DURANGO, Colo. – The Durango-La Plata County Airport broke all previous records for airline passenger boardings during the months of June and July. The strong increases were credited to the new service by Frontier Airlines, which helped increase total seat capacity by more than 50 percent to 21,478.

In June, 13,854 passengers boarded commercial flights, an increase of 43 percent from June 2007. July set an all-time record with 16,023 passengers, smashing the previous record of 13,398 set in March of 1998. In July, passengers filled three-quarters of the available seats.

 “The record passenger numbers, resulting from the increase in available seats and the lowering of fare levels, are an indicator of how strong the demand is for air service in the Four Corners region,” said Ron Dent, director of aviation. “The high cost of driving to Albuquerque for airline flights generally does not make economic sense with lower fares now available from Durango.”  

Due to the heavier traffic at the airport, Dent also advised passengers to arrive at least 90 minutes prior to their flight departure time.

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