Grand Forks Regional Airport Authority officials welcomed United Airlines to Grand Forks on October 3rd, celebrating the return of United Airlines after an absence of 16 years.  United now serves Grand Forks with twice daily nonstop flights to Denver.

Patrick Dame, the Authority’s Executive Director, and Hal Gershman, representing the Authority’s Board of Commissioners, and the Grand Forks City Council, thanked visiting officials from United and Regional Elite for partnering with Grand Forks leaders to get the new service started.

Dame also thanked the community for flying locally, saying their support is what makes the difference in the Authority’s ability to keep sustainable, sometimes expandable air service in Grand Forks.

The celebration included a ribbon cutting, a water salute to the first aircraft landing, followed by cake and coffee.  The cake depicted a United Airlines jet flying from fields (ND) to mountains (CO), and was decorated by Hugo’s award winning decorator, Jen Keifer.  The Authority submitted photos of the celebration to anna.aero, a worldwide airline networking online publication, and the cake was subsequently given the “Cake of the Week” award in their weekly newsletter.