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AirportImprovement.com      September 2026
TERMINALS 
FCA
Three existing holdrooms were 
remodeled from top to bottom, with four 
more added. Six new passenger boarding 
bridges arrived from Oshkosh AeroTech 
to provide much-needed protection 
for travelers, especially in frigid winter 
conditions. A seventh bridge will be added 
later to replace a ramp-loaded gate.
Hand-screening of baggage was 
upgraded with an inline system from 
Robson Handling Technology USA. 
Because that equipment is located in the 
basement, engineers collaborated to add 
flood mitigation measures. 
The complexity of all these renovations 
was magnified by completing work 
during the COVID pandemic. Keeping the 
peak-heavy airport fully open throughout 
the multi-year overhaul was another 
significant factor.  
“It was like rebuilding an engine while 
it’s running,” says Rob Ratkowski, who 
has been FCA’s airport director for the 
past decade.
Despite a series of 
known and unforeseen 
challenges, 
commitment from the 
Flathead Municipal 
Airport Authority to 
deliver a first-class 
facility never wavered, 
he adds. 
Ratkowski credits the broad set of 
talents within the Authority’s board 
of directors for fostering a vision for 
FCA that combines civic pride with 
sound business practices in a tourism-
dependent region. Board members 
include a former pilot, an engineer, a 
banker, the chief executive officer of a 
construction company, and a former 
airport executive, among others. 
When faced with the choice of building 
the smallest, most modest possible 
addition or creating an important building 
that would make a statement for the 
community, the board chose the latter. 
“If we can pay a nickel more to go first 
class, we’re going to do that,” explains 
Ratkowski. 
Meet Me in Montana
Many factors propelled the airport board 
and staff’s desire to upgrade FCA, most 
notably recent changes in travel trends 
that have created dual peak tourism 
seasons in the area. 
Summertime has historically delivered 
a surge of visitors heading to Glacier 
National Park, a 45-minute drive 
northeast of Kalispell where natural 
wonders attract more than 3 million 
people annually. In fact, 2025 was its 
third-busiest year ever with nearly 3.14 
million guests, according to National Park 
Service statistics. 
Many of those visitors first flew into 
FCA amid the pandemic when outdoor 
recreation was among the few travel 
options that allowed for effective social 
distancing, Ratkowski explains.
When temperatures drop, a smaller but 
growing passenger peak occurs as skiers 
and snowboarders flock to Whitefish 
Mountain Resort, just 30 minutes from 
FCA. The resort has flourished over the 
past two decades under the ownership 
of billionaire Bill Foley, chairman of Fidelity 
National Financial and owner of the NHL 
Vegas Golden Knights. 
His Rock Creek Cattle Company, 
located three hours south of Kalispell by 
car, is a historic working cattle ranch that 
now includes a private golf course and 
outdoor adventure club. 
Investing heavily in Big Sky hospitality, 
Foley has remade and widely promoted 
Whitefish Mountain Resort and its 
adjacent namesake town. Winter sports 
enthusiasts have taken notice and are 
increasingly flying through FCA as a result.
Airline traffic has also enjoyed a boost 
from passengers who discovered the 
region as vacationers but later chose 
to move there, particularly since the 
pandemic when work-from-home 
opportunities flourished. U.S. Census 
Bureau data shows Kalispell’s population 
is now 33,342 residents—a 32% increase 
since 2020.
ROB RATKOWSKI
PHOTO: ANDREW BASSETT

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