Next month Billings Logan International Airport begins a four-year juggling act, balancing a massive $55 million remodeling project while carrying on with daily operations.
As painful as the process may be, it's a welcome challenge, said airport director Kevin Ploehn. This project has been a long time coming.
One of the last major remodels of the Billings airport was right after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, when airports all over the country were required to completely redraw their security operations and funnel down every possible way onto the flight concourses to one entrance.

The baggage claim area at Billings Logan International Airport is seen on September 11, 2001.
In Billings, that meant shutting down the grand staircase that used to take visitors and passengers from the main entrance straight up to their gates. A security check point was built just to the left of ticket counters on the ground floor and only ticketed passengers could pass though, riding an escalator to get up to the concourse.
As a result, most of the places to get food and supplies, and the majority of the building's bathrooms, ended up on the pre-security side of the airport, inaccessible to passengers who had already passed through security and were waiting for their flights.
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Billings Logan International Airport is set to undergo a $55M multi-year expansion project.
The setup hasn't changed in nearly two decades.
In fact, according to the consultants hired by the airport to help envision its redesign, "Compared to most airports, you're ass-backwards," Ploehn said, paraphrasing the consultants' report.
Starting next month, the Billings airport begins phase one of a massive remodeling project that will expand its two concourses and increase the number of flight gates from five to eight. It will add a cafe, gift shop and bar, and include a wide-open "great room" with a wall of glass facing the runways, a fireplace and children's play area.
"It'll be really bright and well lit and really open," Ploehn said.
In 2012, the airport began working with consulting firms to identify the issues with the current airport and suggest changes and updates that would modernize the building.

The interior of Billings Logan International Airport is expected to change drastically during expansion and remodeling. This digital rendering shows the planned look of the terminal interior.
The two concourses were small, the bathrooms were always busy, and until 2004 the only food or beverages for sale beyond the security gate were from a coffee cart. In 2004, the airport built the small deli that's there now.
The remodel will expand all of these services, increase the number of gates and add passenger amenities to the secure side of the airport. Visitors picking up or dropping off passengers are usually in and out of the airport pretty quickly, Ploehn said. It's the passengers waiting to fly who spend the most time there, and the plan is to make them as comfortable as possible with the services being added and expanded through the remodel.

A digital rendering of the planned expansion of Billings Logan International Airport is shown. The expansion is expected to add multiple gates to the terminal.
The challenge will be keeping the airport operational while whole sections of the building are closed for construction.
"It's been a big part of our planning," Ploehn said.
When work begins in September, crews will be creating space in the airport to accommodate the larger construction projects that will begin next year. Most noticeably, workers will demolish the concourse deli, which will then become the temporary home of the gift shop. The deli will be moved to a location on Concourse B.

Phase 1 of expansion at Billings Logan International Airport will include a TSA queuing area, a skylight and a new Cape Air gate. It is expected to be completed in March 2020.
The major concourse work will start in the spring and continue for the next two years. Concourse A, which sits on the west side of the airport, will be shut down first as it gets expanded, moving Delta's gate to Concourse B. The move will mean all airlines that fly in and out of Billings will have to operate out of Concourse B.
"It'll be a little bit of challenge," Ploehn said.

Phase 2 of expansion at Billings Logan International Airport, slated to be completed in April 2021, will include a new TSA screening area, gift shop, play room, a new restaurant, concessions, additional seating and four new gates.
A challenge because the concourse will have to accommodate more airlines than it has gates. To solve that problem, the airport will load some flights from the ground outside the concourse. To protect from wind and snow, crews will build heated tunnels through which passengers will board.
As part of the Concourse A expansion, construction crews will also build the airport's new security screening area, the new great room, a new restaurant, the bar and the children's play area.
By August 2021, work will shift to Concourse B on the east side of the airport, shifting all airlines into the newly remodeled Concourse A where staff again will juggle flights with available gates and load some passengers from the ground.
The entire project is scheduled to finish by March of 2023 and will be paid for through FAA grants, airport funds and revenue bonds.

