SALT LAKE CITY — On Tuesday, thousands of passengers were the first to experience the new Salt Lake International airport on opening day. Many locals looked forward to Sept. 15, 2020 for years, while other passengers didn’t know about the grand opening until they landed.
“It looks wonderful,” said Christina Pickering, who was catching a connecting flight to Reno.
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“We didn’t leave this way. I was like, ‘oh my god.' I love the bathrooms,” she said.
Many passengers didn’t realize six years of construction lead up to Tuesday morning.
Others made it a point to travel Tuesday to experience the $4.1 billion dollar project.
"We’ve been waiting. We were just saying about two years until the airport open and poof, here it is,” said Loretta Duncan.
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The artwork in the main gallery immediately catches people’s attention, some wondering how it gets cleaned, others wonder how it’s created.
“From the perceptions of someone’s mind, how do you tell somebody else how to make it right,” said Jean Denton while looking at the walls.
Airport employees admit there have been a couple hiccups since the switch overnight, but things are running smoothly.
“I’ve been through a lot of airports and over the years and it’s one of the best,” said Brad Duncan