I’m not a frequent flier by any stretch of that term. But every time I book and board a flight, I’m grateful anew for the Grand Junction Regional Airport.

For starters, I’m grateful I’ve got options to depart from Grand Junction rather than have to drive to an airport — and I’m thinking specifically of an airport located more than 200 miles away and over the rivers, through the woods and past so many rocky mountains. With connections from Grand Junction to a number of hubs, I’m able to get to my final destinations without too many legs or inconvenience. As an avid scuba diver living in land-locked Colorado, I’ve traveled to some far-flung destinations.

Moreover, Breeze Airways expects to soon offer nonstop flights between Grand Junction and San Francisco. Which also happens to be where my oldest son, his lovely wife and their 2-year-old daughter live. Just imagine how eager a proud grandfather is to take advantage of that development.

As if that wasn’t reason enough for gratitude, there’s the remarkable convenience associated with the Grand Junction Regional Airport. The short drive there, if nothing else. But also the close-in parking and passages through the Transportation Safety Administration checkpoint measured in what are usually a few minutes.

I mention all this not so much to share my travel preferences, but to add to what I consider a far larger and more important picture, and that’s the effects of the Grand Junction Regional Airport on the area, the business community and economy.

The announcement the Grand Junction Regional Airport regained its position as the busiest airport in western Colorado in terms of commercial airline passenger service motivated me to interview Angela Padalecki, executive director of the airport.

I was amazed by what she told me was the confluence of two trends that could in 2024 result in what she expects will be a record year for not only the number of passengers served at the airport, but also the level of construction activity. Work continues at the airport on a new runway that’s expected to open in 2030, a $200 million project that ranks among the largest in Grand Valley history.

Those great expectations continue to bode well.

An airport offering connections to so many hubs offers not only convenience for residents traveling elsewhere, but easy access to tourists eager to come to the West Slope and enjoy all this region has to offer. The airplanes fly both ways. Here’s a sign of the times — the New York Times, that is, which in 2023 listed Grand Junction among its 52 places to go.

Even in an age of remote work and Zoom meetings, business people still have to travel. Given the connections afforded at the Grand Junction Regional Airport, they’re usually only one or two flights away from taking care of business.

I plan to continue taking advantage of the Grand Junction Regional Airport. But I’m hardly alone. I’m just one of what likely will be 500,000 passengers traveling through the airport this year. There are good reasons for all of us to be grateful.

Phil Castle is editor of the Business Times. Reach him at (970) 424-5133 or
phil@thebusinesstimes.com.