With the departure of Delta Air Lines (DL) flight 2020 from Salt Lake City (SLC) to Atlanta (ATL) last Tuesday, the new airport terminal officially opened for the world to experience. Celebrated by a water cannon salute bright and early at 5 a.m., the flight left from one of 25 new Delta Concourse A gates at the airport. The gates include six that can accommodate international flights. Another 43 Delta gates will open in the near future.
The original terminal building was designed to handle 10 million annual passengers and peaked out at 26 million last year. It is the fourth largest hub operation for the Atlanta-based carrier, trailing Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
The $4.1 billion terminal will open an additional 20 gates on October 27 for use by Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines.
Of interest to Delta’s Sky Club members will be its 28,000 square foot facililty, the largest one yet. It includes great views of the nearby Wasatch Mountains, an outdoor covered balcony, breakfast buffet, two bars, a fireplace and showers.
Salt Lake City is a popular connecting point to smaller markets in the West that Delta doesn’t serve non-stop from MSP. With the reduction in flights by all airlines caused by the COVID19 pandemic, the airport is able to ease into the new terminal’s opening with fewer passengers, which will be a great opportunity to iron out the bugs that typically ensue with the opening of new airport facilities.
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