He said the passenger hold rooms inside the terminal are not large enough for the traffic the airport is currently handling. He said the move in the industry to larger jets is based on a nationwide pilot shortage and other efficiencies within the industry. Schauer said the airlines are moving away from the 50-passenger regional jets that have been a mainstay at the airport and changing to larger 70- to 90-seat regional planes, and even larger Airbus and Boeing jets that seat up to 190 people. Mead & Hunt's Senior Aviation Advisor Tom Schauer told the Airport Board Tuesday that an examination of the current terminal's passenger hold-room capacity, population growth in the Black Hills, and larger aircraft flying to Rapid City support the larger plan for 12 gates instead of 10. Also adding to capacity issues is that larger commercial aircraft are being used. However, new studies and data have shown the enlarged concourse may not be big enough to handle larger than expected population growth. The original plan called for expanding the ticket counter area and baggage handling area, expanding the security checkpoint, enlarging the rental car and baggage claim area, and extending the airline concourse from seven gates to 10. In March, the Airport Board approved a $6.8 million contract with consulting firm Mead & Hunt to begin the planning and design phase for a six-year-long terminal expansion project. 14-Rapid City Regional Airport's Board of Directors instructed administrative staff on Tuesday to proceed with preliminary designs for a larger commercial airline terminal - potentially adding five more boarding gates and more than 34,000-square feet of space.
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