Phases 3-5 of expansion at Billings Logan International Airport are slated for completion by March 2023, with four new gates and remodeling of the lobby area.
The whole goal of the remodel is to expand the number of flights and airlines the airport can accommodate, and to give the airport a modern look and feel.
Part of that will include artwork from community artists and from the Yellowstone Art Museum. An airport commission has recently put together an art committee with members of the community to plan what art will be reflected in the new airport.
Bryan Knicely, director of the Yellowstone Art Museum, will be working with the committee and is encouraged by the opportunity to showcase the region's culture.
"Anytime I travel I see art in the airports," he said. "It's like a cultural calling card for (that) city."
Throughout the remodel and afterward when construction work is complete, travelers now will experience the same thing when they arrive in Billings.
"You'll see art and culture up there," Knicely said.
The majority of travel through the Billings airport is business related, although tourism-related travel is starting to climb. Earlier this year, the airport added Frontier Airlines as one of its regular low-cost carriers, and that's allowed more Billings residents to travel for recreation, Ploehn said.
Still, he anticipates business-centered travel to remain the airport's principal function. Which is why the remodel project is important, he said.
"We're a business community and we really need to look like we're in business," Ploehn said.
Retrospective: Billings Logan International Airport
Retrospective: Billings Logan International Airport
Dr. Frank J. Bell

The first recorded airplane flight in Billings occurred when noted aviator Eugene Ely attempted to take off from a lot east of what is now North Park (then the fairgrounds) in 1910. Ely couldn't manage to get the plane in the air for more than a short distance due to strong crosswinds. Bob St. Henry is credited with the first true flight over town in 1911. Local dentist Dr. Frank J. Bell, pictured, learned to fly at the Curtiss Flying School in 1912. His first recorded flight was months later, on Decoration Day (Memorial Day) in 1913, in a Curtiss biplane he built himself. Bell took off from South Park, and flew west before turning around and circling the baseball field at North Park in front of a full grandstand. Bell's flight was memorialized in the J.K. Ralston painting entitled "First Flight," which hangs in the airport lobby. Bell was instrumental in choosing the location of the airport.
Dick Logan, 1915

Dick Logan was in his mid-20s when he and his wife, Marjorie, began ranching atop the Rims in 1915. Logan's father, A.C. Logan, was a former Montana schools superintendent. Logan became involved in the operations at the airport from the beginning, as the 500 acres bought by the city for the airport west directly west of his 320 acre homestead. Logan was hired as the airport manager in 1929 with a $150 monthly salary.
Towing an airplane, 1928

After a plane was forced to make an emergency landing on his ranch during an air race at the airport in 1928, airport manager Dick Logan, on the horse at right, towed the plane back to the airport with Tony Loftus, on the left horse.
Billings Municipal Airport, ca. 1932

The Billings Municipal Airport opened in 1928. At the time, it was little more than a runway and a small administrative office, dwarfed in this photo by the first hangar, which was built between 1929 and 1932. Chartered air service, from West-Over-Air Transport, began in 1930. Regular airline services began the following year, provided by Inland Airlines.
Old Hangar No. 1, date unknown

The original hangar at the Billings Municipal Airport, ca. 1930. The hangar was completed in 1932.
Billings Municipal Airport terminal, 1930s

The first passenger depot at the airport was built in 1935 by Northwest Airlines. Northwest began airline service to Billings in 1933. The depot is shown here from the runway side. Marjorie Logan served lunches inside the airport.
Billings Municipal Airport, ca. 1940s

Billings Municipal Airport in the late 1940s. The large hangar to the left, used by Lynch Flying Service for decades, was torn down and replaced in 1992 with a new hangar east of the terminal.
Hangar No. 1, 1948

Fire destroyed Hangar No. 1 at what was then the Billings Municipal Airport in February 1948.
The Billings Gazette reported flames leaping 150 feet in the air with smoke billowing more than 400 feet high. Damages were estimated at $100,000, mostly borne by two private businesses, Gillis Flying Service and Lynch Flying Service.
Billings Logan Field, ca. 1958

A new airport terminal began construction in 1957 and was completed the following year. Dick Logan, who had served as airport manager for 33 years, died in during its construction. The airport was renamed in his honor, and his son-in-law, Ken Rolle, took over as airport manager.
Billings Logan International Airport, 1972

