Traffic at the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport continues to break records as October hit a new high compared to last year, taking the year-to-date to over two million passengers.
Although the terminals and commercial airlines handle the bulk, they aren’t the only ones impacted, with the private aviation industry also continuing to grow.
“As we get into October and November, there’s a lot less tourism that is connected to the travel in and out of the airport, so whenever we have a strong month… it really indicates the strength of the local economy,” Brian Sprenger, the chief executive officer of Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport told the Chronicle.
The airport had 185,605 passengers in October, 10.6% more than in October 2022, increasing the year-to-date tally to 2.13 million — a 9.2% increase over last year and a 28.9% increase since 2021.
For November, the airport is expecting the trend to continue with an up-to-112% increase compared to November 2022, a press release said.
Previously, Sprenger had told the Chronicle that he expects the airport to see 2.4 million passengers in 2023.
The data provided is specific to “revenue passengers,” which only includes those moving through the terminals and boarding commercial airlines.
Alongside the growth, the 2,400-acre property continues to develop. The airport recently launched its new $23 million baggage handling system. It also announced a market area for B Concourse, and the Transportation Security Administration was reinstated to manage security. A private contractor licensed through the TSA handled security from 2014 until recently.
The vast majority of the airport’s passengers fly commercial such as via Bozeman’s most popular airlines, United and Delta. However, on the eastern side of the airport, among the hangars and flight schools, the private aviation sector has also continued to see increasing development and growth.
Earlier this month, the Chronicle reported on the private jet industry at Bozeman Yellowstone International through the lens of one private jet management company. Since the pandemic, the number of private jets has increased steadily worldwide by almost 20%.
In Bozeman, February and March are when the airport has seen the greatest number of private jets in recent years with a peak of 1,069 in 2021.
Compared to October 2022, the airport saw a 46.9% increase with 589 private jets landing last month.
“We were looking at a pretty strong October for corporate jet landings as well and I think that is very much tied to the strength of October,” Sprenger said. “October is typically going to be half of some of our other peak periods, so it has a much higher opportunity (for) a stronger growth percentage.”
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