MISSOULA — Despite a record-breaking year for travel in 2019, air traffic at Missoula's airport in 2020 was only about 50% of normal -- that's why airport staff are looking ahead to the new year.
In fact, the airport will no longer be known as the Missoula International Airport, but instead the Missoula Montana Airport to reflect the way we're traveling.
Airport director Cris Jensen says people have continued traveling to Missoula throughout the pandemic, keeping our passenger numbers higher than other airports in the country.
Alaska Airlines and Allegiant Air will continue new services to LA, San Diego, and San Francisco, to name a few. Jensen says they might get back to normal traffic levels around 2023.
“In terms of scheduled seats, we’ll actually have more scheduled seats in 2021 than we had in 2019, so there’s a lot of opportunity for growth. It just really depends on how people feel about getting back on airplanes,” Jensen said.
Despite the 2020 setbacks, construction on the new terminal is right on schedule and budget. Officials say it should be operational next year around this time.
