Hector International Airport Expects March to be Busiest Month

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — It’s beginning to look a lot like spring, and many are taking advantage of flying through Hector International.

“We’ve never had this many seats assigned in the market before. And that’s kind of what sets the record for us. Over 70,000 seats are available to fill. We expect to fill well over ninety percent of those seats and maybe for the first time we’ll surpass the 60,000 passenger mark,” said Shawn Dobberstein, Executive Director at Hector International Airport.

Since opening in 1931, Dobberstein says the airport has never filled more than 50,000 seats in a single month. He says Allegiant Airlines has been big factor in filling those additional seats.

“It’s always busy this time of the year, March is our busiest month. March has been our busiest month since Allegiant had started service here a number of years ago. Prior to that, it was always July and now it’s March because of how Allegiant brings in a number of flights for Phoenix and Orlando, Tampa, Nashville their whole system,” said Dobberstein.

As of Tuesday morning, many lots were filled to the brim with travelers bustling to get to the airport. Dobberstein said that the busiest days this week are yet to come.

“It’s going to be extremely busy as we are every year during this year, but this year just seems to be like I said record-breaking, and hopefully we’ll be prepared for that,” said Dobberstein.

Until the new parking ramp is completed, travelers are urged to arrive two hours before domestic flights and to consider getting a ride to the airport to avoid congestion.

The airport’s new parking ramp is expected to be open in August.