What's behind the travel boom at MSP's terminal 2?
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Terminal 2 is the little brother when it comes to airport terminals at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
But as WCCO discovered, if you are flying this week or anytime soon, there's something new you should know.
Gregory Mays, who used to work with Alaska Airlines and Delta, has been the chief operating officer of Sun Country for five years.
"Ten percent growth year on year since 2019 and we continue to get bigger," Mays said. "Our fleet is two or three times bigger which allows us to better serve."
Over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, the airline is expecting to serve 82,000 passengers.
In the past, Sun Country passengers have been stranded after tropical flight complications.
"The thing I want to say to them this is a very different airline than the one five or six years ago. We have put a lot of extra effort into how we have a great customer experience. We really want to deliver that good product and service and that's what we want to become known for," Mays said.
WCCO spoke with customers who praised ticket prices.
"It was like, a cheaper option compared to other airlines," said Dora Lin, who was flying from Minneapolis to Seattle.
"I like flying with them I guess my big thing is paying for the baggage, overhead on carry on," said Robyn Adamaski, who was flying to Dallas.
Sun Country has added 50 routes and diversified business by chartering all MLS Teams and flying Amazon Cargo. They say there's room to soar, and they're looking at options like adding internet.
"We still haven't gotten into the grounded connectivity yet but that's something we talk about as a leadership team so its possible but its not in the future right now," said Mays.
What's clear in the present is that at Terminal 2, air traffic is up and so is foot traffic.
Because of the growth, there are now two TSA precheck points and dropoffs at Terminal 2. And Mays says it seems like a lot, but they suggest getting to the airport two and a half hours before the flight.
Sun Country is second overall in business at MSP Airport compared to Delta. The airline has also doubled staffing.
