Summer went by fast. And if you traveled through SUN, you’ll know it was especially busy at the airport. Between ongoing construction (parking lot and expanded air carrier parking apron), one of our busiest annual fly-in events, and an overall busy flight schedule, there was never a dull moment. Overall, we had a safe and successful summer season. And while things have slowed down for a few months, we will be winding back up for our busy winter schedule before we know it.
Expect a couple of changes this upcoming winter. United Airlines will be picking up our Los Angeles route. And, while Alaska’s Portland service has been discontinued, we will have a third Delta Salt Lake City flight (in the late afternoon) for a good portion of the year.
This past summer, I was certainly aware of some of challenges encountered with TSA security screening wait times during our peak morning flight schedule. Rest assured, the Board and I are working closely with TSA and the airlines to implement as many improvements to the process we can, particularly for next summer. In the meantime, our upcoming winter schedule is more spread out, so we anticipate fewer issues. In general, some of the changes already implemented by TSA should result in a more efficient screening process. Still, we are growing. And although we may sound like a broken record, be sure to get the airport early during peak travel times. It helps us all.
Lastly, while the snow is great on the mountain, it does create some challenges here at the airport. When flights cannot get in and out, they are diverted to Twin Falls or Boise. As a reminder, our 2018/2019 diversion busing season starts on November 1st. We’ll help you get where you’re going if we don’t have flying weather. Please see our website for details: https://iflysun.com/diversion-services/. And to answer a question I am frequently asked, yes, we are actively looking at options to improve reliability here at the airport. It’s not an easy problem to solve and it takes time. But we are working on it! Simply put, it is not an easy problem to solve.
Sincerely,
Chris
SUN Airport Manager