Earlier in 2017, it looked like once again, there would be gains in airline boardings out of Bismarck, but as the year comes to a close, the numbers seem to be leveling off.

Bismarck Municipal Airport had eight years of consecutive gains in passengers, but for the first time since that started, numbers will end about where they were at the end of 2016. Last year, about 271,000 passengers had come through which is about what the numbers are forecasted to be near when all is said and done in 2017.

During the summer, the airport saw increases in June (10 percent), July (13 percent), and August (7.7 percent). To put that in perspective, the number of passengers was an increase in June of 2,253, an increase of 3,160 in July, and 1,750 in August.

However, the fall months took their toll with big declines, which includes a 3 percent decrease in September (661 passengers), down 11 percent in October (2,820), and nearly 9 percent in November (2,135).

One of the biggest factors for the decline in numbers during the fall number was the decreasing number of flights Frontier Airlines was flying out of Bismarck. They went from flying out seven days a week in the summer to just three days a week in the fall until mid-October. They have now stopped their service out of Bismarck until April.

Runway construction also caused a reduction in plane size flying for Delta out of Bismarck during the fall.

End of the year holiday travel will be the last big push to see if the airport can push out another increase in passengers for the ninth consecutive year.

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