History
Great Falls International Airport was initiated in November 1928 following a recommendation from the U.S. Department of Commerce. The airport was leased by the U.S. War Department during World War II and became a home for the 7th Ferrying Command of the U.S. Army Air Forces during the war. During the war years, more than 7,500 bombers and fighter aircraft passed through Great Falls on their way to the war fronts in Europe and the Pacific. While using the airport as an air base, the U.S. Army acquired an additional 740 acres (3.0 km2) of land and built many buildings and other facilities. The airport remained under government control until June 1948, at which point the newly-established Department of Defense deeded the airport back to the City of Great Falls with the stipulation that the facility could revert to military control in the event of a national emergency. The airport was released from this clause in 1961.
In 1975, the terminal at Great Falls International Airport was replaced and all runways, aprons, and taxiways updated. With the use of Federal Aviation Administration matching funds, the Great Falls International Airport Authority performs annual operations, maintenance, and capital improvements.
In 2011, the airport recorded its highest number of boardings (172,415) in its history. GTF was the fifth-busiest of the state's 15 major airports in 2011, behind Billings (407,960 enplanements), Bozeman (397,822), Missoula (292,530), and Kalispell (179,034).
In early 2012, Frontier Airlines announced new flights to Great Falls from the Denver hub. Frontier is a low cost airline serving over fifty cities out of their Denver hub. Frontier is consistently among the lowest fare airlines in the U.S. as measure by ticket price per average seat mile flown. The Airport Authority hopes to address rising ticket prices and a seasonal shortage of available seats with the introduciton of Frontier flights.
AvMax, a Calgary-based large jet maintenance and repair business,opened a large operation at GTF in 2006. They currently employee 150.
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