Over the past five years, as air travel boomed throughout North Dakota, it has largely stagnated at Grand Forks International Airport, a situation that some fear could worsen with Northwest Airlines' financial troubles.
Some local leaders have grown increasingly alarmed by this and, one of them, City Council President Hal Gershman has begun exploring the idea of subsidizing air travel using sales tax dollars.
For air travelers, that might take the form of, say, free parking. Parking is one of many cost factors, including tickets, that might influence a traveler to choose to fly out of Fargo's airport, the nearest competitor.
So how bad is it?
The Grand Forks airport's numbers, taken alone, would not seem dire.
Boardings have been steady, fluctuating between 85,000 and 90,000 for several years, according to data collected by the state's Aeronautics Commission. Last year, Grand Forks boardings totaled 87,190, which is 322 more than in 2000, the year before the attacks of Sept. 11 crippled the airline industry. But when compared with other North Dakota airports, Grand Forks' recovery seemed down right sickly. Altogether, airports statewide have seen a 17 percent increase since 2000.
Grand Fork's numbers put it dead last among major commercial airports and second to last among all airports.
This past summer, a study of area residents' travel habits commissioned by the Aeronautics Commission found that the airport was losing a third of potential passengers to other airports. Fargo's got nearly 14 percent, while Minneapolis-St.Paul got more than 17 percent. Other airports got 2 percent. Northwest Airlines, as an effect of its recently declared bankruptcy, also has reduced air service, cutting two flights.
Quick Numbers:
Fargo: 274,430
Bismarck: 174,540
Grand Forks: 87,190
Minot: 75,340
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