The new Cheyenne Regional Airport Terminal should open sometime in October, according to Aviation Director Tim Barth.

Barth made the comments on Wednesday on KGAB radio in Cheyenne.The new facility will be a 26,000 foot $10 million dollar terminal that Barth says "will be way better than the terminal we have now."

Barth also says it's a mistake to think Cheyenne doesn't have air service right now, despite the fact that no airline has an agreement to serve the city on a regular, weekly or daily basis. "That is not the truth," Barth says. ''Truth be told, May third, we have a 737 charter flight to Wendover, Nevada. It's a scheduled flight." He goes on to say "we have a number of charter flights that come in over the year."

He also says that as many as 15 737 aircraft are re-routed to Cheyenne from Denver on nights when the weather is bad. ''The terminal is needed, we are using it right now, and it's going to be used, even before we have air carrier service scheduled again here."

Great Lakes Airlines, which had been the only airline serving the airport on a weekly basis, suspended operations in late March. Cheyenne Mayor Marian Orr has said the city may consider Allegiant Airlines or SkyWest Airlines as possibilities to serve the Cheyenne Airport.

On the subject of airline safety Barth said people should rest assured that whatever air carrier eventually agrees to serve the city, their safety record, as well as reliability record and other concerns, will be closely examined before any agreement is reached.

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