Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport gets ready for holiday travelers

Bozeman, Montana – We called up with Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN) to see how they’re holding up this holiday season since last year’s weather caused unheard-of travel delays.

“The difference in weather from last year to this year is, well, it’s incredibly different.” Says Dean, a frequent BZN flier.

Brian Sprenger, BZN president and CEO says, “If you kind of compare to last year, I think we’re about ninety degrees warmer today than we were a year ago. So, obviously that makes a big difference in travel.”

According to Sprenger, they still hope to see tourists making the most of the ski season despite the warm weather.

“You know, I think we’re pretty cautiously optimistic that we’ll continue to have a pretty good start of ski season,” he says.

Indeed, some tourists are already en route to enjoy these well-known slopes.

“My friend and I just decided to come to Montana. The northeast got rained out, so we just said, ‘Where’s good skiing?’,” says another traveler, Niko Zoni.

Sprenger details how the Bozeman airport is taking lessons from last year’s holiday travel fiasco, while the Department of Transportation imposes sanctions on Southwest Airlines.

“I think in any industry, when there’s a situation that challenges the industry, there’s room for improvement and room for really paying attention to what can be done better,” he says.

Since COVID, the number of travelers using the Bozeman airport has increased by more than 50%, which has prompted improvements to parking, baggage handling, and other aspects of the customer experience.

“This is my first time at Bozeman airport, it’s a lovely airport! I feel like I’ve been to a good number of airports and this one has definitely got a more rustic feel to it, and I really like that,” says Niko.

Sprenger reminds guests that by arriving early for their flights, they can get ready for the hectic holiday travel season.