Departure
95%
vs 95%
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Minot International Airport (KMOT) lies two miles north of Minot, North Dakota, and is the city's primary commercial gateway as well as a base for general aviation and flight training. It offers a long, ILS-equipped runway capable of handling widebody traffic, full radar and tower services, and round-the-clock fuelling, making it a straightforward and well-equipped stop for visiting VFR and IFR pilots alike.
Minot International Airport sits two miles north of downtown Minot in Ward County, North Dakota, and is owned and operated by the City of Minot. It is classed as a primary commercial service airport, handling a mix of scheduled airline flights, charters, and a substantial volume of general aviation traffic, with 128 aircraft based on the field. For a visiting simulator pilot it offers a long, well-lit main runway with an ILS, a control tower, and a full-service FBO, making it a practical and interesting North Dakota destination.
The airport is served by an air traffic control tower operating under the callsign Magic City Tower, with approach and departure control provided on a shared frequency. Minot Air Force Base lies in the same area and is home to B-52 bomber operations, so pilots should be alert to military traffic in the wider vicinity, including occasional flypasts over Minot. The field is two miles north of the Minot central business district, in Ward County, North Dakota.
Minot International has two physical runways. Runway 13/31 is 7,691 feet long with a hard surface and runway lighting; the 31 end is equipped with an ILS. Runway 08/26 is also hard-surfaced and lit, with a declared length of 5,921 feet on the 08 threshold and 6,308 feet on the 26 threshold. The airport sits at an elevation of 1,680 feet.
Air traffic control is provided by Magic City Tower on 118.2 MHz, which also serves as the CTAF. Approach and departure control operate on 119.6 MHz, ground control on 121.9 MHz, and UNICOM is available on 122.95 MHz. A remote radio outlet for Grand Forks Radio is available on 122.2 MHz. Runway 31 is served by an ILS approach.
Commercial air service at Minot began in 1952 when Braniff Airways started a daily departure south to Bismarck using DC-3 equipment. The original Frontier Airlines added three daily DC-3 departures to Bismarck from May 1959, and North Central Airlines followed in July 1960 with four daily departures to Bismarck and Devils Lake. North Central became Republic Airlines in 1979, which was absorbed into Northwest Airlines in 1986, itself succeeded by Delta Air Lines in 2010. The airport's proximity to Minot Air Force Base has occasionally brought military and civil operations into close contact, including an incident in which an airliner cleared to land at Minot made a sharp turn to avoid a B-52 that had flown from the Air Force base to conduct a flypast at the North Dakota State Fair.
Minot International today handles scheduled service from Delta Connection to Minneapolis-St Paul, United Express to Denver, and Allegiant Air to Las Vegas and Phoenix-Mesa, alongside a significant volume of general aviation movements. Avflight operates as the fixed-base operator, offering 24-hour fuelling along with catering and customs handling for aircraft arriving from Canada and other countries; customs service is what gives the airport its international designation despite having no scheduled international passenger flights. Minot Aero Center, based on the field, provides flight training, maintenance, and general aircraft services for visiting and local pilots.
