ND Airports Work Through Winter Weather to Maintain Flight Schedules

Posted 12/21/22 (Wed)

North Dakota’s eight commercial service airports posted a total of 83,999 airline passenger boardings during the recent month of November. This is a growth of 570 passengers or a 1% increase from November of last year. It is also 12% below 2019’s pre-pandemic airline boarding counts for the same time period.

North Dakota’s cold winter climate makes air travel both attractive and vital for our state’s economy and overall standard of living. Air transportation allows for safe and efficient long-range travel to occur while helping to minimize the time spent on roadways.

Major weather events can, however, still result in short term impacts to our airports and airline partners. The storm in early November that brought snow and ice to large portions of the state resulted in airline cancellations at multiple airports. Additional impacts in December can also be anticipated from the winter storm that recently swept across the region. These significant weather events have the ability to negatively impact the overall passenger numbers reported from each airport.

In spite of the winter challenges, four of the commercial service airports reported higher passenger numbers than in November of last year. The Hector International Airport in Fargo was also able to report its best November on record with 38,014 total passengers which is .3% higher than the previous record which was set in November of 2021.

“The recent weather events have created challenges; however, our airports are equipped to handle harsh winter conditions.” stated Kyle Wanner, Executive Director of the North Dakota Aeronautics Commission. “Airport and airline personnel will continue to work hard throughout the winter months to minimize airline cancellations or delays and maintain flight schedules as best possible.”

November 2022 Airline Boarding Press Release & Statistical Information