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Provo Airport stakeholders and local business representatives meet to form a new task force Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023.

Courtesy Provo City

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Members of the Provo Airport's committee leadership, from left: Curtis Blair, CEO of the Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce; Charlene Christensen, director of services and marketing for Explore Utah Valley; Mayor Michelle Kaufusi; Chad Linebaugh, CEO and general manager of Sundance Mountain Resort; Brian Torgerson, airport manager.

Courtesy Provo City

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It was 15 months ago when Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi and a host of others cut the ribbon on the new Provo Airport. Since that time, the facility has taken off with major growth.

At the grand opening, two airlines announced the Provo Airport as their local base of operation, with 14 nonstop destinations and boasting more than 800,000 passengers since.

This year, a market analysis highlighted more unmet demand and, in response, the airport launched its Business Air Task Force on Tuesday with the goal of attracting a major carrier service and ultimately providing international flights.

The business task force, dubbed “PVUFlies First,” has more than 120 companies participating, according to Nichole Martin, city spokeswoman. PVU is the Provo Airport’s International Air Transport Association location identifier.

From this group, a working group of public and private organizations was formed to outline the airport’s submittal/proposal to the U.S. Department of Transportation requesting a grant for $1 million to support air service development. That coalition includes the Provo mayor’s office, Utah Valley University, Brigham Young University, Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce, Explore Utah Valley, Sundance Mountain Resort, the Provo Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, Ancestry, Target River, Pinnacle Transportation, Duncan Aviation and Qualtrics.

Brian Torgersen, the airport’s director, said the facility has contracted with the Meehan Aviation Group to provide air service development consultant services and help guide future growth.

“We recognize and appreciate the airline partners we have, but they are the first to admit they don’t meet the needs of everyone,” Torgersen said. “They have a model that works and are successful at it. Our focus at the Provo Airport is to expand services from our current partners while attracting a major network carrier who can provide a connection to anywhere in the world.”

Looking at the city’s desired routes to the east such as Dallas and Denver, Southwest and United airlines appear to be the top choices. Southwest has previously flown out of the St. George Airport and now flies to Denver and Dallas.

“The future is bright for PVU as it has proven itself as a commercial service airport and community demand remains high,” said Sonja Murray of Meehan. “PVU’s primary catchment area is estimated to generate 3.1 million domestic passengers and 204,000 international travelers. PVU currently captures only 6.1% of its estimated passengers — clearly showing growth is needed and warranted.”

According to Kaufusi, the new $75 million terminal came at no cost to taxpayers thanks to funding from the the Federal Aviation Administration, the state of Utah, Utah County and Provo City. “The Provo Airport expansion started on a ‘wing and a prayer’ and is now successfully generating a strong economic return with incredible community support,” she said.

“We planned for the future by equipping PVU with the ability to expand to 10 gates. We were so successful with phase 1, we now have the ‘good problem’ of needing to expand to meet the growing demand sooner than expected,” she added. “Our airport task force is designed to help PVU secure a legacy carrier who will contribute to a brighter future for every person and institution in this valley and beyond.”

“The Provo Airport is the key to the growth and prosperity of this county,” said Curtis Blair, president and CEO of the Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce. “The growth vision of the Provo Airport creates a confluence of business and leisure — opening up new opportunities for our business community who need greater flight frequency and more destinations.”

Lee Adamson, executive director of Explore Utah Valley, reiterated the important role the growing Provo Airport will play in attracting tourism dollars. “Promoting Utah County to visitors is incredible. When I think about the past year and what the future holds, we’ve never had a more wonderful product and more opportunities to promote than we do right now with the Provo Airport,” he said.

Adamson noted the many tourism opportunities created by the Provo Airport, including regional and national conventions as well as sports tourism with BYU’s acceptance to the Big 12 Conference and the opening of the regional sports park. “If we are able to get a major network carrier, it improves our chances for new opportunities to showcase our community as never before,” he said.

Chad Linebaugh, president and general manager of Sundance, spoke to the economic importance of the Provo Airport in his role serving on the Tourism Tax Advisory Board. “The money tourists spend in our economy improves our community’s quality of living,” he said. “Sundance guests travel from all over the world and the Provo Airport should be the primary way those guests arrive. We are in the beginning stages of understanding the benefits but can now say that Sundance is the closest ski resort to any commercial service in the state of Utah. Incredible.”

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