Jamestown (NDAC) The North Dakota Aeronautics Commission reports that the state’s eight commercial service airports posted a total of 83,999 airline passenger boardings in November, 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.

Jamestown Regional Airport reported 800 total boardings in November, this year compared to 993 total boardings in November of 2021, a decrease of almost 20 percent. The year to date, through November 2022, had Jamestown Regional Airport reporting 10,403 boardings, compared to 9,921 last year, about a five percent increase.

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 on airports and airlines.

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 also reported its best November on record with 38,014 total.