Business aircraft operators heading to Bozeman-Yellowstone International Airport (KBZN) should inquire in advance about the availability of jet-A for the next several days. According to officials, jet fuel is in short supply there due to a spike in traffic over the holiday season.
Airport manager Brian Sprenger told AIN that the airport saw “unprecedented demand” over the past few weeks with traffic 35 to 40 percent above the previous record for the period. That includes larger, longer-range aircraft that can take more fuel, and which combined with fuel tanker delivery slowdowns due to the Covid pandemic has led to the temporary shortfall. For the past year, Sprenger noted that traffic levels were up 20 percent over the previous records set in 2019.
Signature Flight Support’s Yellowstone Jet Center, which conducts all the airline fueling on the field from its 120,000-gallon jet-A supply, is reserving fuel for its airline obligations, as well as its based customers. Jet Aviation, which operates the other FBO at KBZN, is also ensuring adequate fuel supplies for its based aircraft clients.
Sprenger explained that with the post-New Year’s departure rush ending this week, the currently constrained fuel stocks at the airport should soon return to a more seasonal normal.