What you need to know about the Provo Airport
By Carly Coombs | Posted: Nov. 22, 2024
The Provo Municipal Airport is quickly gaining popularity as a secondary option for Utahns as they plan their travel.
Provo’s airport — which is home to three airlines and four departure gates — provides direct connections to numerous locations within the U.S., including daily flights to major airline hubs like Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
To see what the hype was all about, I booked a flight out of the Provo Airport for a trip to Dallas. (Read here about how I got a one-way ticket for $16 at the airport.)
For my trip, I flew on Breeze Airways — a Utah-based low-cost carrier — on the airline’s 7 a.m. flight to DFW, which operates twice a week.
Parking and Transportation
The Provo Airport is located about five minutes off of I-15, making it fairly accessible by car.
When planning my trip, a big downside of PVU is the minimal public transit options available. There is only one bus route that stops at the airport, which runs hourly, with its first stop at 7:42 a.m. and last stop of the day at 6:44 p.m. (The route doesn’t operate on Sunday and only runs between 8:22 a.m. and 5:43 p.m. on Saturdays). Public transit wasn't an option since my flight departed at 7 a.m.
The airport has a large parking lot directly in front of the terminal entrance. The parking lot is paid, either hourly or daily, depending on how long you are there. Parking costs $12 per day if you are planning on leaving your vehicle there when you are on your trip.
(If you are arriving to Provo, there are four rental car services — Hertz, Budget, A to B, and Rabbit Rentals — with counters to the right of the terminal exit.)
My flight was at 7 a.m., so I arrived at the airport around 5:30 a.m., which was pretty quiet at that time of day. The drop-off lane was right in front of the airport entrance, so being dropped off leaves you only steps away from check-in and TSA.
Check-in and security
Airline check-in counters are located to the right of the terminal entrance and are typically open around two hours before departures. American Airlines also has a couple of self-check-in kiosks located next to the check-in counters.
I didn’t have any checked bags, so there was no need to use the check-in counters, but I noticed there was no line as I headed to security.
Since the airport is small, security only has a couple of lanes available, with one TSA PreCheck lane.
I arrived at the airport at around 5:45 a.m., and it was pretty quiet at that time. There was one security lane open with only two passengers before me, so it was a breeze going through, and I made it through in about two minutes. The airport recommends passengers arrive an hour and a half to two hours early as sometimes lines can be longer due to limited lanes.
I have TSA PreCheck, but due to only a few passengers, there wasn’t a separate PreCheck lane open. (I still was able to use PreCheck privileges of not taking off my shoes or removing my laptop from my bag).
In the terminal
The Provo Airport currently only has four gates (with more in the works, including potential international gates).
There were plenty of seats at each gate as well as various tables and counters to use. I noticed all of the countertop seats had outlets for your devices, and there were some outlets in the walls throughout the terminal.
Food-wise, there’s one option in the terminal, which is Guru’s Cafe, a local Provo restaurant. The cafe’s breakfast menu included plenty of coffee options and food choices like breakfast sandwiches or burritos. The prices are similar to what you would find outside of an airport, so, no crazy airport price tags.
There are also a couple of vending machines and a convenience store that sells snacks and drinks (as well as other items like books, souvenirs, etc.)
PVU has a family lounge located next to Gate 2 that includes a mother’s room, which I think is a great addition to the airport as I noticed many families flying together. There’s also a business lounge, with plenty of seating and tables if you need a quieter place to get some work done.
For boarding, some of the flights departing from Provo use a ramp to go up to the plane from the tarmac instead of a typical jetbridge, so if you’re flying during the winter, you might need a jacket as you board. (Only Gate 1 at PVU has a jetbridge built in, which was the gate my flight used.)
Overall, the airport is fairly stress-free. Getting from the curb to your gate is a smooth process and takes minimal time compared to large airports. Obviously, a regional airport like Provo doesn’t have as many destination options but is definitely something to consider if you are flying domestically.