Owensboro–Daviess County Regional Airport

Owensboro–Daviess County Airport
IATA: OWB ICAO: KOWB FAA LID: OWB
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Owensboro City & Daviess County
Serves	Owensboro, Kentucky
Elevation  AMSL	407 ft / 124 m
Coordinates	37°44′20″N087°10′01″W / 37.73889°N 87.16694°W / 37.73889; -87.16694
Website	flyowb.com
Maps
FAA airport diagram
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 18/36 8,000 2,438 Concrete 6/24 5,000 1,524 Asphalt/Concrete
Statistics
Aircraft operations (2018) 19,991 Based aircraft (2019) 49
Source: Federal Aviation Administration [1]

Owensboro–Daviess County Airport( IATA : OWB ^[2] , ICAO : KOWB, FAA LID : OWB) is a public use airport located three miles southwest of Owensboro, in Daviess County, Kentucky, United States. The airport is owned by both the city and county. ^[1] One airline schedules passenger flights, subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.

With its strategic location and growing passenger traffic, the airport serves as a vital gateway for travelers in the region, offering convenient access to key destinations.

Federal Aviation Administration records say this airport had 23,537 passenger boarding's (enplanements) in calendar year 2016. ^[3] The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021 categorized it as a primary commercial service airport. ^[4]

Facilities

OWB ticketing facilities

Owensboro–Daviess County Airport covers 880 acres (356 ha) at an elevation of 407 feet (124 m). It has two runways: 18/36 is 8,000 by 150 feet (2,438 x 46 m) concrete and 6/24 is 5,000 by 100 feet (1,524 x 30 m) asphalt/concrete. ^[1]

Baggage claim at OWB

In the year ending April 30, 2018 the airport had 19,991 aircraft operations, an average of 55 per day: 76% general aviation, 13% air taxi, 10% military, and 1% commercial airline. In June 2019, 49 aircraft were based at this airport: 35 single-engine, 6 multi-engine, 7 jet and 1 ultralight. ^[1]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Airlines	Destinations	Refs
Contour Airlines	Chicago–O'Hare	[5]

History

Eastern Airlines landed at Owensboro from 1951 to 1964, and Ozark Airlines from 1955 to 1975 (including DC-9s circa 1972).

RegionsAir operating as AmericanConnection flew to St. Louis until March 2007. The next EAS contract was awarded to Big Sky Airlines (Delta Connection), with service to Cincinnati scheduled to begin in June 2007. Big Sky began service in November 2007 and abruptly ended operations in January 2008. ^[6] Great Lakes Aviation was awarded a contract but ultimately cancelled. ^[7] Owensboro was without scheduled air service from January 7, 2008, until August 31, 2009, when Pacific Wings operating as KentuckySkies was awarded the Essential Air Service contract offering flights to Nashville. On June 30, 2011, Pacific Wings notified the USDOT of their intent to end service at OWB, saying that they were "unable to procure counter or gate space at Nashville International Airport on reasonable terms," and on October 20, 2011 American Airlines code-share partner Cape Air was selected to operate flights to their hub at Lambert–St. Louis International Airport ^[8] with service beginning on December 5, 2011.

Contour Airlines' inaugural flight from Owensboro to Chicago O'Hare on August 1st, 2023

On February 19, 2009 Allegiant Air began flying Owensboro to Orlando Sanford International Airport; it flew to Las Vegas as well. The airline ended flights to Las Vegas on August 13, 2012, but resumed them later. After 14 years, they discontinued the operations on May 29, 2023.

Due to inflation, Cape Air opted in late 2022 to cease operations out of Owensboro before the end of their contract, which was scheduled to end in 2023. Contour Airlines was chosen to replace Cape Air and commence operations to and from Charlotte. ^[9] However, both Contour Airlines and Owensboro Airport later decided to change the twelve Owensboro flights per week to go to Chicago O'Hare International Airport instead of Charlotte, as Charlotte was already served by the nearby Evansville Regional Airport, but service to Chicago has been suspended from Evansville Regional Airport since 2021. ^[10] Department of Transportation approved this change on May 30, 2023. ^[11] The service started on August 1, 2023. ^[12]

Statistics

Carrier shares (September 2023 - August 2024) ^[13]

Carrier	Passengers (arriving and departing)
Contour Airlines	15,360(100.00%)

Top domestic destinations (September 2023 - August 2024) ^[13]

