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Could Boise Airport go international? Boise eyes more than US-bound flights

The Boise Airport offers only nonstop domestic flights, but with a terminal expansion and new concourse project set to be finished by 2029, could add international routes, including to Mexico. (Sarah A. Miller)
By Kevin Fixler Idaho Statesman

The Boise Airport offers nonstop flights from eight airlines to 26 destinations – all of them within the contiguous U.S. But the local air hub has hopes of going international.

Through the first three months of 2025, three cities in Mexico made the list of the top 30 final destinations for Treasure Valley air travelers, according to airport data.

At No. 20, Cancun, Mexico, topped the international list, with Puerto Vallarta at No. 28 and San José del Cabo at No. 30. All others were domestic cities.

Flying to Mexico – and all other nondomestic destinations – requires a layover at a larger, international airport to fly in and out of Boise. That’s because the local air hub lacks required U.S. Customs and Border Patrol facilities to process commercial passengers into the U.S., Boise Airport spokesperson Shawna Samuelson told the Idaho Statesman.

As a result, inbound and outbound air travelers from Boise frequently make stops at the airports in Seattle, Portland, Denver and several in California, the data showed. Each international airport rounded out the top 10 destinations from Boise.

Samuelson said the airport would love to see one of its commercial airlines add a nonstop international route to the slate of existing flights. But so far they’ve found no takers.

“Our airline partners have not expressed the interest necessary to justify the significant investment required for a (Customs) facility,” Samuelson said. “Because these facilities must meet strict federal standards, construction is costly, and moving forward without airline demand would not be fiscally responsible.”

With a rapidly growing population, that could change in the future, Samuelson told the Statesman. Close to 5 million passengers passed through the Boise Airport in 2024, and through July this year, the airport is pacing at about 7% ahead of that total.

Design work for a new airport concourse, which would add up to 10 more gates, is now underway, and it’s possible that international flights could be in the mix, Samuelson said. Boise’s municipal airport expansion and terminal improvement project is pegged at no more than $700 million to be completed by 2029.

During the planning process, the airport is set to “explore flexible design options that would allow the new concourse to be more easily retrofitted for international service when demand grows,” Samuelson said. “We are also continually advocating for our airline partners to add international service from locations that have preclearance, where passengers clear Customs and Border Protection at the point of departure rather than at the point of arrival.”

Those discussions remain in the early stages, she added, “but international readiness is part of our long-term planning.”

For now, Treasure Valley air travelers who want to fly beyond U.S. borders will still have to book their trips with a layover before they return to or leave the country. But that could change as the Boise Airport continues to target making the leap to international routes in the coming years.