Glacier Park International Airport had a 93.5 percent on-time departure rate during the month of October, ranking second in North America for scheduled departures.
Official Aviation Guide, the leading provider of travel data and insights in the industry, noted that GPIA was in 33rd place globally. Missoula ranked 100th and Bozeman ranked 106th in North America. Airport Director Rob Ratkowski attributed the stellar ranking to GPIA’s ground crews.
“Our number two spot this past month is well-deserved, and it wouldn’t be possible without the hard-working airline crews we have here at GPIA,” Ratkowski said. “The crews from each airline serving GPIA are impressive — it’s really remarkable that they pushed flights out on time, especially with several early winter storms.”
“The ground crews work incredibly hard in some tough conditions and with a lot of pressure to keep flights moving,” he added.
GPIA was behind only one other airport in North America for on-time departures: Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois in Marion, Illinois, which operates daily flights to St. Louis. GPIA operates flights to eight or more destinations every day, including Seattle, Salt Lake City, Denver and Minneapolis. Seasonal flights are also offered to Portland, Los Angeles and Chicago.
Amid increasing passenger loads and flights, GPIA is currently preparing for a major expansion. The expansion, aided by $5.7 million in federal funds received earlier this year, will add an additional 40,000 square feet to the terminal area.