BILLINGS — Billings Logan International Airport set a passenger record in 2024, with over 980,000 people traveling through the Magic City.
The passenger total is the most the airport has seen. The previous high was before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, when the total was 950,000 travelers.
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Airport Director Jeff Roach said the increase is a direct result from a renovation project that added terminals, remodeled the interior design, added shops and restaurants and enhanced the security.
"It's got a lot to do with the large project we just completed here," Roach said Tuesday afternoon. "We want everyone to have a great experience when they travel through Billings."
Roach said the motivation behind the project — which was the first renovation since the early 1990s — was to provide a better experience for the travelers. He added that the increase in numbers shows that plan is working.
"Our last big year was in 2019 when we had about 950,000 passengers come through the airport," Roach said. "We've seen passengers respond to (the remodel)."
Take one step inside the airport and the difference is clear. Billings resident Mary Martinez said she was impressed with the changes on Tuesday.
“It looks really nice, and it’s more updated, more modern,” said Martinez. "It's much more spacious."
While the cosmetic upgrades are impressive, it’s the increased flight options that are really making waves. Former Red Lodge resident Lucy Stenzel-Poore now lives in Portland with her fiance Nick DeBakker. She said the addition of a direct flight has been crucial.
“The flight increase has been massive,” said Stenzel-Poore. "It used to be that we would fly into Bozeman and drive 2.5 hours to Red Lodge, but now we can fly directly into Billings."
Debakker and Stenzel-Poore will get married in her hometown in October and he agreed that the added convenience takes a lot of the stress away.
“It makes the whole process fly by,” DeBakker said. "Plus, anyone who is coming to the wedding from Portland can fly direct and save themselves some time."
Despite the record-breaking year, Billings is still playing catch-up in comparison to other Montana airports. Currently, Billings ranks fourth in the state in terms of total passenger traffic, trailing behind Bozeman, Missoula, and Kalispell, with Bozeman in front by a wide margin.
It's because of those numbers that Roach said he's continuously looking to add more flight services.
"A lot of that comes down to the airlines," Roach said. "All we can do is make ourselves as available and open to the possibility as we can."
Martinez said that any additional flights would be a welcome — knowing that more options means more flexibility and likely cheaper air fare.
"I mean it's been nice to go to another city more than like one time a day," Martinez said. "There was really not that many flights that were flying out of here before, so adding more will hopefully decrease a lot of stress."
