July Airline Boardings Bring the State Closer to Pre-pandemic Levels

North Dakota’s eight commercial service airports posted a total of 92,922 airline passenger boardings during the month of July. This month experienced the highest level of passenger traffic that the state has seen since the Covid-19 pandemic began and continues the monthly positive trend of growing airline passenger demand.  Multiple airports within the state have also reached or are close to reaching pre-pandemic passenger demand levels.

One example of the extraordinary ongoing airline passenger recovery can be seen at the state’s largest commercial service airport, Hector International Airport in Fargo.  This past month, the airport provided service for 42,871 passenger boardings which is only 1% lower than their month of July passenger record of 43,437 that was set in 2019.

“The July airline boarding numbers have exceeded our expectations and we are excited to see multiple airports within the state have reached or are close to reaching pre-pandemic demand levels.” stated Kyle Wanner, Executive Director of the North Dakota Aeronautics Commission. “We hope that the demand for air travel is sustained and continues to trend in a positive direction as we move into the next half of 2021.”

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.