Oregon Public Broadcasting

Business travelers flying out of the Medford Airport were greeted with a brand-new terminal Monday.

Airport director Bern Case says the expansion was required. The old terminal was designed before September 11th 2001, and the security requirements that have been in place since.

Case is especially proud of the fact that the Medford airport is considered pioneering a new development for smaller, regional airports.

The new terminal includes a shared kitchen and other spaces for vendors both in front of and behind the security screeners.

Bern Case: “We just don’t have enough business to have two separate restaurants. So, now, really we get the service of two restaurants for the price of one. It’s almost like having a new kid. You know, it seemed like we were pregnant forever. But now we delivered the baby, and we’re happy.”

The $35 million expansion to Oregon’s third-largest airport started before the recession.

And the airport has seen a slowdown in passenger numbers.