Thanks to outgoing Airport Board Member Russ Pack!

In January 2015, Russ Pack completed his final term of service on the Salt Lake City Airport Board. Russ’ seven years on the board culminates an impressive career at Salt Lake City International Airport spanning over three decades.

In 1978, the airport hired Russ as a file clerk until he was quickly promoted as a properties agent three months later. In the years to follow, Russ worked in various divisions and areas of the airport, including Air Service Marketing, Property Management and served as Director of Administration and Commercial Services for 10 years. Russ also served as SLC International Airport’s Interim Executive Director twice; in 2006 and again in 2007 before current director Maureen Riley took the helm.

Former Salt Lake City Mayor Ted Wilson (left) with Russ Pack (right) at the airport in 1984.

During Russ’ career, Salt Lake City International Airport transformed from a medium-sized facility to a major hub airport. A new parking structure, concourse and an International Terminal were built during a time of rapid change and growth in the aviation industry. Russ credits the foresight of airport staff that acquired adjacent land which accommodated growth and airfield improvements. This thoughtful vision for the future benefits the airport to this day as work continues on the Terminal Redevelopment Program.

While his work has been rewarding, Russ says it’s the people who made his time at the airport so special. “To my very good fortune, I had the honor and a privilege to spend a full career associating with incredible colleagues,” he says. “All of us engaged as a team to make Salt Lake City International Airport the dynamic, efficient, and exciting operation that it is today.”

Russ Pack’s institutional knowledge, experience and passion for the industry will be missed on the board. We thank Russ for his service to the airport and to Salt Lake City and wish him the very best!

SLC Closes Pedestrian Walkway from Economy Lot

Salt Lake City’s Terminal Redevelopment Program is now in full swing. Utility work continues in the economy parking area and large, blue cranes to the north now mark the site of what will be the rental car service facilities. These changes are exciting and certainly challenging, yet nothing is more important to us than the safety of our passengers during this project.

That is why as of December 2, 2014, Salt Lake City Department of Airports is permanently closing its pedestrian walkway from the Economy Lot. The walking path will cross an active construction zone and will not provide safe ingress and egress to and from the terminals. All passengers must now utilize the Economy Lot shuttle buses, which will provide safe and reliable transportation to the terminals and back to your vehicles upon your return.

Several of you have asked us if the walkway will reopen after construction is completed in 2019. Final designs are not complete but initial plans call for a pedestrian access lot closer to the new terminal.

Your safety is of the utmost importance to us. To those who prefer to walk, we’re sorry we can no longer provide you with this experience before your flight and appreciate your patience. We can, however, provide you a safe and relaxing experience with our shuttle buses and friendly parking staff.

If you’re interested in receiving e-mail updates about the Terminal Redevelopment Program, e-mail us at airportupdate@slcgov.com and we will add you to the list.

SLC International Celebrates First Redevelopment Milestone

This morning, Salt Lake City International opened its new south parking area to the public, adding 2,900 spaces to the existing Economy Lot. The opening of the south parking lot marks the first construction milestone for SLC’s Terminal Redevelopment Program that began in July of this year.

To commemorate the “soft” opening, we did some reverse trick-or-treating, and gave the first ten customers to park in the lot gift bags, including three days of free parking. We appreciate our passengers and enjoyed the opportunity to give back to a few of those who park and travel through SLC!

The new “Red Section” offers state-of-the-art LED lighting, convenient access to the terminals and, as with all our economy parking, includes heated shelters and service with CNG buses. Friendly Central Parking staff members (801-575-2887) are always available to assist you.

What is next for Salt Lake City’s Terminal Redevelopment Program? Construction of the new rental car facilities on the north side of the Economy Lot has already begun. Stay tuned for more updates on “The New SLC” right here on our blog.  Safe travels and happy flying!

Welcome and tips for holiday travel

Welcome to the blog for Salt Lake City International Airport! We are excited about using this tool to communicate to our passengers and the community about the things going on at our airport. We look forward to sharing stories about how we operate on a day-to-day basis as well as the exciting changes underway as SLC undergoes a complete redevelopment. We hope you’ll come back to our blog regularly!

We thought we would use our first post to focus on a few important travel tips as we go into Utah Education Association (UEA) weekend, October 16-19. However, this information applies throughout the busy holiday travel season as well.

Be smart about luggage. Pack as light as possible, keep gifts unwrapped and put identification on your bags. Bags with more than 3.4 ounces of liquid must be checked. Make sure your carry-on items meet airline size standards and keep your medicines with you. More great tips can be found on the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) page at http://www.tsa.gov.

Plan ahead. Check your flight status on your airline’s website or mobile app. Call Central Parking (801-575-2887) to check rates and availability in our economy lot or our parking garage. You can also call our local TSA representative (801-660-6022) or download the free TSA app to check security line wait times.

Get here early. Save yourself the stress and arrive at the airport with enough time to park, catch a shuttle bus, check luggage (if necessary) and get through security. Airlines recommend passengers arrive 90 minutes before a domestic flight, however utility work in the economy lot related to the redevelopment and additional holiday traffic may require a little extra time. If you need extra assistance, our friendly staff is available to help you as well as additional shuttle buses to get you to the terminals.

In other good news, the parking construction is scheduled for completion by early November, 2014. This will create a new south economy lot with 2,900 additional parking spaces and will be available in time for holiday travel.

Take a photo of your row and shuttle stop. Back in the old days, we used to write notes to remind ourselves where we parked. Now we can quickly snap a photo with our smart phone to help guide us back to our vehicles in our post-vacation haze.

Wherever your travels take you, we hope you have a fantastic and stress-free flight. Thank you for flying through Salt Lake City!