The Airport Authority hosted a fun Business After Hours event sponsored by The Chamber of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks. Their Progressive Cash drawing was at $2600 and drew a lot of Chamber members, but the airport’s door prizes attracted even more.  Courtesy of United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Allegiant Travel – we gave were able to away 6 round-trip tickets including Allegiant’s “Pack Your Bags” instant trip for two to Phoenix/Mesa.  In addition, free car rentals and golf accessories were given away courtesy of Hertz, National/Alamo and Avis car rental agencies. The final count for the event was 388 guests beating The Chamber’s previous record of 337.

The food was served in our board room – exquisitely presented by our very own Red River Valley Grill & Market – they went over and above all our expectations! They cater our special dinners and events, and we consider ourselves very lucky to have them.  The Red River Valley Grill & Market serves both the secure side and unsecure side of our airport terminal every day from just before the first flight to just after the last departure. Anyone is welcome to come out and try their great menu! You might also enjoy their great selection of novelty gifts and souvenirs.

Photos of the event are currently displayed on our website’s photos page.

Allegiant made a “campaign stop” today in Grand Forks to give away 2 round trip tickets to one lucky voter!  A steady stream of 189 people voted for their favorite Allegiant destination between 7-9AM at the polling place (Fuji/Planet Fitness parking lot), and we were very pleased with the voter turnout.  Thanks to Clear Channel Radio for helping to spread the word with their live radio remote on all four of their stations.

Just after 9AM, Allegiant announced the lucky winner – Maude Harris will receive roundtrip tickets for 2 to Phoenix/Mesa!  Congratulations to Maude!  But that’s not all!  During September you can still go online to vote at www.vote4vacation.com to enter to win their GRAND PRIZE – free flights for 4 years!

Three of Allegiant’s campaign buses are making their way around the country during the month of September, stopping in 77 cities.

The Grand Forks region’s Bakken Initiative has launched accessthebakken.com as part of a multi-pronged promotion campaign, Expand East. Do Business West.  The Grand Forks International Airport is a stong supporter of this initiative.

Explore the convenience and benefits the Grand Forks N.D. region can offer your Bakken-bound employees. The Grand Forks area can alleviate some of the constraints you may face as growth in the Bakken continues.

The Airport Authority organized a cookoff for GFK airport employees. Six teams entered and all of them cooked some great chili and BBQ. Our five judges – including the Grand Forks Herald’s “Eat Beat” columnist Marilyn Hagerty – voted FedEx chili as the best tasting entry. The Peoples Choice award went to UND Aerospace’s chili.  It isn’t often enough that we can get the entire airport together, but when we do we have lots of fun!  Thank you to all who cooked and to all of those attending – for making our first cookoff such a success.  A big thank you to GFK Flight Support for the use of their facility and their staff’s help in setting things up.

The GFK FAA Air Traffic Control Tower reported breaking another record for operations (takeoffs and landings) at GFK. The July 2012 operations total was 40,353 – 9,370 more than July of 2011, and shattering the previous record of 39,427 set in September 1990. The total for the calendar year so far is 219,085, which is 14,381 operations ahead of last years’ record.

The North Dakota Museum of Art added beauty to the bare walls of our new terminal last week. Four large paintings by award-winning advertising and editorial photographer Sheldon Secunda were loaned to us indefinitely.  The paintings depict aerial views of farmland in the United States with features like fields, meandering rivers (like our nearby Red River), highways, irrigation circles, ponds and even tiny farmsteads. To see these masterpieces up close would give you the best experience, so be sure to view them the next time you’re out at the airport.

Grand Forks Regional Airport Authority announced new service from Grand Forks to Denver. After 20 years, United Airlines is returning to the Grand Forks International Airport Mark Andrews Field (GFK) with twice daily flights starting in October of this year.  Airport officials said we would not have been able to attract United again without the support of our loyal customers and the growth of our boarding numbers.  GFK has shattered passenger boarding records three times over the past three years, and a new terminal was opened last August, adding comfort and convenience for the many thousands that arrive and depart here each year.  Our hope is that you, our customer, will continue your support by using GFK as your airport.

United express carrier Sky West will operate the flights with 50-seat planes. The flights will begin October 3rd leaving Grand Forks at 6 a.m. and 4:05 p.m.

Flights will leave Denver and head to Grand Forks at 12:40 p.m. and 7:45 p.m.

The old terminal will be torn down starting tomorrow.  Crews have been working for a month tearing out the old parking lot and repositioning security fencing behind the old terminal building.  Once the building is torn into, it will be only days before there is nothing in the spot where passengers waited for their flights for almost 50 years.  Built in 1963, the 7,400 square foot building was expanded four times and ended up at nearly 25,000 square feet.  The terminal that replaced it last summer is over double that and has two floors.

Passenger growth is just one reason the old terminal had to be replaced.  Results of a 2001 terminal study and operational assessment clearly suggested that the building was not sufficient to maintain current and future use.  In early 2005, the Grand Forks Regional Airport Authority authorized the design of a new terminal to be located betweent the general aviation area and the air cargo facility with new surface parking.  The new terminal construction began in July of 2009 and opened its doors on August 30, 2011.  From 2000 to 2009, passenger boardings were averaging around 88,000.  In the years since, record numbers boarded planes at GFK: 117,855 in 2010; 118,984 in 2011; and they’re projecting another record this year.

The demolition of the once beloved terminal will be a bittersweet event for those who worked there for many years.  The old building could now be thought of as “quaint”.   The car rental agents were just an arm’s length away from the airline ticket agents and the ticket agents were even closer than that to the TSA agents.  The camaraderie they used to have has all but faded in the new building, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t happy with the spaciousness of the new terminal – the space was much needed. Besides that, the beautifully designed new terminal’s natural lighting, state-of-the-art technology, top notch grill & bar, and increased passenger traffic has been a welcome change to airport staff and passengers alike.

The old terminal served our community well, and although we hate to say goodbye, the time has come.  Read more about the old terminal’s history on our website’s history page.