BOZEMAN — Last year, Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport saw more than 1.57 million passengers travel through it, making it the busiest airport in the state of Montana.
Not surprisingly, this year’s traffic is notably lower than last year thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re expecting July to be about 45% of normal July traffic,” said Airport Director Brian Sprenger.
“June traffic was roughly 22% of normal. So it has increased, but still less than half of what we would have seen last year. “
Sprenger says that doesn’t mean we’re not seeing visitors in Montana. Many are just opting to drive.
But if you are flying into the Gallatin Valley, you will notice some extra safety precautions in place.
“Every arriving passenger is temperature tested as they arrive in the terminal. We have sneeze guards at all public contact locations. We also have hand sanitizers throughout the terminal. And the public contact people are wearing masks,” said Sprenger.
And he says he’s seeing lots of travelers wearing masks in the airport.
“Ninety percent-plus of the people arriving and departing through the airport are wearing masks. I rarely see anybody not wearing a mask at the airport,” said Sprenger. “The people that are flying in have been indoctrinated to really, the requirement to use masks and the need to use masks to reduce the possible transmission.”
As a reminder, masks are not required in the airport terminal, but most major airline companies make them mandatory for traveling onboard the plane.