For the third month in a row, Glacier Park International Airport had a record number of passengers fly out of Kalispell in August.
Cindi Martin, director of the airport, said 39,710 revenue passengers boarded flights in Kalispell last month, a new record and 2,600 more passengers than August 2014.
It was the third month in a row that GPIA set a ridership record. The airport had 21,280 revenue passengers board in Kalispell in June, over 1,000 passengers more than 2014. A total of 36,079 people boarded flights in July, nearly 1,000 more than the previous year.
There were 35,143 passengers who flew into Kalispell in August, compared to 34,242 a year ago.
Air travel in and out of the Kalispell airport is up 3.2 percent this year. Airports in Bozeman and Missoula are experiencing similar gains this year.
The Kalispell airport is on pace to break last year’s record number of departing passengers of 227,561.
“The growing consumer demand reflects the appeal of the Flathead Valley and Glacier National Park region as a place to live, work and play,” Martin stated. “We appreciate our airline partners and their demonstrated faith in the region’s growth – adding up-gauged aircraft, increased flight frequency and service to-through more hubs.”