“We kind of take small town America to the rest of the world,” says Tracie Walter, president of Bemidji Aviation Services.
From its northern Minnesota headquarters and regional bases in the Twin Cities, Fargo, and Denver, Bemidji Aviation delivers cargo throughout the state and beyond—“everything from the critical to the routine,” she says. Its modest fleet of piston and turbo prop aircraft carry shipments as varied as medical supplies, parts for farm equipment, cell phones, flowers, and even live lobsters.
Walter—along with Brian Peters, director of air service development for the Metropolitan Airports Commission—presented insights into the state’s air cargo operations at a March 6 webinar on air freight as part of CTS’s 2025 Unpacking Freight: From Producers to Front Doors programming.
Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport (MSP) offers a home base for passenger travel and cargo-only transport, as well as planes that carry both passengers in the main cabin and cargo in the plane’s belly. Planes at MSP flew 203,643 metric tons of cargo in 2023, ranking 28th among domestic airports.
In a recording of the webinar, Peters shares that MSP has land in reserve to expand its air cargo operations, which would help accommodate the increasing needs of Amazon and other carriers. A recent study also concluded that additional cargo facilities would help MSP maximize its growth potential. The study helped MSP explore demand for air cargo and the potential for increasing international air cargo operations.
“We look at the opportunity to expand, and we hope we will be in the process of constructing a new facility on that vacant parcel,” Peters says.
View the Freight 101: Aviation webinar video and presentation materials.
How much do you know about Minnesota air freight? Take this quick quiz!
More in the series
Other Freight 101 webinars:
- Minnesota State Freight Plan (take the online quiz!)
- Maritime Freight (take the online quiz!)
- Rail (take the online quiz!)
- Trucking
- Urban Freight Delivery and Logistics
Learn more about CTS's "Unpacking Freight" theme and check out the latest research and resources about freight in Minnesota.
—Darlene Gorrill, contributing writer
