Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, revenue and ridership are down at Glacier Park International Airport in Kalispell, an airport that set a passenger record in 2019.
At the airport, March passenger traffic was down from more than 20,000 in 2019 to 12,499 this year. In April, passenger traffic is usually between 500-600 per day but this year, the Flathead Beacon reports that number is 20 per day.
Revenue is a big concern because not only is passenger traffic down but normal profit centers, such as restaurants and gift shops, are closed due to COVID-19. All airport employees who can work remotely are now at home. The National Guard will be stepping in to screen passengers instead of TSA employees.
"Our maintenance crew, our custodial crews, are still going through the building and working," Airport Director Rob Ratkowski told KPAX news. "Our fire crew is still on because we still have airplanes operating. And so, our airport staff is still largely here at work. The people that can work remotely are. Finance, HR, things like that. And our concessionaires and airlines have done actually quite a lot of lay-offs."
Revenue concerns also mean that Glacier Park International Airport will postpone expansion plans. A $100 million plan that would triple the size of the airport was supposed to start this spring, Montana Public Radio reports.
“We’re definitely at the bottom (with passenger traffic)," Ratkowski said in a press release reported by the Flathead Beacon. "At first, the question was, ‘When’s the bottom going to be?’ And the second question is, ‘How long is the bottom going to last?”
Some help is on the way from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. According to the Montana Department of Commerce, Gov. Steve Bullock is soliciting public comment on how best to deploy federal relief dollars made available through CARES Act. Montana's airports are eligible for up to $73 million. Of that, Glacier Park International Airport will receive $11.5 million.
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