Departure
94%
vs 95% ▼ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Bemidji Regional Airport (KBJI) lies three miles northwest of Bemidji in Beltrami County, Minnesota, serving as a general aviation base as well as a stop for scheduled Delta Connection flights to Minneapolis-St Paul. With two long, lit asphalt runways and an ILS on two approach ends, it is a well-equipped uncontrolled field of interest to visiting VFR and IFR pilots alike.
Bemidji Regional Airport sits three miles northwest of the city of Bemidji in Beltrami County, in the lake country of northern Minnesota. It is owned jointly by the city of Bemidji and Beltrami County and functions primarily as a general aviation field, while also hosting scheduled Delta Connection service to Minneapolis-St Paul and several cargo operators. For a simulator pilot, the combination of two substantial hard runways, an ILS, and an uncontrolled traffic pattern in a scenic lakes region makes it a satisfying and manageable stop.
The airport is uncontrolled, with no operating control tower, so arriving traffic self-announces on the common frequency rather than working an air traffic control unit on the ground. It lies within the wider en-route airspace overseen by Minneapolis Center, whose frequency is available for VFR flight following or IFR routing in the area. The field is located about three miles northwest of downtown Bemidji.
Bemidji Regional Airport has two paved runways. Runway 13/31 is the longer of the pair at 6,989 feet, hard-surfaced and lit, with an ILS serving the runway 31 approach. Runway 07/25 is 5,684 feet, also hard-surfaced and lit, with an ILS serving the runway 25 approach. Field elevation is 1,385 feet.
Weather information is broadcast on the AWOS-3 frequency 119.275 MHz. Minneapolis Center can be contacted on 134.75 MHz for en-route and approach services. Princeton Radio, a flight service frequency, is available on 123.6 MHz. The common traffic advisory frequency and unicom, used for self-announced calls in the absence of a tower, is 122.8 MHz. Instrument arrivals can make use of the ILS approaches available to runways 31 and 25.
As Bemidji has no control tower, inbound pilots should make position and intention calls on the 122.8 MHz CTAF/unicom frequency and coordinate with other traffic in the pattern themselves. No specific circuit heights or noise abatement procedures are given in the available material, so pilots should follow standard uncontrolled-field practice and any traffic pattern indicators visible in the vicinity of the runways.
The airport lies approximately three miles northwest of the city of Bemidji, itself set among the lakes of northern Minnesota, which provides a readily identifiable visual reference for pilots approaching from the surrounding area.
Scheduled airline service to Bemidji began in 1951-52 with Wisconsin Central DC-3 flights. The passenger terminal underwent a major rehabilitation completed in 2012, expanding it from around 13,000 to almost 29,000 square feet. In September 2020 the airport gained brief national attention when President Donald Trump was informed of the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg while departing Bemidji after a campaign event.
Bemidji Regional Airport today combines general aviation activity with scheduled Delta Connection flights to Minneapolis-St Paul and cargo services from several carriers. Around ten aviation-related businesses operate on the airport, including the FBO Bemidji Aviation Services, and roughly 72 aircraft are based there, split between single-engine, multi-engine and helicopter types. The airport has no control tower and continues to advertise available hangar space for based aircraft.
