations, is behind a long-term vision to add another five gates. That could open up more flights, even including places like New York, Washington D.C., Houston, Salt Lake City and San Francisco.
  • The main obstacle for completing that vision is its corresponding $108 million price tag.
"The flights that we do have, the schedule we do have, every flight is full," Letellier said. "We're well on our way to another record year."

Tell me more about the long-term vision

The big idea is to just create more space for both people and planes.

The "bare bones" version of the addition would be to simply add a long hallway to five new gates for an estimated cost of $83.5 million.

  • However, there are also additional plans to include an atrium with more space for seating, retail and restaurants.
Rendering of airport atrium
Rendering of airport atrium
  • A future phase could also include more space around airport security where right now passengers tend to bottleneck exiting the security line in the same area where arriving passengers are leaving the airport.
  • Another future phase could be a sixth gate in the new terminal, additional space that Letellier said could even be used to accommodate flights from Cancun or Puerta Vallarta.
Rendering of new gates.
Rendering of new gates.

All told, it's expected to cost $108 million. So far, the airport has secured $31.6 million in federal funds, with a strong possibility to get another $28 million depending on the Congressional budget.

  • The state has also already kicked in $2 million, and another $26 million is possible through local airport funding options (i.e. bonds), Letellier said.

That leaves a gap of about $20 million.

What happens next?

It's likely in the coming year(s) we'll see the airport asking both the city and the state to chip in more funding to help bring the new addition to fruition – an investment Letellier said would be worthwhile.

"The airport is a major economic engine for the city ... Joe Foss Field has a $500 million per year economic impact on the Sioux Falls area," he said.

There are also some potential for additional federal funding, which Letellier notes might be made more likely with "friends in high places," referencing newly-elected Senate Majority Leader John Thune.

At this point there's no set timeline for when the additional gates may be built.

  • Letellier warned, though, that the longer they wait, the more likely we'll see the cost of flights go up in Sioux Falls, which may push more people to drive to other nearby airports like Omaha or Minneapolis.