b'28 SLC GROUND SUPPORTSalt Lake City Intl Leverages HardstandsDuring Switchover to New Terminal BY KRISTIN V. SHAWFACTS&FIGURESThe average passenger may notin use. By October 2023, the airport only Project: Hardstand Operations During Terminalknow the term hardstand, butneeded five, and the remaining stands Constructionthey certainly know when theywere sporadically used until March Location: Salt Lake City Intl Airport use one. The big giveaway is the walk or2024. When all was said and done, Hardstands Deployed: 20bus ride from the terminal to the rampSLC management deemed the strategy Cost: Part of $5.1 billion budget for all 3 phases ofwhen they board, and vice versa aftereffective and efficientand even included terminal construction arriving at their destination. Hardstandsbuilt-in hardstand options for future Funding: Airport cash; federal grants; passengerare common in Europe but less so inexpansion. facility charges; rental car user fees; revenue bonds America, where most airports prefer to Timeline: 1st hardstands built in 2017; deploymentavoid them altogether and use enclosedTough Decisions Aboutbegan in 2020; at peak, 20 stands were used; by fallboarding bridges instead.Passenger Flow2023, only 5 remained, with sporadic use into early 2024 However, sometimes theyreWhen the airports previous terminal Boarding Ramps & Staircases: East Islandnecessary. Salt Lake City Internationalopened 65 years ago, it was built to Aviation Services Airport (SLC), for instance, leveragedaccommodate 10 million passengers.Financial Services for Project: Hill Intl them during the multi-phase constructionBy 2014, more than 21 million passengers Program Management: Making Projects Work of its new terminal. When transitioningwere enplaning and deplaning at SLC. Construction Joint Venture: Holder Construction,operations from the adjacent previousThat year, the airport broke ground on a with Big-D Construction for local management facility, SLC used hardstands on a limitednew facility to address capacity issues, Airside Buses: ElDorado basis to help maintain flight schedules.including new gates to handle a varietyLogistic Support for Bus Operations: SP+ Once they were no longer needed, theof regional and large jets. Construction(now Metropolis) airport promptly decommissioned them.on the $5.1 billion program began inSignage: M.C. Dean July 2014 with a timeline continuing Key Benefit: Gate access during construction The airport deployed its first hardstandthrough 2026.of new terminalin October 2020 and eventually had 20 March | April 2026AirportImprovement.com'