Williston Airport Manager Rick Marburger credits the fourth flight offered to Denver that stops in Gillette, Wyo., as the reason behind the increase. Boardings jumped from 768 in July of last year to 1,139 for July 2008.
“It definitely is making a difference,” Marburger said of the fourth flight. “We are working on a fifth flight. Great Lakes Aviation needs to acquire another plane. Then, we would have to see where it would land. It is too far of a length for a non-stop trip full of baggage.”
Marburger said the additional flight would be a 30-passenger like the others Sloulin Field receives.
He hoped Williston could get another morning flight to Denver. He said the surge in people flying from here also is oil-related or a residual of the oil activity along the Bakken Formation.
“There also is a lot of construction,” he said.
Jamestown was just behind Williston for the biggest percentage increase for the month in people flying out of the eight largest airports in the state. Its number of passengers leaving there hiked 47.85 percent.
Devils Lake showed a 25 percent increase in its boardings last month.
The number of people flying from Fargo climbed 17.46 percent in the same period. Grand Forks saw a 13.51 percent increase in people flying.
Bismarck’s passenger numbers fell during that time by 6.22 percent, Dickinson was up 4.2 percent and Minot’s numbers edged down by .41 of a percent, according to the report.
The report states that airline boardings at the eight commercial airports in North Dakota are up an average of 8.6 percent, or 5,204 passengers in July 2008 when compared to last year.
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