Aviation View - Oct 2023

30 AVIATION VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 3, ISSUE 3 PREFERRED VENDOR/PARTNER n SP Plus spplus.com a taxiway system that will handle many more aircraft than currently serve Billings he says. But it’s on the landside where I see our future development and increasing capabilities. At times, our parking areas are at capacity, particularly at peak holidays and spring break, so we’re looking at ways to expand our parking capacity. One of those may be through the development of a parking garage either for public car parking or for the rental-car facility that takes up some of the parking in front of the terminal.” “We do collect customer facility charges,” he adds, “and we can use those for rental-car facilities, so we’re looking at how we are going to address parking in the future. In addition, the front of the terminal or the non-secure side of the terminal was completed in 1992, and it’s in need of updates for cosmetics but also for efficiency for our passengers. We want to improve and expand our ticket counter area and baggage handling system, as well as update our baggage claim system.” All of these efforts will continue the effort to meet current and future customer needs. Roach hypothesizes that the markets for both commercial and passenger airline businesses in Billings will only grow in the next few years. He foresees an exponential increase, in fact, in the number of purchased tickets. The airport has a tremendous capacity for additional air service activity, he adds, and things can and will only get better and better. “We have numerous opportunities!” he enthuses, citing all Montana has to offer for recreation and culture, and that’s what makes the airport an ideal jumping-off spot for travelers. Indeed, those opportunities are as big as the Big Sky Country itself. Visit Southeast Montana. Photo by Amy Lynn Nelson diverse economic base, with workers in a number of different areas so the city is able to weather downturns in some industries. What does the future look like for Billings Logan? Roach looks into his metaphorical crystal ball and comes up with some positive prognostications. He cites the airport’s huge amount of airside capacity, such as that big main runway. “We have two additional runways, a crosswind runway and a general aviation runway, and