Montrose Regional Airport (MTJ) is not only the fastest growing airport in western Colorado, but its growth has been noted statewide for the past three years. In the Colorado Department of Transportation’s Division of Aeronautics Annual Report, Montrose Regional Airport is listed as the top growing airport for Commercial Airline Passenger Activity. Specifically, MTJ marked 12.33 percent growth in 2013, followed by 7.15 percent in 2014, and 13.38 percent in 2015.
“The airport is the largest economic driver in Montrose County,” said Commissioner Glen Davis. “This growth is yet another one of the reasons that Montrose is an exciting place to be right now. Thank you to the great staff at the airport for their hard work in solidifying MTJ as a hub on the western slope.”
“This is great news and we could not do it without the assistance of the Colorado Flights Alliance [CFA],” said Director of Aviation Lloyd Arnold. “The airport now boasts direct flights to 12 major hub airport destinations: La Guardia, Newark, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Denver, Chicago, Charlotte, Salt Lake, and San Francisco; thanks to the work of the CFA and our great relationships with air carriers. Thank you to my staff for making this yet another top year.”
Another impressive statistic is the growing numbers of enplanement and deplanements—rather the passengers exiting and entering the airport for commercial air service. Since 2012, both numbers have risen steadily at a rate of nearly 5 percent per year—with major increases in 2013 and 2015. Despite the lack of snow this winter, the airport had another record year in 2017 with 225,970 passengers in both enplanements and deplanements.
The airport continues to expand and grow—adding an outdoor courtyard and baggage claim in 2017, completing taxiway F and the southeast apron, launching a new website (flymontrose.com), and hosting a very successful signature event called the Tribute to Aviation. The Tribute to Aviation saw over 20,000 attendees in mid-September for the largest static display of aviation on the western slope. The 2018 Tribute is slated to be even larger with additional entertainment plans to be announced later this year. Plans for 2018 include a project to expand the commercial apron, enhancing wireless internet service, and completion of the much-anticipated master plan that has been in-progress for nearly two years. For more information about the Montrose Regional Airport, please visit flymontrose.com; or Tribute to Aviation at tributetoaviation.com.