MDN File Photo Travelers are shown in the Minot International Airport terminal in December.

Airport boardings in February at North Dakota’s eight commercial airports were in line with record-setting levels of a year ago, according to the North Dakota Aeronautics Commission, which released the data last week.

The commission stated the numbers reflect continued stability in air travel demand across the state.

North Dakota’s commercial service airports together recorded 105,263 passenger boardings in February, up 0.16% from the same month a year ago.

However, Minot International Airport’s 12,452 boardings in February were down 9.97%. The Grand Forks airport showed a similar 9.5% decline and the Bismarck airport saw a 5.8% decline in boardings.

Jennifer Eckman, airport director in Minot, said there is no definitive data on why Minot’s boardings are lower than a year ago. Several flight delays and cancellations, along with a winter storm bringing ice and snow on Feb. 17-19, could have been contributors, she said.

Eckman said the Sun Country and Allegiant merger announcement in January and subsequent actions by Allegiant to adjust routes and schedules also might be causing some fliers to wait out changes.

Although difficult to measure related to airline boardings, a slowdown in Canadian visitation also could be a factor, she said.

Stephanie Schoenrock, executive director at Visit Minot, said Canadians travelers do come to Minot, largely to fly Allegiant. With Allegiant no longer offering a Minot to Orlando, Florida, flight and general Canadian traffic down about 20%, fewer Canadians likely are flying from Minot. Fewer Canadian fliers isn’t necessarily related to what is happening locally, though, Schoenrock added.

“Canadians are going to U.S. destinations less frequently,” she said, citing a slowed Canadian economy, the political environment and a general tourism slump experienced by some key tourism destinations such as Las Vegas.

“I think that trickles down. If those destinations are seeing less tourism, fewer are flying,” Schoenrock said.

Overall boardings also were down slightly in North Dakota in January, including a 6.36% drop in Minot from January 2025. Minot and other North Dakota airports had a good year in 2025, with consistent year-over-year boarding increases.

While Minot, Bismarck and Grand Forks are seeing a reversal early in 2026, significant increases were seen at smaller airports in February, compared to February 2025. They included a 32.65% increase in Devils Lake, which set a February record with 841 boardings; 27.6% in Jamestown; and 10.3% in Williston. Fargo’s airport boardings also were up 4.81%, setting a new February record with 50,278 passenger boardings.

Airlines provided 132,341 departure seats statewide in February, a modest increase of about 0.5% over the prior year, signaling continued carrier confidence in the stability of North Dakota’s markets heading into the spring travel season, the aeronautics commission stated. The commission expects demand to strengthen in coming months, although the trajectory may depend in part on the duration and resolution of federal funding uncertainties affecting the Transportation Security Administration.

The aeronautics commission reported North Dakota airports have not experienced significant operational disruptions related to the partial shutdown of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which began Feb. 14. Disruptions may grow if the shutdown persists, the commission stated.

“TSA personnel are critical to the safe and efficient movement of passengers through our airports, ” said Kyle Wanner, director of the aeronautics commission. “While operations have remained stable to date, prolonged federal funding uncertainty could begin to affect staffing levels and service reliability nationwide. North Dakota has taken a proactive approach to supporting these essential federal employees, and the Furloughed Federal Employee Relief Program provides an important resource to help maintain workforce stability during this period.”

The relief program provides short-term, low-interest loans to furloughed federal workers.