North Dakota airline boardings jump in July

North Dakota set a 10-year record for monthly airline boardings in July, the North Dakota Aeronautics Commission said Thursday.

The state’s eight commercial airports reported 71,815 passengers, an increase of 9.18 percent from July 2008.

Grand Forks International Airport contributed 8,862 passengers to that record mark. The number was 958 more than in July 2008, a 12 percent increase.

“Grand Forks has a positive story to tell,” said Patrick Dame, executive director for the Grand Forks Regional Airport Authority. “We’re building a new terminal, we’ve opened a new runway and we’re working with a couple of different airlines to get something to break loose.”

Dame said the airport authority is keeping watch on changes at Frontier and United airlines. He also said Allegiant Airlines has contributed to seven consecutive months of passenger increases at the airport. He said the airport authority is working with Allegiant to add more destinations.

“A strong factor in this increase is our 62 daily departures,” said Larry Taborsky, Aeronautics Commission director.

The largest percentage increase was at Devils Lake Airport, which saw 86 more passengers, a 26.88 percent jump from July 2008.

Fargo’s Hector Airport reported 3,687 more passengers, an 11 percent increase.

For the month of July 2009, more than 36,000 passengers flew out of Fargo and more than 17,000 out of Bismarck.