Records broken at Devils Lake Regional Airport

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.

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DEVILS LAKE — Devils Lake Regional Airport has continued its success after expansion projects brought an increase to passenger traffic in recent months. Manager Dominic Eritano has seen first hand what proper amenities, paired with marketing, have brought the airport.

Eric Hylden / Grand Forks Herald

Since seeing rising numbers in early 2026, the airport has also seen record numbers in September and October. Boardings reached 812 in September and 1,391 in October, surpassing records that were just broken in 2025. Since 2023, average monthly passenger numbers in Devils Lake grew from 674 a year to 882 in 2025. The maximum number of monthly passengers jumped from 721 in 2022 to over 1,200 in 2025.

“The numbers this year have been really good. Every month we hit a new record, even in October when we hit a new record all-time high,” Eritano said.

A terminal expansion in 2023 and jet bridge addition in 2024 brought in new travelers and retained loyal passengers, but now the airport is seeing the real results as efforts have been made to bring in just about anyone in North Dakota.

A big reason for an upward shift in passenger rates, in Eritano’s eyes, has been the airport's investment in digital advertising.

“Our airport is just really convenient. It is really easy to access, especially for cities like Grand Forks. It’s a really easy drive from Minot or Rugby,” Eritano said. “We’ve been really trying to push our name out to both the Grand Forks and Minot areas. I think that has been hugely successful. Just looking at the numbers, its starts with how much our growth has skyrocketed since we started digital advertising in Grand Forks and Minot.”

The other main attraction is the destination. In 2024, Devils Lake was able to secure its own routes with SkyWest. Instead of the previous setup — planes would stop in Devils Lake, fly to Jamestown and then fly to Denver — Devils Lake now has both direct flights.

Those flights include two daily trips to Denver Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Tuesday and Saturday only carry one flight to Denver.

“With Grand Forks, they don’t have a Denver flight or a United flight,” Eritano said. “People drive from Bemidji or Canada to fly out of Devils Lake to get to Denver.”

The Devils Lake Regional Airport falls under the Essential Air Service program, where the federal government funds flights coming into select regional airports. This gives Devils Lake an opportunity to bring in a flight that would normally would not be available.

Its latest improvements include a runway seal and a mill and overlay of the taxiway to increase lifespan. Also, stormwater drains are in the process of being replaced. These recent projects closed the airport for about a week in September, but the record passenger numbers were still able to be set.

“If we were open during that time we would have had much bigger growth, we think. We’re expecting more and more to come through Devils Lake in the coming months, which will set an new all time high for us,” Eritano said.

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• Maxwell Marko

Digital Content Producer and Sports Reporter at the Grand Forks Herald since December of 2020. Maxwell can be contacted at [email protected].

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