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(Bismarck, ND) - The North Dakota Aeronautics Commission (NDAC) has released its monthly airline passenger report for the state's eight commercial service airports.
In October 2025, North Dakota's airports recorded 116,294 passenger boardings, setting a new all-time high for the month of October. This surpasses the previous record of 112,273 boardings set in 2024-a 4% year-over-year increase, representing more than 4,000 additional travelers.
Seven of the state's eight commercial service airports also reported growth compared to October 2024, contributing to North Dakota's eighteenth consecutive month of record-breaking passenger traffic.
The state also remains on pace to finish 2025 with its highest-ever annual passenger total.
Federal Shutdown Impacts:
The federal government shutdown, which began on October 1st, had minimal impact on North Dakota's airports during the month of October. Of the nearly 1,800 scheduled airline departures statewide, only one flight was canceled during the entire month.
Direct impacts to North Dakota airports began to emerge on November 7th, when the FAA announced that 40 airports nationwidecould experience temporary capacity reductions of up to 10% due to air traffic controller staffing constraints. This has recently resulted in some delays and cancellations across North Dakota's airports, with the full impact to be reported in next month's passenger boarding release.
The 43-day shutdown ended on November 12th, allowing the FAA to scale back these reductions to approximately 6% as airspace operations at affected airports are gradually restored. Some residual delays and cancellations may still occur in the week ahead as the federal workforce fully resumes operations.
Travelers can take comfort knowing that air travel operations are expected to return to full capacity before the Thanksgiving travel period begins. As operations return to normal, Passengers are also encouraged to continue monitoring airline updates for any schedule changes or potential impacts to their flights.
"In the spirit of gratitude, I want to thank all of our federal employees - including TSA staff and air traffic controllers - who continued to provide essential services throughout this challenging time period," said Kyle Wanner, Executive Director of the North Dakota Aeronautics Commission. "Air travel remains one of the safest and most reliable forms of transportation, and we look forward to operations returning to full capacity in the coming days."
Individual Airport October Passenger Records:
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Fargo - Hector International Airport set a new October record with 50,846 boardings, surpassing the previous high of 48,627 set in October 2024. This also marks Fargo's nineteenth consecutive month of all-time monthly highs.
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Devils Lake Regional Airportreached a new October record with 988 boardings, exceeding the prior October record of 785 in 2024.
October 2025 Statewide Airline Passenger Statistics
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Total Airline Passenger Boardings: 116,294
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Available Airline Departure Seats: 142,775
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Average Aircraft Load Factor: 82%
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Number of Successful Airline Departure Flights: 1,792
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Number of Airline Departure Flight Cancellations: 1
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Airline Departure Flight Cancellation Rate: 0.1%
October 2025 Airline Boarding Report
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