BOZEMAN — On Monday, some folks were partying to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. But for others, they’re partying because it’s the start of their spring break. And quite a busy one I might add, considering Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN) tells me they’ve seen record-high travel numbers.
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“Usually on the flights that I take, there’s usually open seats. But this one was totally packed,” says one traveler I spoke to.
Jaclyn Turk is from Seattle but her sister lives in Bozeman, so she’s a frequent flyer at BZN. Jaclyn tells me she makes the trek about once a month to visit, but because she flew in around spring break?
“Usually this flight from Seattle to Bozeman is like $200 to $300. It was $650, was the cheapest one I could find," she says.
Jaclyn tells me the first weekend of spring break wouldn't have been her first choice for a quick weekend visit, but some Richy Mitch and The Coal Miners concert tickets drew her out. She tells me when she arrived on Friday?
“The baggage claim was crazy. Especially everyone coming here for like skiing. It’s always around this time of year it gets really, really wild,” says Jaclyn.
Although Jaclyn wasn’t traveling for spring break, thousands are. In fact?
“So, our spring break has been at record levels. We’re looking at about a 6% increase over previous spring breaks,” says Brian Sprenger, the chief executive officer of BZN.
Sprenger tells me this past weekend for spring break, the airport saw around 5,000 departing passengers a day, compared to 3,500 departing passengers on a typical day. Sprenger tells me not only is this spring break one of the busiest, but it's in the midst of construction at BZN.
“Our biggest challenge right now is working through major construction with our more constrained baggage claim and also working with two less gates. Means we’re a little more confined in the areas that we have,” says Sprenger.
When I arrived at the airport, it was pretty congested. But that’s to be expected considering this is the first spring break the airport has seen while undergoing major construction. But Sprenger tells me with the weather being cooperative, operations are running smoothly. And with spring breakers coming and going throughout the week?
“Remember, you’re going on vacation. And that’s a good thing. So bring a little patience when you get to the airport and understand that everybody else has the same idea and it’s going to be a little bit more packed than normal,” says Sprenger.
And I had to ask Sprenger, where are the hot spring break destinations this year?
“It seems to be Costa Rica, is one of the ones that seems to be on people’s list this year. I think we’re also seeing a lot of Mexico and Hawaii as well,” he says.
And for Jaclyn, who isn’t traveling to a tropical spring break destination, I asked if she’ll avoid traveling around spring break next year.
“Now that I’m not in college anymore? Probably, yeah. The flights are crazy, there are delays, it’s more expensive,” says Jaclyn.
