Terminal nearly ready to fly

Compared to other airports, the new 49,000-square-foot terminal at the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport may not seem grand.

But for flyers used to passing through the existing 8,500-square-foot terminal building on Airport Road in Pullman, the new structure will seem like the “Taj Mahal,” said Airport Director Tony Bean.

The new building will be substantially complete by the end of this year, Bean said. To celebrate the progress of the $90 million project, the airport will host a ribbon cutting at the new terminal at 11 a.m. Saturday, with Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Washington State University Chancellor Elizabeth Chilton and University of Idaho President Scott Green in attendance.

Bean said the airport is expected to be in operation in May. Until then, he said airline, airport and Transportation Security Administration employees will be testing all of its new features and utilities to make sure everything works smoothly before a single passenger boards a flight.

The Federal Aviation Administration accepted the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport’s four-year Capital Improvement Plan for the new terminal in 2018. Before work could get started on the terminal, the airport first had to build an expanded runway at a cost of $150 million. That runway opened in 2019.

Construction on the terminal began in 2022.

“This has been a long journey,” Bean said.

The addition of flights, increasing numbers of passengers, and Alaska Airlines’ switch to jet service at the airport all necessitated the larger terminal and runway.

On Thursday, Bean and Hoffman Construction project superintendent Chad Cluff walked through the new terminal building while Hoffman employees were busy at work.

The new building boasts many features that are not available in the current terminal.

The larger parking lot will have 458 spaces and 90 rental car spaces. There will be three bridges allowing passengers to board their planes without having to step foot outside. Those bridges will have heating and air conditioning, Bean said.

A new baggage-claim carousel has been built, a new restaurant space is in the works and an outdoor courtyard with seating will be available.

A 178,000-gallon tank next to the taxiway will collect deicing fluid so that it can be disposed of properly. The sidewalk in front of the terminal’s entrance will be heated. An office building for airport employees is under construction on the west side of the building. The ceiling of the main floor is designed to prevent echoing.

There will be a separate space for passengers on university athletic charters to go through security screening.

The basement, which is not open to the public, contains the baggage-claim infrastructure, airline offices and offices for TSA employees.

Bean said the goal of the new terminal is to reduce stress on the passengers by making their experience more efficient.

“It’s about other people’s quality of life,” he said.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.