The first airport to serve Williston, North Dakota, was east of the city near Little Muddy Creek. The environment was unsuitable, and operations shifted to a new airport in 1936. The site became too small, so Sloulin Field International Airport was built in 1947. ISN covered 740 acres of land. Sloulin Field Airport faced various problems as the city grew. The 2004 master plan noted limited room for expansion because of the surrounding terrain and buildings, design issues that conflicted with the Federal Aviation Administration's standards, and the need to refurbish the runway. Runway improvements had also been recommended in the 1993 master plan. A $4 million renovation project included the construction of a new terminal that opened in October 2006. When Delta Air Lines and United Airlines announced plans to serve Williston in 2012, airport officials decided to add a mobile home trailer to provide additional capacity for the terminal. In light of the issues highlighted in the 2004 master plan and increased air service to Williston amid the North Dakota oil boom, plans either to renovate Sloulin Field Airport or to construct a new airport surfaced in 2011. Officials ultimately decided to build Williston Basin International Airport because of cost considerations. Sloulin Field Airport has been decommissioned, and the land will be sold.
Infrastructure
Runway
The airport had two asphalt runways. Runway 11/29 was, and Runway 2/20 was.
Terminal
Sloulin Field Airport had a terminal with a mobile home trailer that provides extra seating capacity. The terminal had one gate and vending machines for passengers.
Airlines and destinations
At the time of its closure, the airport had daily passenger service to Minneapolis on Delta Connection and to Denver on United Express. The airlines together offered five flights per day to Sloulin Field. The airport saw eleven flights per day, including nonstop service to Houston, at the height of the oil boom.
Statistics
Sloulin Field International Airport had experienced great growth in air traffic amid the oil boom in the state. Passenger enplanements went from 27,860 in 2011 to a peak of 119,069 in 2014, a roughly 327% increase over three years. In 2015 the airport had 43,014 aircraft operations, average 118 per day: 82% general aviation, 8% air taxi, 8% airline, 2% Air Cargo and <1% military. Forty-nine aircraft were then based at this airport: 86% single-engine, 10% multi-engine, and 4% helicopter.
