Williston Basin International Airport (XWA) — New Airport

Williston Basin International Airport (XWA) opened in October 2019 after a years-long engagement with Chrysalis. The brand-new Category 3 airport — featuring four gates and three passenger boarding bridges — replaced the smaller Category 4 Sloulin Field. Chrysalis’s work for XWA included authorship of several requests for qualifications (RFQs) in support of design, construction, and third-party operations. Chrysalis also provided work in trials and simulations ahead of the airport’s opening. This included design reviews and the coordination of all phasing for the new airport. Chrysalis served as the owner’s representative for end-user verification, validating all warranties and managing the “punch list” for the construction close-out. Additionally, Chrysalis handled stakeholder communication, working with XWA’s internal team as well as airlines, TSA, and other XWA tenants. This included serving as XWA’s primary liaison between community leaders, the airport authority, the design team, and general contractors. Chrysalis also coordinated opening activities and stayed onsite for a year post activation to provide support to the airport. The opening of the project was recognized by Airport Business as the 2020 Project of the Year. The airport was also featured in Airport Improvement and on a recent episode of the award-winning television program Viewpoint with Dennis Quaid.