North Dakota Commercial Airports See Busiest January in State History

The North Dakota Aeronautics Commission (NDAC) has released its monthly report detailing airline passenger traffic at the state’s eight commercial service airports.

In January 2025, North Dakota’s commercial service airports recorded 105,587 passenger boardings, making it the busiest January in state history. This surpasses the previous record of 100,617 set in January 2015 and marks the ninth consecutive month of record-breaking passenger numbers across the state’s commercial service airports.

The recent January numbers also reflect a 12% increase over the same month in 2024, with 11,083 additional passengers. This sustained growth is fueled by expanded airline seat capacity, increased flight availability, and strong demand from both business and leisure travelers.

January Passenger Records:

  • The Fargo Hector International Airport achieved a new monthly passenger record with 48,037 passenger boardings. The previous record for the airport for the month of January was set in 2023 with 43,705 passengers. This is also the tenth consecutive record breaking month for Fargo.
  • The Devils Lake Airport also achieved a new monthly passenger record with 644 passenger boardings. The previous record for the airport for the month of November was set in 2020 with 612 passengers.This is also the twelfth consecutive record breaking month for Devils Lake.

View the January Airline Boarding Report

January 2025 Statewide Airline Passenger Statistics

  • Total Airline Passenger Boardings: 105,587
  • Available Airline Departure Seats: 134,837
  • Average Aircraft Load Factor: 78%
  • Number of Successful Airline Departure Flights: 1,661
  • Number of Airline Departure Flight Cancellations: 15
  • Airline Departure Flight Cancellation Rate: 0.9%

Kim Stevens

Kim Stevens is the publisher of State Aviation Journal, which he founded in 2009. A longtime commercial-rated pilot, he was introduced to state aviation in 1992 as Director of the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics, later serving as Deputy Division Director for the Arizona Department of Transportation's Aeronautics Division. From 2013 to 2018, he was Director of Communications and Operations for the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO) in Washington, D.C. Relocating to North Carolina, Kim worked for the Raleigh-Durham International Airport for two years and now concentrates solely on the Journal. Prior to his aviation career, Kim spent a decade in the newspaper and magazine business.