Jan. 29—JAMESTOWN — Jamestown Regional Airport fell short of its 10,000 paid passenger boardings mark due to the main runway being closed for over a month, according to Katie Hemmer, airport director.
Jamestown Regional Airport had 9,346 paid passenger boardings in 2024, 654 short of 10,000 boardings.
"To miss our 10,000 passenger goal by such a small amount with the closure that we had this summer was still really encouraging," Hemmer said. "We feel very good about the recovery of boardings after the construction closure."
The airport had 818 paid passenger boardings in November and 1,029 in December.
Jamestown Regional Airport offers direct flights to and from Denver on United Airlines, which is operated by SkyWest Airlines. SkyWest will provide essential air service at the Jamestown and Devils Lake airports through June 2027.
Jamestown Regional Airport's main runway for commercial flights was closed from May 7 through June 13 for a runway rehabilitation project. The primarily mill and overlay project also included crack and joint repair in the concrete.
An airfield electrical project was also done at the airport. The airfield electrical project included replacing every light and sign on the airfield and upgrading them to LED fixtures. The project also included getting all new electrical wires and regulators.
If the airport gets 10,000 paid passenger boardings in a year, it qualifies for $1 million in entitlement funds from the federal Airport Improvement Program.
Hemmer said the formula for entitlement funds through the Airport Improvement Program was modified in the FAA ( Federal Aviation Administration) Reauthorization Act of 2024.
"They created a more prorated scale, so we will be getting an amount that's slightly less than the amount when you have 10,000 but it's very slight because we are so close to the 10,000 passenger boardings," Hemmer said.
She said the calculation has not been done yet for how much Jamestown Regional Airport will receive for entitlement funds for 2024. She said when the grant is awarded it will most likely be for 2027.
For this year, Hemmer said the airport is expected to exceed the 10,000 paid passenger boardings as long as there are no anticipated closures of the main runway.
"We have previously had goals of getting to 12,000 passenger boardings, but that was based on a slightly different connection schedule with that early-morning departure that we're still missing," she said. "So I think at this point we are going to be happy with over 10,000 passenger boardings, and we'll just continue to request an early morning departure. If at some point the schedule changes to accommodate that, then we can look at much bigger numbers than 10,000."
Hemmer said Jamestown Regional Airport is remodeling its Transportation Security Administration checkpoint area.
She said TSA allocated a computed tomography scan machine to replace the X-ray machine.
Using CT technology allows for enhanced threat detection capabilities for screening luggage.
"Because this one is considered dual use, it's actually going to be utilized for checked baggage as well, which they are hand screening right now," Hemmer said. "They currently don't have equipment at Jamestown Regional Airport for the checked baggage, and so this will allow them to utilize equipment for that."
She said some walls and doorways are being moved to accommodate the new CT scan machine.
An additional bathroom is also being added in the secure area. She said that will accommodate passengers who have gone through the TSA checkpoint.
Other projects scheduled for this year include a building expansion for storing snow-removal equipment and a pavement rehabilitation on the crosswind runway and taxiway echo, which is the taxiway to the crosswind runway.
The air rescue and firefighting building will be expanded. The 34-by-90-foot expansion will allow that building to store the snow-removal equipment.
The pavement rehabilitation project on the crosswind runway and taxiway echo includes doing a crack seal and some form of seal coat on the pavement.
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