After almost two years of construction on Concourse A, Billings Logan International Airport passengers got to use the new concourse to board and exit flights for the very first time on Wednesday (06/08). With the concourse open, passengers got to wander the area and take in all the new sights.

"Wednesday morning was basically a circus."

Credit: City of Billings
Credit: City of Billings
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According to Airport Director Kevin Ploehn, the initial idea for the opening of the concourse was to use Concourse B for all the morning flights, then move all equipment over to the new Concourse A to be ready for the afternoon flights. Because of this, a morning flight arrived in the middle of this transition and caused quite a bit of confusion among passengers.

Mark Evangeline, Airport Facilities Superintendent stated,

We thought our plan would work out okay, but we started to see some of the holes in the Swiss cheese once we were in the middle of the move.

Officially open once United Flight 4645 arrived at gate A2, it allowed the passengers to wander the concourse and look around.

All hands were on deck for this transition.

Credit: City of Billings
Credit: City of Billings
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With this transition taking place, it turned out that there wasn't enough seating in the new concourse for passengers, so workers moved old seating from Concourse B into A in order to accommodate everyone. Ploehn also stated,

Even though it was a crazy morning, by afternoon things were humming along close to normal. Soon, we will be focusing on the next phase of construction, and the construction and opening of Concourse A will be in the rear-view mirror.

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Concourse A being complete means that about half of the project at the airport is done. According to a press release from the City of Billings, demolition of Concourse B will being around August and will then be rebuilt and complete in late 2023 or early 2024.

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