Daily Mining Gazette file photo A SkyWest Airlines plane is seen at the Houghton County Memorial Airport shortly before loading passengers in this 2019 file photo. Houghton County Memorial Airport Manager Dennis Hext said this year has been quite busy for the airport.

HOUGHTON COUNTY – The Thanksgiving holiday has proven to be a busy time for Houghton County Memorial Airport, according to Airport Director Dennis Hext. “I’ve been watching the flights, and they’ve been full in and out,” he said. “Our parking lot is a good indicator of that also, and it’s full right now.”

In Feb. 2025, when SkyWest Airlines was providing two flights a day, Hext told the Houghton County Board of Commissioners he had applied for a third-flight grant, which was approved. He applied for another third-flight grant for September and October 2025 and August 2026.

The airport reported 13,305 passengers from January to March 2025, said Hext, a notable increase from the 10,413 passengers during the same period in 2024.

Hext said this week’s winter storm warning, issued just in time for Thanksgiving travel did not seem to discourage travelers. “There’s a lot going in and a lot going out,” Hext said. “We have Tech students and people going to visit other family members and stuff, but you also have a lot of people coming in to visit family here.”

“It’s a good time of year for us,” Hext said. “It’s a bad time for a snowstorm.”

SkyWest Airlines is a regional air service contracted by United Airlines. It became affiliated with the Houghton County Airport when the airport’s Essential Air Service Contract needed an airline. SkyWest conducts flights to and from Chicago O’Hare International Airport, one of the world’s busiest, and provides some of the furthest reaching destinations for air passengers in the U.S.