Heads up, Sitka flyers: the airport's pre-security restrooms close for six weeks in September

Travelers at Sitka's Rocky Gutierrez Airport will lose the restrooms before the security checkpoint for about six weeks starting in September, while they're remodeled. Temporary restrooms will be set up outside the terminal in the loading zone for the duration, with signs pointing the way.

The restrooms inside the secure area stay open to ticketed passengers who've cleared TSA — so the city is asking arriving travelers to use those before they leave the secure area, rather than getting stuck without an indoor option on the way out.

The closure is one piece of a $40 million expansion of the terminal, most of it federally funded, that's adding a two-story wing with new screening lanes, bigger gate lounges, more baggage claim space, new restrooms and a concessions area. The work has already made for a rough summer at the airport — crews have been hand-carrying luggage to keep flights moving.