This regional airport is, in a word: Dinky. I have never been in to a US "regional" airport before so this was a new experience.
The "terminal" is literally 1 room and a single gate. Currently, Delta is the only commercial airline flying in here 2x per day. When I arrived and had rented a full size car, I was not expecting that the rental car area is literally just a couple of marked spaces in the parking lot. In my space was a huge pickup truck. Haha, was quite funny as I think this is what qualifies as a full sized car in Montana. I was disappointed that it did not have a rifle rack and a flag on the back window of the cab. :(
Upon returning to the airport to make my early morning 6:20 am flight out of here, I had received the standard notification on my phone from Delta advising me that arriving at least 2 hours prior to my flight was recommended (as it is at every US airport). I figured that since this was such a small airport that I would not need to be there quite that early so I decided to not show up until about 90 min before. I got to the airport at 4:50 am and the entire place was dark and the terminal was locked. Haha, I guess the joke was on me. Around 5:10, I noticed a couple TSA folks, a lady in a cowboy hat, a lady in a ski hat, and a guy with a gun strapped on show up to unlock the front door. That was pretty much the greeting party that opens the place up. Returning my rental car was pretty much on the honor system by putting the keys on the unmanned desk with the rental agreement. Staffing for the rental car desks does not arrive until 9 am according to the signage.
I watched TSA check their machines, one lady staff the check in counter, the other lady make coffee and the armed guy serve as the security monitor. All 3 of us made it through the check point in record time. It was nice that there was actually a separate lane for TSA Precheck. It was even nicer that I was the only one in it. The actual terminal is a single room with lots of space to spread out, sit and relax, grab a snack or a souvenir, and contemplate the simpler aspects of life that often pass me by as a metro personality.
My whole experience was kind of humorous as I really had to work on scaling back my typical business travel anxieties. There was really no need to arrive early, gas up the rental car in advance, rush to get into security lines, race to the gate, jockey for a decent spot in the boarding process, clamor to get my carry on bags into an empty space, etc. I really just had to show up and probably would have been fine had I arrived about 10 min prior to actual flight departure. The entire experience was kind of refreshing in a very rural sort of way.
Given that this airport and the airline likely does not make much money, it is really nice to see that this is such a nice, approachable amenity for the community. Clearly it provides local jobs, brings in some regional revenue, business and innovation, and definitely makes local citizen lives better by allowing them to travel away as desire. Although this is such a dinky airport with a small town feel, it brings a lot to the community and is a breeze to navigate for the experienced traveler. read more