Boise Airport director outlines fuel farm, rental‑car facility, concourse plans; navigational outage disrupted Thanksgiving travel

Airport Director Rebecca Hupp reviewed a year‑end operations report at the Boise Airport Commission’s December meeting, detailing construction milestones, service changes and a navigational outage that contributed to travel disruptions during the Thanksgiving peak.

Hupp said the airport completed much of its planned runway maintenance and temporary runway closures for painting and surface work, and that teams responded to a brief crash of a small aircraft off the runway. "We closed temporarily for a very short period of time for about 5 minutes when we had a small aircraft that crashed off the end of the runway on Right And Orchard Street," she said. Hupp also described a Nov. 21 combination of dense fog and a failure of FAA‑maintained navigational aids that left runways open but unable to be used, producing technical delays and diversions during one of the busiest travel days of the year.

Hupp provided construction updates on capital projects. The airport portion of the consolidated rental‑car facility is scheduled for completion in March, after which tenants will finish customer‑facing buildouts. The commission also announced the selection of artist Chad Otis for a large, visible artwork at the rental‑car entrance as part of the airport’s 1% for art program. Hupp said concessions continue to open across concourses, naming Up and Away by Flying M and The Shop at Treasure Valley as recent openings and listing other tenants expected later this month and in February.

Airline partners are financing and building a multi‑phase fuel farm to increase on‑site supply and resilience. Hupp described the project as an airline investment on leased airport property that will include storage and truck loading racks. When asked how many days of supply the farm will hold, she said, "The goal will be 7 to 10 days of supply on on‑site." She added the farm is adjacent to an existing pipeline but is not tapping into it initially because connecting would add cost and complexity; future pipeline or rail connections remain an option.

Hupp reported October passenger counts increased about 2% versus the prior year and year‑to‑date passenger counts were up about 6%. She also flagged cargo trends, noting FedEx landings in October were down roughly 68% year over year. A commissioner asked whether FedEx had reported operational changes; Hupp said, "They did not report any changes to us, so I'm not sure if they had something additional going on last year."

On planning and resilience, Hupp said the airport advanced schematic design for a concourse expansion with a 100% schematic milestone due in December, selected Jacobs as owner’s representative and Hensel Phelps as contractor for construction phases, and expects to implement a common‑use system in 2027. She said the airport will also pursue baggage‑handling and central utility‑plant upgrades, runway and taxiway preservation, and said the airport may issue revenue bonds to help fund the BOI upgrade program.

Operational items included completion of required FAA inspections (reported as "0 discrepancies"), an expanded de‑icing apron and interim aircraft parking capacity, and purchase of two new fire vehicles and a transition to a more environmentally friendly firefighting foam.

Votes at a glance: the commission approved the distributed minutes earlier in the meeting and later moved, seconded and unanimously passed a motion to adjourn the December meeting. No public comments were offered during the public‑comment period.

The commission will continue project oversight and complete upcoming design milestones; staff said additional public updates are expected as construction and tenant buildouts progress.