MISSOULA – On Thursday the Missoula International Airport will have one arrival that requires some extra attention, leaving some to ask what effect that will that have on other flights
“It doesn’t appear at this time that flights will really be too impacted by the events,”said Missoula International Airport Director Cris Jensen said. “We will have a period of time when Air Force One’s arriving and a period of time when it’s departing where the airspace will be closed, but those times fall pretty well within our operating schedule. It really should be a minimal impact on our flights.”
While it appears that no flight times will be impacted by President Trump’s visit to the Minuteman aviation hangar on Thursday, travelers should still expect some delays getting to and from the airport. Trump will be in Missoula campaigning for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Matt Rosendale.
“I think the big thing is, especially as we get closer to the event, in the afternoon there is likely to be a fair amount of congestion. You know, cars, people, things of that nature,” Jensen said. “So what we are really telling people is to make sure they come here well in advance of their scheduled departure.”
Plans for parking are still in the works, but Jensen says that when those plans are finalized they will be easy to find and comprehend
“We’re still working through the parking, so I don’t know exactly the details of that . So what I would tell people, obviously the event is at the airport and obviously there will be parking,” Jensen said. “The exact details of that parking are still in the works but there will be lots of signage, so as people are coming out for the event itself there will be signage to tell them where to go and what to expect.”
Jensen says that they are excited for the chance to host a sitting president, but for a rather aviation-based reason.
“Number one, as airplane geeks, which most of us that work at the airport are, we see some really unique and interesting aircraft and as much as anything that’s what we are focused on from the airport perspective because that’s really our involvement with the whole event is more handling of the aircraft,” Jensen said.
Mountain Line also says that they will have their Route 11 service running that day and have no plans for any extra bus services to the airport.
