JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The state of North Dakota provided 1,030,639 passenger boardings in 2017.

The North Dakota Aeronautics Commission reports that this is a 1.8% decrease from 2016. This is the third year of decline for boardings. The state also saw 1,033,531 deplanments, making it 2,082,949 total passengers that set foot inside a commercial service terminal building in North Dakota.

Jamestown, Bismarck, and Devils Lake were able to announce that they had each posted their highest airline passenger number count on record in 2017.

“Over the last three years, the state’s airline boardings have been affected by the difficult challenges that the energy and agricultural industries in the state have been facing,” stated Kyle Wanner, Executive Director of the North Dakota Aeronautics Commission.

“Low commodity prices and the low value of the Canadian dollar have all factored into reasons that have resulted in the state’s airline passenger numbers decreasing for a third straight year. Regardless of these challenges, our commercial airline service throughout the state remains strong. This strength can be seen in the fact that the state’s long-term statewide airline passenger growth has been maintained as passenger numbers are 51% higher than they were ten years ago in 2008. I am hopeful to once again see year over year statewide growth to pick up in 2018 as North Dakota continues its economic recovery.”

Jamestown ended 2017 with 12,865 total boardings, up 15% from 2016 when 11,123 passengers boarded. Out of the eight commercial airports, Fargo had the most boardings with 34,156 for the year.