2025 was a record year for commercial air travel in North Dakota.
"We had over 1.3 million passenger boardings for 2025, which is a six percent growth from what we saw in the previous year, 2024," said North Dakota Aeronautics Commission Executive director Kyle Wanner. "2024 was a record year, and this year, we kind-of blew through that."
Wanner said it is great news for airline passengers and airports throughout the state.
"We've seen an incredible surge in leisure traffic throughout the last couple of years, since COVID," Wanner said. "We're also seeing business travel coming back."
Wanner said airlines are also making commitments to North Dakota.
"When you look at the frequency of our flights, and the amount of seats being added, whether that's through larger aircraft or frequency of flights, that means more opportunities than we have had in the past in North Dakota," Wanner said.
As for 2026, Wanner says he’s hoping to see that growth continue.
"We know there's been some challenges nationally, whether it's the economy, discretionary income, inflationary pressures," Wanner said. "But we're still seeing decent rates for the flying public."
Wanner said one driver is low oil prices for the better rates.
"That's one of the main factors in the cost of our flights," Wanner said. "But again, in North Dakota, we are seeing the airlines committing different flights to our communities, versus elsewhere. North Dakota is incredibly strong."
