Hawaii flight a ‘key priority’ as Boise targets most popular destinations
Cities in the western U.S. are where most passengers who travel through the Boise Airport fly, with the largest number of them remaining in the Pacific Northwest.
Seattle topped the list of the local air hub’s most popular endpoints over the past year, according to airport data. At No. 4, Portland made the list of the top-five destinations, which also included Phoenix (No. 2), Las Vegas (No. 3) and Denver (No. 5). Together, Seattle and Portland represented nearly 12% of all passenger traffic from Boise.
The Boise Airport provides nonstop flights to 26 destinations. The top 15 most frequented routes all feature nonstop flights, the majority of which Boise’s main air carrier, Alaska Airlines, offers direct service.
Honolulu, at No. 19, was first among those cities that were popular with Treasure Valley air travelers during the first three months of 2025, but lacked a nonstop flight. Combined with three other frequented airports — Maui, Kauai and Kona — Hawaii jumps to No. 7 overall as the most favored travel destination for Boise passengers.
Last year, Alaska Airlines completed its acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines in a $1.9 billion deal. The merger generated renewed hopes that Alaska might launch a nonstop flight between Boise and Hawaii in the near future.
Boise Airport officials continue to make landing a flight to Hawaii one of their top requested routes.
“Nonstop service to Hawaii is a key priority for the Boise Airport, and we are actively pursuing it with multiple airline partners,” Boise Airport Director Rebecca Hupp said in a statement to the Idaho Statesman. “Passenger demand for Hawaiian destinations continues to be strong, and the airport has identified this route as a targeted destination.”
An Alaska Airlines spokesperson told the Statesman that the airline has no expansion plans to announce at this time. Other airlines that serve Boise — American, Delta, Southwest and United — also fly in and out of Honolulu.
At No. 20, Cancun, Mexico, was Boise’s most popular international destination in the first few months of 2025, the airport data showed. Mexican cities Puerto Vallarta (No. 28) and San José del Cabo (No. 30) also made the list.
But the Boise Airport cannot offer nonstop international flights, including to Mexico, because it does not have the needed U.S. Customs and Border Patrol facilities to process commercial passengers into the country. Expansion plans in Boise, however, could provide the path to transitioning into an international airport as soon as 2029.
Other priority nonstop destinations for the Boise Airport include Orlando; Boston; Anchorage, Alaska; New York City; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Washington, D.C. In recent years, nonstop seasonal flights to and from Orlando and New York’s John. F. Kennedy International Airport have come and gone from Boise.
Meanwhile, passenger traffic at the Boise Airport continues to climb. It just recorded its busiest August on record, at more than 450,000 travelers. At its current rate of more than 6% above last year’s numbers, the airport is poised to shatter its all-time record of almost 5 million passengers in 2024 later this year.
This story was originally published October 2, 2025 at 4:00 AM.