A major expansion to the airport was completed in 1972, which included two concourses and accommodated larger jet aircraft. In the midst of the expansion, the airport was renamed to Billings Logan International Airport in 1971.
Billings Logan International Airport, 1972

The 1970s expansion to the airport was expected to support one million passengers annually.
Billings Logan International Airport, 1972

The 1970s expansion allowed enclosed jet ways to be installed for different airlines. A larger restaurant was added, and bright red carpet lined the walkways of the new concourses.
Passenger at Billings Logan International Airport, 1978

A passenger waits during a delay at Billings Logan International Airport in November, 1978.
Ticket counter at Billings Logan International Airport, 1978

Passengers make holiday travel arrangements during delays at Billings Logan International Airport in November, 1978. Airlines with ticket counters at that time included Northwest Orient (Northwest Airlines), Frontier Airlines and Western Airlines.
Passengers at Billings Logan International Airport, 1978

Passengers play Cribbage during a delay at Billings Logan International Airport in November, 1978.
Passengers at Billings Logan International Airport, 1978

Passengers wait during a delay at Billings Logan International Airport in November, 1978.
Air traffic control tower, 1979

Shades are drawn in the old air traffic control tower at Billings Logan International Airport in January, 1979.
Air traffic controller, 1979

An air traffic controller works at Billings Logan International Airport in 1979. Two years later, 13,000 members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization went on strike, violating the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act banning strikes by federal government unions. 1,300 air traffic controllers returned to their jobs after being ordered to do so by President Ronald Reagan. Those who refused to return were fired and barred from being rehired until the ban was lifted years later.
Airport goodbye, 1980

An airport visitor waves goodbye to a departing plane from one of the gates at Billings Logan International Airport in 1980. Security changes in the 1990s stopped family and friends who weren't passengers from approaching the airline gates.
Billings Logan International Airport baggage claim, 1980

The baggage claim area at Billings Logan International Airport in January, 1980.
Billings Logan International Airport, 1987

The sun sets behind Billings Logan International Airport in 1987.
Concourse security checkpoint, 1991

A security checkpoint X-ray machine is used near one of the airport gates on January 17, 1991, the first day of Operation Desert Storm.
Gulf War airport security, 1991

An airport police officer speaks with a passenger outside of Billings Logan International Airport in January, 1991. The Federal Aviation Administration imposed greater security regulations at the beginning of Operation Desert Storm to lessen the possibility of retaliatory terrorist attacks. Construction on the airport parking lots can be seen in the background.
Billings Logan International Airport, 1991

A woman fills out paperwork in the baggage claim area of Billings Logan International Airport in April, 1991.
Construction on airport terminal, 1992

The Billings Logan International Airport terminal received a face lift in 1992, with stonework and more windows added to the facade. Airport parking was also reconfigured.
Air traffic control, 1993

An air traffic controller looks through binoculars while directing traffic from the old tower at Billings Logan International Airport in 1993. President Bill Clinton lifted a 12-year ban on hiring air traffic control workers who had refused to return to work during the 1981 air traffic controllers strike.
Billings Logan International Airport, 1995

Security measures at Billings Logan International Airport was made even heavier in October of 1995 following new federal regulations. The law prohibited cars from parking or remaining unattended within 75 feet of an airport terminal.
Billings Logan International Airport, 1998

The moon rises behind the tower at Billings Logan International Airport in February, 1998.
Airport security screening checkpoint, September 11, 2001

The security screening checkpoint at Billings Logan International Airport is seen on September 11, 2001. The terrorist attacks of that day caused flight delays and cancellations across the country.
Billings Logan International Airport baggage claim, September 11, 2001

The baggage claim area at Billings Logan International Airport is seen on September 11, 2001.
Airport sunset, 2006

The sun sets behind Billings Logan International Airport in 2006. A new air traffic control tower, at left, was constructed that year. Operations continued in the old tower until the new tower's completion.
Old tower dismantled, 2007

The old air traffic control tower at Billings Logan International Airport is torn down in 2007.
Billings Logan International Airport,

Logan International Airport in Billings is expanding, with several projects that will begin this summer and fall.