By Fischer Genau DIGITAL MEDIA LEAD
The Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport projects they will enplane over 1.3 million passengers in 2025, a number which would surpass last year’s record by 4.7%.
In 2024, the airport saw 89,546 more travelers than the previous high in 2023, and it expects this record-setting trend to continue as interest in southwestern Montana keeps growing. Of the last 35 years, only five have shown drops in the number of airplane passengers.
“Traditionally, we’ve always been a very strong growth airport,” Brian Sprenger, airport president and CEO, told EBS. “We’re in the midst of a very major terminal project, and that’s based upon both catching up with the demand that we currently have and providing facilities for future demand as well.”
Airlines are optimistic about traffic to Bozeman this year, especially during the summer, and a new Delta flight from Seattle to Bozeman, beginning on June 30, will likely create competition with the existing Alaska Airlines flights from Seattle to Bozeman to increase traffic. However, a variety of factors could cut into the airport’s projected growth in 2025 and even cause it to drop for the first time since 2020.
“We’re watching a lot of different factors, and I think that gives us some caution about our forecast,” Sprenger said.
These factors include the potential impact of the Trump administration’s tariffs, a decrease in government travel, the cutting of research dollars at MSU that may limit the number of students and staff traveling for research, and concerns about a drop in international travel. Sprenger also said that business and consumer confidence have taken hits in 2025.
“Those are all pieces to the puzzle,” Sprenger said. “If they were individual in nature, they probably would be overcome, and could be overcome. But if they start cascading upon each other, it could certainly have some negative impacts.”
The low-end projection for 2025 would see a 0.6% decrease in enplaned passengers. The airport prepares these projections in part to assess what they need to operate the airport efficiently, and uncertainty makes it more difficult to prepare for the year.
“We have to plan for both sides of the equation,” Sprenger said. “We don’t want to be surprised. It’s a lot easier to be proactive than reactive.”
Time will tell how much this array of factors impacts airplane travel in 2025, but in the long run, traffic to southwest Montana will likely keep growing.
