Nearly 1.2 million passengers boarded commercial airplanes in North Dakota in 2019.
That makes it the second busiest on record for North Dakota airports. And it was up about 10 percent from 2018.
Seven of the eight commercial airports in the state showed more passengers than they did in 2018. And three airports – Bismarck, Devils Lake and Fargo – set new records.
"We have great air service in North Dakota," said State Aeronautics director Kyle Wanner. "We have a lot of visitors coming to North Dakota that utilize air transportation. And airline ticket prices are pretty reasonable."
Wanner said in 2020 he expects a spike from Williston, which has a new airport that opened in October. And he thinks overall, 2020 will be a good year.
"When you take a look at the seat capacity being added, and airlines adding additional flights and adding larger aircraft, I fully anticipate we will see growth in 2020," Wanner said. "We would hope that 2020 will bring a new record high for North Dakota's airports."
The only airport that saw a drop in passenger boardings was Jamestown, which was down 5.36 percent, or 633 passengers.