Nearly half a million passengers flew in and out of Glacier Park International Airport in 2016, setting a record for the fifth consecutive year, according to airport officials.
A total of 492,522 people passed through GPIA last year, surpassing the 2015 record by nearly 5 percent. All-time monthly passenger records were set in 10 of the 12 months in 2016.
The number of departing passengers climbed 4.6 percent over 2015 with 247,445. The number of passengers who flew into the Flathead Valley was 245,077, a 5 percent increase. July and August were peak months for air travel with more than 75,000 people flying out of GPIA over the two-month span.
Rob Ratkowski, the new director at GPIA, said the airport saw noticeable gains in the so-called shoulder seasons, which include the months before and after summer.
“We saw strong growth through the spring and fall, including an increase of almost 20 percent for the month of September due to United Airlines keeping larger equipment in the market through the end of the month,” he said. “We’re pleased that our airline partners continue to have confidence in our market.”
Building on the success of its revenue guarantee programs, the Glacier AERO group has secured new direct air service from San Francisco to Glacier Park International Airport for the 2016-17 winter season. The group also expanded holiday air service for the successful direct flight from Chicago, now entering its third season. United Airlines will provide direct service to and from San Francisco (SFO) on Saturdays from Dec. 17 through March 25. United will also provide Saturday flights to Chicago (ORD) from Dec. 17 through April 1 and, new this year, had service on Sundays from Dec. 18 through Jan. 1.
Glacier AERO — a nonprofit named the Airline Enhancement Regional Organization — has spent the last two years raising donations from the community to help increase local airline services.
“The strong passenger counts we saw at GPIA in 2016 are a reflection of the hard work done by our community partners like Glacier A.E.R.O., local chambers of commerce, and visitor and convention bureaus,” Rob Ratkowski, the new director at GPIA, said. “They help bring people to the valley, and we provide the gateway for those travelers to access the community.”