Fargo, N.D. – Hector International Airport recently saw the highest number of monthly passengers boarding planes in almost a hundred years.
The airport says 56,399 passengers board their passenger planes in the month of March.
That’s up 27% compared to the same period in 2024.
In fact, it’s the 12th straight month of record flight boarding.
And for the first time ever, the total number of people who walked onto departing flights and got off arriving planes monthly exceeded 100,000.
“It’s been extremely busy,” airport executive director Shawn Dobberstein tells The Flag’s Steve Hallstrom. “March was the busiest month in history going back to 1931.”
Dobbestein cites a couple of factors for the increase, which include pent up demand and people who are using discretionary spending to travel.
The airport is also cutting in to the attractiveness of lower-cost carriers out of the Twin Cities, since around 30% of their potential Fargo air travelers end up driving to Minneapolis to take cheaper flights.
“Our airline partners have stepped up to provide more seats to try and stop some of that leakage,” says Dobberstein.
Hector’s overall average flight capacity is between 80 and 90-percent.
Phoenix is Hector’s top market, followed by Chicago, Las Vegas, Nashville, Orlando and Tampa.
Despite losing Allegiant Airlines as a carrier to Los Angeles, Dobberstein says they’re looking for another carrier to fly to California.
And Delta recently resumed Saturday flights to Atlanta on a short-term basis. Dobberstein says they’re currently working to make that into a more frequent service.
