Progress Update:

The North Dakota Aeronautics Commission (NDAC) and the Project Team have continued to make meaningful progress on the 2025 North Dakota Aviation System Plan (NDSASP) and the Aviation Economic Impact Study (AEIS) since our last update. Building on the foundational work presented in Chapters 1 and 2, the team has advanced several major study components, many of which are now available on the project website for public review.

Over the past several months, four major chapters have been drafted, reviewed by NDAC and the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), and are now considered final. These chapters include Chapter 3. Airport Classifications Final, Chapter 4. Inventory Final, Chapter 5. Projections of Aviation Demand Final, and Chapter 6. System Performance Final. These chapters offer detailed insight into how North Dakota’s airport system is structured, how it functions today, how activity levels are expected to evolve, and how the system is performing across several key indicators. Together, they represent a significant milestone in the study’s development, reflecting extensive data collection, technical analysis, and collaborative input to provide a clear, data-driven picture of current conditions, anticipated future activity, and overall system performance.

In addition to advancing the NDSASP, NDAC and the Project Team have simultaneously made progress on the AEIS. Over recent months, the team completed final outreach and coordination with airports and on-airport businesses to gather all necessary economic data inputs. This included verification of survey responses, follow-up with tenants, and confirmation of employment and payroll information. With this effort complete, the Project Team moved forward with modeling the direct economic impacts of airport activity that will form the foundation of the statewide economic impact analysis. NDAC and the Project Team are working to finalize the direct economic impacts, before moving forward with estimating the indirect, induced, and total impacts.

Next Steps:

The Project Team is working to finalize the last two chapters of the NDSASP, which include Chapter 7. Issues and Industry Advancements and Chapter 8. Recommendations and System Needs. Chapter 7 will provide a strategic evaluation of emerging issues and industry advancements. This ensures that the plan remains relevant and resilient in the face of rapid change, positioning NDAC and its stakeholders to proactively address future challenges and opportunities. Chapter 8 will serve as the conclusion to the NDSASP and presents project recommendations identified throughout the NDSASP analyses, summarizes (CIP) costs at the state level, and presents a comparison between total need

and anticipated funding levels to identify the estimated funding shortfall over the long-term planning horizon.

The next TAC meeting is scheduled for February 18th at 2pm CT, where project updates and economic impact results will be shared. The Project Team will also be presenting at the FlyND Conference, with the NDSASP General Session set for Monday, March 9th at 3:30pm CT.

More updates will be shared as the remaining tasks progress and as additional materials are posted to the project website NDASASP Draft Deliverables page. NDAC appreciates the continued engagement of TAC members, airport stakeholders, and the public as we work toward a comprehensive and forward-looking plan for North Dakota’s aviation system.

Please consider subscribing to the study website to receive updates on the study, such as when blogs, presentations, and deliverables are posted. Click on the Project Updates page of the study’s website to subscribe and share your feedback via the Public Engagement page.