WALLA WALLA, Wash. — Despite the construction noise and dust, renovations at the Walla Walla Regional Airport have been going through without hitting any turbulence.

Jennifer Skoglund, airport manager, said the terminal remodel project has been going smoothly with the renovations scheduled to be completed later this year.

“Phase 1 which is the new checkpoint and exit lane is anticipated to be completed first week of April,” Skoglund said. “Phase 2 which is the remodel and expansion of restrooms along with the current TSA checkpoint area is anticipated to be completed in early June.”

The last time the terminal had been updated was in 2000. Since then, the airport has allocated faster and larger jets that fly between Walla Walla and Seattle. Before, the footprint of the terminal was designed to accommodate 37-seat aircraft, but the new jets that have been landing hold as many as 76 passengers.

The updates include a revamped TSA checkpoint and waiting room where customers sit before a flight as well as the removal of the turn-style doorway and an automated exit lane with a secure door that closes after customers exit the disembark area.

For this project, the airport is using FAA CARES Development Grant dollars that were allocated through the CARES Act. The CARES Act was a law created by the federal government to help the country during the COVID-19 crisis. The big financial boost of $2.2 trillion has been used to support people and businesses nationwide and was approved in March 2020.

The terminal remodel is estimated to cost about $2.1 million.

Walla Walla’s airport received a chunk of the money that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Airport Improvement Program doled out to 37 airports across the state in 2023 totaling almost $200 million.

The Walla Walla Regional Airport received a total of $8,053,506 in federal funding for various projects. An airport improvement grant totaling about $6 million has been used to construct and improve safety areas, reconstruct runway lighting and airfield guidance signs as well as additional navigational aids for aircraft.

About $1 million was used to rehabilitate runway signage and markings and seal the taxiway pavement surface and pavement joints. The airport received $700,000 for a new 12,000-gallon Jet A fuel storage tank.

Also new to the airport was the resuscitation of the second round-trip flight from Walla Walla to Seattle, which started again in September 2023. At the Port of Walla Walla Economic Development Information Meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 23, Skoglund reported the recorded commercial air numbers from Alaska Airlines.

Load factor is used as a measure of how full or utilized the flights are in terms of passenger capacity. For the year end of 2023, the average load factor was 73.5%. Compared to 2022, the load factor is 21% lower. One element that impacted the load factor was the reduction of round-trip flights to and from Seattle. In 2023, the Walla Walla Regional Airport only had one commercial flight for almost 9 months.

To secure the second flight, the Port entered an agreement with Alaska Airlines that is conditional upon the Port ensuring a minimum revenue guarantee of $500,000. With the current load factors, the Port is not on track to meet the $500,000, but there is still time. Skoglund said with better weather months and tourism ahead that will likely translate into higher passenger numbers.

“We need a higher load factor,” Skoglund said. “Hopefully 2024 will be a better year with the two flights, at least for the first nine months.”