South Bend International Airport recently set a record for flight volume and now it plans a project aimed at making the entrance look better and function more smoothly.
The airport recently announced a record-high 50,000 people departed in March.
“We’ve seen the numbers improving for a while and we knew that we needed to make some improvements, aesthetically and also to enhance the customer experience and improve safety on the front drive.”
That’s airport CEO and Executive Director Mike Daigle. He says they’ll add a second “commercial lane” for taxis and Uber and Lyft drivers, to the left to reduce congestion at the curb. They’ll also extend the canopy to cover both lanes, providing shelter from rain and snow.
South Bend International offers an alternative to the much larger size and complexity of flying out of Chicago’s O'Hare and Midway airports. Airport spokeswoman Julie Curtis says the project will make the front drive experience more efficient and add amenities that passengers expect.
“This will separate that traffic a little bit more and make it actually an even smoother travel experience than what we currently have. So we’re still going to have that small town feel, it’s just going to make it easier.”
