🏖️ Summer Traffic Rises Across Four Major Resort Gateways
Four U.S. resort gateways recorded growth in the same direction during summer 2026, although their traffic volumes and sources of incremental growth differed. Avi-Go data show that during the full 30-day period from July 17 to August 15, Nantucket Memorial Airport (KACK), Francis S. Gabreski Airport (KFOK), Aspen Airport (KASE), and Jackson Hole Airport (KJAC) recorded 6,161, 3,833, 3,531, and 2,780 business aviation movements, respectively, up 14.5%, 14.3%, 22.1%, and 15.7% compared with June 17 to July 16. Combined traffic across the four airports increased by 2,278 movements, from 14,027 to 16,305. KACK maintained the highest total, with 3,079 departures and 3,082 arrivals. KASE ranked first among the four in both absolute growth, at 640 additional movements, and percentage growth, at 22.1%; however, a single 30-day window is insufficient to determine the specific sources of demand or establish a long-term trend.
Impact: KACK’s 6,161 movements mean that its on-site support operations faced the largest absolute workload among the four airports, while KASE needed to absorb faster growth over the short window. KFOK added 480 movements and KJAC added 378, also indicating that resource pressures were not concentrated at a single gateway. Given the different growth rates and baseline volumes across the four airports, applying a uniform resource allocation standard could create a mismatch between support capacity and actual traffic.
Recommendation: Each of the four airports should use its traffic volume and net increase in movements during this period to calibrate aircraft stand utilization, fueling rosters, and ground-handling shifts for late August 2026. KACK should focus on accommodating its high total volume, while KASE should prioritize reviewing the peak periods associated with its 22.1% growth. Future monitoring should track movement changes at all four airports across successive full 30-day windows before deciding whether to extend summer resource allocations.