More than 260,000 attend JBER’s Arctic Thunder Open House 2024

As the dust settles on ears return to normal decibel levels from the phenomenal air displays of aerial might at the biennial Arctic Thunder Open House (ATOH), the attendance numbers have been collected as part of the official attendance assessment and the on July 20 and 21, 2024 more than 260,000, two and a half times the attendees in 2022. The numbers are based on aerial imagery and data collection;

“We reviewed aerial video and imagery, headcounts, and parking data,” said U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Lee Morgan, director of ATOH 2024. “Since we don’t charge for admission or parking, we have to rely on other event industry algorithms, models, and best practices to calculate attendance.”

The increase in attendance comes despite losing nearly one-third of the available parking during previous open houses, with estimates that attendance is 160,000 more than in 2022.

“Once we realized how much parking we were losing due to the runway extension project, the ATOH team came up with brilliant parking and traffic solutions that worked exceptionally well, evidenced by not having to close the gates early, Saturday or Sunday,” Lt. Col. Morgan said. “In 2022, the parking lot reached maximum capacity by early afternoon, and we unfortunately had to turn people away.”

“Last weekend was an incredible opportunity for us to interact with the community, which is so supportive of us and what we do. It allowed our Airmen and Soldiers the opportunity to shake your hand, say ‘thank you,’ and to hopefully inspire the people of Alaska who inspire us every day.”

Of course, the beautiful sunny, 70-plus degree weather might also have played a part in drawing the 260,000 or more spectators to ATOH 2024. Weather during the 2022 show was cloudy with periodic rain and 10 degrees cooler than this year.

“The weather was picture-perfect both days; I definitely think it was a contributing factor in the great turnout we had over the weekend and I’m thankful so many took advantage of the beautiful Alaska summer days and spent them with us,” said Lt. Col. Morgan.

“Even though hundreds of us worked countless hours over the past two years to pull this off, it was so worth it to be able to show our appreciation to this community and we hope we inspired you as much as you inspire us,” Morgan said. “We are truly grateful and blessed to be a part of this community that embraces us and treats us like family; this is a special place.”

While Arctic Thunder Open House 2024 concluded Sunday, the ATOH 2024 team is discussing what went right and what they can do better in 2026.