BISMARCK, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – During the month of November, North Dakota’s eight commercial service airports posted a total of 42,868 passenger boardings which amounts to a 55% decline in the number of passengers that the airports experienced during the same month last year.

“The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to negatively impact air travel demand in North Dakota and throughout the rest of the country. It does, however, look like we can see the light at the end of the tunnel now that the distribution of an approved COVID-19 vaccine has begun.” stated Kyle Wanner, Executive Director of the North Dakota Aeronautics Commission.

“Due to the optimism surrounding a successful vaccine, the airline industry is expecting to see a much-needed boost to the recovery in air passenger demand as we begin to look forward to 2021.”

The November 2020 airline boardings at Jamestown Regional Airport were, 399 compared to 865 in November of 2019, down nearly 54 percent.

The year to date totals through November 2020 were 5,051 compared to 10,056 through November of 2019, down nearly 50-percent.