Rank	Airport	Passengers	Airline
1	Chicago O'Hare (ORD)	7,670	Contour

See also

• List of airports in Kentucky

References

1. FAA Airport Form 5010 for OWB PDF . Federal Aviation Administration. effective June 20, 2019.
2. "IATA Airport Code Search (OWB: Owensboro / Daviess County)". International Air Transport Association . Retrieved June 7, 2014.
3. "2016 Primary, Non-primary Commercial Service, and General Aviation Airports (by State)" (PDF). CY 2016 Passenger Boarding and All-Cargo Data. October 5, 2017.
4. "2013–2017 NPIAS Report, Appendix A" (PDF). National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems. Federal Aviation Administration. September 27, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 1, 2014.
5. "Contour Airlines August 2023 Chicago Network Expansion". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
6. Lee Denney and Matt Weafer (2008-01-10). "Airline Departing, flights expected to continue". Messenger-Inquirer. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
7. "Air service awarded to Great Lakes; flights may be to St. Louis". Jackson Sun. 2008-02-03. Retrieved 2008-02-03.^{[ dead link ‍]}
8. "Docket DOT-OST-2000-7855 ORDER TENTATIVELY SELECTING CARRIER". USDOT. 2011-10-20. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
9. Richardson, Ryan (January 18, 2023). "OWB board recommends jet service to Charlotte; flights to Nashville and St. Louis would cease". The Owensboro Times. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
10. Watkins, Monica; Mehling, Steve (2023-06-06). "Chicago flights announced from Owensboro". www.14news.com. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
11. "ORDER APPROVING ALTERNATE SERVICE PATTERN" (PDF). downloads.regulations.gov. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
12. Richardson, Ryan (June 7, 2023). "OWB to offer daily jet service to Chicago starting August 1". The Owensboro Times. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
13. "Owensboro, KY: Owensboro Daviess County (OWB)". Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), U.S. Department of Transportation. 2 July 2019.

Other sources

• Essential Air Service documents (Docket OST-2000-7855) from the U.S. Department of Transportation:
  • Order 2005-6-14 (June 15, 2005): reselecting RegionsAir, Inc. d/b/a American Connection, formerly known as Corporate Airlines, to provide subsidized essential air service (EAS) at each of the above communities (Burlington, IA; Cape Girardeau, MO; Ft. Leonard Wood, MO; Jackson, TN; Marion/Herrin, IL; Owensboro, KY; Kirksville, MO) for a new two-year period from June 1, 2005, through May 31, 2007, for a combined annual subsidy of $7,306,249. Also by this order, the department is terminating the show-cause proceeding tentatively terminating subsidy at Kirksville, Missouri, as RegionsAir's selected proposal is below the $200-per-passenger cap.
  • Order 2007-3-5 (March 9, 2007): selecting Big Sky Transportation Co., d/b/a Big Sky Airlines, and Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. to provide subsidized essential air service (EAS) at the above communities (Burlington, IA; Cape Girardeau, MO; Fort Leonard Wood, MO; Jackson, TN; Marion/Herrin, IL, Owensboro, KY) for the two-year period from June 1, 2007, through May 31, 2009, using 19-seat Beech 1900D turboprop aircraft as follows: Big Sky at Cape Girardeau, Jackson, and Owensboro for a combined annual subsidy of $3,247,440; and Great Lakes at Burlington, Fort Leonard Wood, and Marion/Herrin for a combined annual subsidy of $2,590,461.
  • Order 2008-2-1 (February 1, 2008): selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. to provide subsidized essential air service at Cape Girardeau, Missouri and Jackson, Tennessee and Owensboro, Kentucky for the two-year period beginning when the carrier starts full EAS at all three communities.
  • Order 2009-6-17 (June 22, 2009): selecting Pacific Wings, LLC to provide essential air service (EAS) at Owensboro, Kentucky, and Jackson, Tennessee, at a combined annual subsidy rate of $2,294,401 ($1,068,773 for Owensboro and $1,225,628 for Jackson), for a two-year period beginning when Pacific Wings inaugurates service.
  • Order 2011-10-14 (October 20, 2011): tentatively selecting Hyannis Air Service, Inc. d/b/a Cape Air to provide subsidized essential air service (EAS) at Owensboro, Kentucky, for a four-year period. The four-year period will begin when Cape Air inaugurates full EAS and will run through the end of the 48th month thereafter. This tentative selection of Cape Air will provide Owensboro with 18 nonstop round trips per week to Lambert–St. Louis International Airport using 9-passenger Cessna 402 aircraft at an annual subsidy rate of $1,529,913.
  • Order 2011-11-5 (November 3, 2011): making final the tentative findings in Order 2011-10-14.

External links

• Official website
• Aerial image as of February 1997 from USGS The National Map
• FAA Airport Diagram  (PDF), effective February 20, 2025
• FAA Terminal Procedures for OWB , effective February 20, 2025
• Resources for this airport:
  • FAA airport information for OWB
  • AirNav airport information for KOWB
  • ASN accident history for OWB
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart, Terminal Procedures