Welcome to Provo Airport (PVU) — offering the flight experience you always hoped would take off. Since welcoming American Airlines to the tarmac and announcing major expansion plans, PVU has had a headlining year (understatement alert!).
Even more impactful, though, is how the airport enhances the flight experience for individuals every day.
“There is a man from Holladay whose organization we’ve worked a lot with, and when he flew with us for the first time, he told me, ‘Brian, I got to Provo, got on the plane, landed, and got to the Disneyland gates four hours from when I left my house. That’s incredible,’” says Brian Torgersen, director of Provo Airport. “From then on, he was the biggest fan of the Provo Airport. It’s stories like that that I love to hear.”
This example isn’t an isolated ovation. Alex McArthur, a Utah Valley resident, is a regular flier and fan.
“I choose PVU for any quick regional flight,” Alex says. “Parking, getting through the airport — everything is infinitely easier than Salt Lake City International Airport.”
It’s no wonder the airport is almost growing quicker than it can keep up with.
In 2022, the first year of the Provo Airport Terminal service, enplanements (number of passengers boarding a commercial aircraft) were at 211,741.
In 2024, that number had more than doubled to 448,972.
“We weren’t supposed to hit the 400,000 enplanement number until 2035,” Brian says.
A major development for the airport was announced in April of last year, and then on Oct. 7, 2024, American Airlines joined the Provo airfare family, adding to the existing offerings of Breeze Airways and Allegiant Air. The announcement led to January 2025 being the airport’s second busiest month ever. This is noteworthy, as January is typically one of the slowest months at PVU.
The estimated economic impact due to these exciting changes? Over $208 million annually.
“PVU now enters a new phase of development, as American Airlines launches service from Provo to its hub markets in Dallas and Phoenix,” says Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi. “These two American hub markets open the world to Provo travelers as they can access more than 230 destinations via connecting service.”
When Brian was hired in 2017 to oversee Provo City’s public services, airport operations worked out of a one-room, one-gate facility. Now, its exponential growth is causing the airport to raise $138 million for expansions. Talk about taking off.
“We anticipate in 2025, we’ll see over a million passengers at our airport,” Brian says. “Things are changing so fast, and it’s exciting to be a part of.”
MORE TARMAC, PLEASE
As a civil engineer, Brian was already familiar with project management — but an airport onboarded new problems to solve.
“One challenge we faced was in 2022 when Breeze and Allegiant announced they would begin basing aircraft here, meaning the aircraft would return here every night for maintenance,” Brian says.
They’re currently at nine aircraft that call Provo “home.” While there isn’t room for all of the planes on the apron quite yet (the area where aircraft are parked, loaded, etc.), this is the first step in the expansion plans.
While becoming too popular can be a good problem, the PVU team has banded together to problem-solve hiccups. For example, with only four passenger gates, the team got creative when gates were at capacity but partners wanted to fly additional routes.
“We have a de-ice pad where the planes go in the morning to get de-iced before they can take off,” Brian says. “We got innovative and created a gate on that de-ice pad and installed a walkway of around 600 feet to get to the terminal.”
To help solve this and other issues, expansion plans include growing to 10 gates from the current four, expanding the ticketing and baggage screening areas and parking lots — and planning for international customs space.
Funding for these expansions is provided by the Federal Aviation Administration, State of Utah, Provo City, Utah County and Mountainland Association of Governments (MAG). The team has acquired around $132 million of the proposed $138 million. Construction is set to begin this April and run through spring 2028 to complete all nine phases of the expansion.
JUST A STEP AWAY
The ease of this airport is a breath of fresh air. From happier TSA agents to a short walk from the parking lot to the gates, the stress of air travel feels more like walking on clouds.
PVU is also excited to have welcomed its first group of 20 missionaries onto a flight at the beginning of this year. And with only nine years until the 2034 Olympics, the positive aspect of having one more airport option for visitors from around the world is immeasurable.
“We’re not trying to be Salt Lake, and that’s just fine,” Brian says. “We are making life easier for a million people a year. That number will continue to grow, and we’re excited about that.”