First flights take off from new airport terminal Wednesday

J.T. Fey
·2 min read
Passengers walk up a ramp to board a Denver Air Connection jet in preparation for a flight to Chicago. The flight was the first to leave Watertown’s new airport terminal.
Passengers walk up a ramp to board a Denver Air Connection jet in preparation for a flight to Chicago. The flight was the first to leave Watertown’s new airport terminal.

Flights began departing from Watertown’s new $20 million airport terminal Wednesday.

Passengers began boarding a Denver Air Connection jet at 8:30 a.m. in preparation for a flight to Chicago.

The passengers were required to walk outside on a beautiful August morning to reach the aircraft parked near the terminal. Bob Cyrus, the city’s new airport manager, explained that when the jetway was ordered Skywest served Watertown and its jets are different from the jets used by Denver Air Connections. He said an adapter has been ordered so the jetway will connect directly to the jets.

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Denver Air Connections provides flights in Watertown to and from Chicago and Denver on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Flights to and from Chicago are scheduled on Tuesday with flights to and from Denver scheduled on Saturday.

Watertown Airport employee Jeff Fox signals for a Denver Air Connection jet to begin moving in preparation for a flight to Chicago Wednesday morning.
Watertown Airport employee Jeff Fox signals for a Denver Air Connection jet to begin moving in preparation for a flight to Chicago Wednesday morning.

Cyrus said some fine tuning needs to be done at the new terminal, partially due to some items being held up in U.S. Customs and signs also need to be placed on the walls.

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Much of the items from the old terminal were moved Tuesday, Cyrus said, and the Transport Safety Administration was up until midnight Tuesday getting its equipment in place and computers connected.

The previous terminal is expected to be leased to Lake Area Technical College, which will use it as its headquarters for its expanding pilot training program. The Watertown City Council is expected to vote on the lease at its next meeting.

Federal funding paid for $15 million of the new terminal. The City of Watertown financed the remaining $5 million.

A grand opening for the new terminal is planned on Aug. 26.

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Flights begin at new Watertown Regional Airport terminal