Though additional gates are slated to open later this year at the Salt Lake City International Airport, airport officials are projecting total passengers going through the airport will likely level out over the next fiscal year.
In a budget presentation given to the Salt Lake City Council on Tuesday, SLCIA leaders said they expect passenger totals in Fiscal Year 2026 to grow hardly at all from the current fiscal year.
“Normally, we have really good growth — 3, 4% growth,” said Brian Butler, the airport’s CFO. “It’s really flat this coming year, and I think that’s what we’re just kind of seeing with what’s going on in the economy.”
Butler said the airport makes its projection by asking airlines what they’re expecting from passengers in the coming year, and uncertainty with the Trump administration has played a role in passenger numbers expecting to be stagnant.
“It’s a really unique year in that there’s a lot of disruptions, there’s a lot of uncertainty, especially with travel with current administration,” Butler said. “There’s been talks of our neighbors from Canada not coming and traveling to the United States.”
He added that SLCIA is slated to gain a new airline in the next month. WestJet is supposed to open a new direct route from Salt Lake City to Edmonton, Alberta for flights five days a week. Despite the worries, Butler said the route is still expected to begin.
Bill Wyatt, the airport’s executive director, said the airport keeps a close eye on what airlines tell them, and he said some airlines are currently operating in “an extreme mode.”
“What that really means is you can see there are advanced bookings, and the leisure traveler is really pulled back,” Wyatt said. “Looking at everything out there, business travel is still very strong, international (travel is) very strong, but that’s all subject to change.”
The lagging projection comes despite the fact that SLCIA is supposed to open 10 new gates in Concourse B later this year in October. Another 11 gates are supposed to open by fall 2026, as well as several new shops and restaurants.
Despite the projections, Wyatt said construction timelines haven’t changed. In fact, operating revenues are projected to grow by $88 million in the next fiscal year, with revenue from new terminal rents making up a little less than half of that total. A new American Express airport lounge is expected to open in October, which is projected to bring in around $5 million in revenue, according to a staff report. The airport is also expected to bank over $185 million into its reserves in FY26.
Aside from passenger projections, council members also discussed how to ease the bottleneck created by family and friends awaiting for missionaries returning from their missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Council Member Eva López Chávez said the greeting space next to the security exit is often empty while people continue to stand closer to the exit doors.
“I want to understand how we can better utilize the space and inform families and visitors how they can use that and not block the exit,” López Chávez said.
Wyatt said the airport has struggled to get people to congregate in the Senator Jake Garn Greeting Room, adding that it’s hard to convince families to not rush toward a loved one that they haven’t seen in 18 months to two years.
“We are testing an idea about putting, basically, a missionary door into the greeting room so that they would actually exit into the greeting room,” Wyatt said. “There are all kinds of issues with that, but we’re going to keep poking away at it and see how we do.” Both López Chávez and Council Member Darin Mano said they support that idea.
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