Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport

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Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport
Rock Springs-Sweetwater County Airport Logo.png
Aerial Photo of Airport.jpg
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerCity of Rock Springs
OperatorRock Spring-Sweetwater County Joint Powers Airport Board
Serves Rock Springs, Wyoming
Elevation  AMSL 6,765 ft / 2,062 m
Coordinates 41°35′39″N109°03′55″W / 41.59417°N 109.06528°W / 41.59417; -109.06528
Website FlyRKS.com
Map
USA Wyoming relief location map.svg
Airplane silhouette.svg
RKS
Usa edcp relief location map.png
Airplane silhouette.svg
RKS
Runways
Direction LengthSurface
ftm
9/2710,0003,048Asphalt
3/215,2281,593Asphalt
Statistics (2018)
Aircraft operations16,674
Based aircraft41
Source: Federal Aviation Administration [1]

Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport( IATA : RKS, ICAO : KRKS, FAA LID : RKS) is eight miles east of Rock Springs, in Sweetwater County, Wyoming, United States. It is operated by the Rock Springs-Sweetwater County Joint Powers Airport Board, [1] with a total of five members, two appointed by the City of Rock Springs and three appointed by Sweetwater County. The airport has twice-daily United Express flights to Denver International Airport.

Contents

Sweetwater Aviation is the fixed-base operator, providing all general aviation services on the field.

The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2019-2023 categorized it as a primary commercial service airport (more than 10,000 enplanements per year). [2]

Facilities

The airport covers 1,242 acres (503 ha) at an elevation of 6,765 feet (2,062 m). It has two asphalt runways: 9/27 is 10,000 by 150 feet (3,048 x 46 m) and 3/21 is 5,228 by 75 feet (1,593 x 23 m). [1] RWY 27 has an ILS and RNAV GPS approach while RWY 9 has a RNAV GPS approach.

The airport's commercial terminal opened in 1978; plans are underway to expand and renovate it.[ when? ]

RKS has over 7 acres of aircraft apron space and offers Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting services up to Index C.

It has over 130,000 ft2 of hangar space including community hangar space large enough to support multiple large cabin corporate aircraft. All facilities are owned by the City of Rock Springs and operated by the Airport Board.

In December 2017, it became the first airport in Wyoming to use a renewable energy power source for part of its electrical demand. The 25 KW solar farm installed by Creative Energies offsets a portion of the electrical demand for the General Aviation Complex operated by Sweetwater Aviation.

Operations & passenger statistics

In 2018 the airport had 16,674 aircraft operations, average 46 per day: 72.2% general aviation, 27.3% air taxi, and <1% military. 41 aircraft were then based at this airport: 85% single-engine, 12% multi-engine, and 2% helicopter, plus 3 ultralight aircraft.

Airline and destination

AirlinesDestinations
United Express Denver

The airport has one scheduled airline to Denver International Airport, and sees frequent Wendover Fun Casino charter flights. [3]

Statistics

Busiest domestic routes from RKS
(March 2021 - February 2022) [4]
RankAirportPassengersCarrier
1 Denver, Colorado 18,000United Express

Climate

Climate data for Rock Springs Airport, Wyoming, 1991–2020 normals, 1948-2020 records: 6741ft (2055m)
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
Record high °F (°C)55
(13)
60
(16)
72
(22)
79
(26)
90
(32)
96
(36)
98
(37)
96
(36)
91
(33)
83
(28)
66
(19)
57
(14)
98
(37)
Mean maximum °F (°C)43.6
(6.4)
47.1
(8.4)
61.1
(16.2)
71.2
(21.8)
79.8
(26.6)
87.9
(31.1)
92.5
(33.6)
90.5
(32.5)
84.4
(29.1)
73.9
(23.3)
58.6
(14.8)
45.9
(7.7)
93.1
(33.9)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)29.5
(−1.4)
32.9
(0.5)
43.9
(6.6)
52.8
(11.6)
63.2
(17.3)
75.0
(23.9)
84.1
(28.9)
81.5
(27.5)
70.7
(21.5)
56.0
(13.3)
40.5
(4.7)
29.5
(−1.4)
55.0
(12.7)
Daily mean °F (°C)21.5
(−5.8)
24.3
(−4.3)
34.0
(1.1)
41.2
(5.1)
50.8
(10.4)
61.0
(16.1)
69.4
(20.8)
67.3
(19.6)
57.3
(14.1)
44.5
(6.9)
31.2
(−0.4)
21.4
(−5.9)
43.7
(6.5)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)13.6
(−10.2)
15.7
(−9.1)
24.1
(−4.4)
29.7
(−1.3)
38.4
(3.6)
47.0
(8.3)
54.8
(12.7)
53.1
(11.7)
43.9
(6.6)
32.9
(0.5)
21.8
(−5.7)
13.4
(−10.3)
32.4
(0.2)
Mean minimum °F (°C)−7.9
(−22.2)
−5.4
(−20.8)
7.3
(−13.7)
16.0
(−8.9)
25.5
(−3.6)
34.3
(1.3)
45.5
(7.5)
42.8
(6.0)
29.6
(−1.3)
15.9
(−8.9)
2.7
(−16.3)
−6.6
(−21.4)
−14.3
(−25.7)
Record low °F (°C)−37
(−38)
−29
(−34)
−12
(−24)
2
(−17)
14
(−10)
26
(−3)
35
(2)
33
(1)
5
(−15)
−10
(−23)
−13
(−25)
−29
(−34)
−37
(−38)
Average precipitation inches (mm)0.38
(9.7)
0.37
(9.4)
0.58
(15)
0.91
(23)
1.27
(32)
0.70
(18)
0.47
(12)
0.56
(14)
0.79
(20)
0.81
(21)
0.40
(10)
0.31
(7.9)
7.55
(192)
Average snowfall inches (cm)8.20
(20.8)
7.90
(20.1)
6.40
(16.3)
8.80
(22.4)
2.70
(6.9)
0.40
(1.0)
0.00
(0.00)
0.00
(0.00)
1.20
(3.0)
6.60
(16.8)
6.00
(15.2)
5.80
(14.7)
54
(137.2)
Source 1: NOAA [5]
Source 2: XMACIS2 (records & monthly max/mins) [6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 FAA Airport Form 5010 for RKS PDF . Federal Aviation Administration. Effective December 2, 2021.
  2. "National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) Report – Airports". www.faa.gov. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
  3. "Flights | Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport". flyrks.com. Retrieved 2026-01-10.
  4. "Rock Springs, WY: Southwest Wyoming Regional (RKS)". Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), U.S. Department of Transportation. December 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  5. "Rock Springs Airport, Wyoming 1991-2020 Monthly Normals" . Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  6. "xmACIS". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved January 7, 2024.

Other sources