WATERTOWN, S.D.(AlphaMedia)–Passenger traffic out of Watertown Regional Airport was down about 40-percent last year from 2019 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

And January got off to a bit of a slow start too.

Airport Manager Todd Syhre says 347 people boarded flights last month to Chicago and Denver.

Syhre says with continued uncertainty with COVID-19, the airport will shift a lot of its marketing focus to the third and fourth quarters of the year.

Syhre says construction on the new airport terminal is in a temporary holding pattern.

The airport will soon issue a request for proposals from restaurants that are interested in operating in the new terminal.

The new terminal is expected to open in December or January.