Kodiak residents will notice significant changes at the Alaska Airlines terminal at the Benny Benson State Airport this summer. The company plans to demolish the current airport building and temporarily move all local operations to their nearby cargo office.
Marilyn Romano, Alaska Airlines’ regional vice president for Alaska, said the final design for Kodiak’s airport is almost complete and then work can begin on a new building starting next month.
“We're putting the last final touches on all of those plans with the plan to be to start moving our operation out of the current building into the building next door that we have leased, she said. "So that we can actually start on the demolition and rebuilding of the Kodiak terminal.”
Alaska Airlines started leasing the building next door to the airport in 2024 to house its cargo operations. The 1.2-acre lot, which is located at 1633 Airport Way, is owned by Kodiak Hangar LLC and registered to Gerald Neeser according to state business records.
Romano expects all the company’s operations will move over to that leased building in September.
“We've got to get that space fitted out to be a passenger terminal, as well as cargo, so that'll all happen within that building, which should not disrupt guests coming in and out of the current terminal,” Romano said.
The current passenger terminal was remodeled about ten years ago. But residents and visitors alike have complained about the congestion in the airport from baggage claim through the TSA security area.
In 2024, Kodiak’s Benny Benson state airport saw 86,000 passengers board Alaska Airlines’ planes, referred to as enplanements, compared to 2.7 million at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. That’s according to data from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Based on the latest design from this month, Romano said the new airport will help address congestion issues while being built within the existing building’s footprint.
“Right now, the way that it's designed, I believe we are going to be able to use the whole space on one level, because I think our long-term plan is to keep the building next door for cargo,” she explained.
Kodiak’s airport is the first one slated for upgrades out of a group of 13 that Alaska Airlines owns and operates across rural areas of the state. Romano estimates the company will spend $70 million to update its terminals around Alaska.
She said travelers in Kodiak may notice increased activity around the airport starting in late July but that should not interfere with the three daily flights going from Kodiak to Anchorage and back during the summer months.
