Telluride Regional Airport

Last updated

Telluride Regional Airport
Telluride Regional Airport Logo.png
Telluride Regional Airport runway.JPG
Runway 9/27 and the dropoff
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerTelluride Regional Airport Authority
Serves Telluride, Colorado
Elevation  AMSL 9,078 ft / 2,767 m
Coordinates 37°57′14″N107°54′31″W / 37.95389°N 107.90861°W / 37.95389; -107.90861
Website tellurideairport.com
Map
USA Colorado relief location map.svg
Airplane silhouette.svg
TEX
Location of airport in Colorado / United States
Usa edcp relief location map.png
Airplane silhouette.svg
TEX
TEX (the United States)
Runways
Direction LengthSurface
ftm
9/277,1112,167 Asphalt
Statistics (2019)
Aircraft operations9,402
Based aircraft27
Sources: airport website [1] and FAA [2]

Telluride Regional Airport( IATA : TEX, ICAO : KTEX, FAA LID : TEX) is a public airport six miles west of Telluride, in San Miguel County, Colorado, United States. It is owned by the Telluride Regional Airport Authority. At an elevation of 9,078 feet (2767 m) above sea level, [2] it was the highest commercial airport in North America with scheduled passenger flights when Great Lakes Airlines resumed scheduled passenger service in December 2016; however, those flights ceased in March 2018. [3] In August 2018, commercial service returned with the introduction of Boutique Air, and the airport remains the highest airfield in the U.S. with scheduled passenger flights, and the second highest overall airfield in the US behind Leadville Airport. [4] Denver Air Connection is currently the only airline flying scheduled passenger flights from Telluride with daily nonstop flights to Denver and Phoenix. Denver Air operates the Fairchild-Dornier 328JET into Telluride. The 328JET is one of the few regional jet airliners in service capable of operating at such high field elevations as TEX.

Contents

Facilities and aircraft

Telluride Regional Airport covers 542 acres (219 ha) and has one runway, 9/27, 7,111 by 100 feet (2,167 by 30 m). [2] The runway is on a plateau and still dips slightly in the center, although the dip was more pronounced prior to a renovation in 2009. It can be a challenging but beautiful [5] approach for pilots. In the past during winter months, about 20% [ citation needed ] of the scheduled commuter airline flights were diverting to other airports because of abruptly adverse landing conditions. This is not unusual since other mountain airports like Sun Valley have similar statistics. [6] When flying to the Telluride Regional Airport, pilots must be aware of unique issues impacting the airfield including high terrain exceeding 14,000 feet (4,300 m), as well as the airport's location on a plateau with a thousand-foot (300 m) drop to the San Miguel River below. [7] Private business jets operate into the Telluride Regional Airport on a regular basis. Other scheduled passenger jet service is available via the Montrose Regional Airport (MTJ), the Durango-La Plata County Airport (DRO) and the Grand Junction Regional Airport (GJT). [8]

In the year ending 2019, the airport had 9,402 aircraft operations, average 26 per day: 99% general aviation and <1% scheduled commercial. 27 aircraft were then based at this airport: 67% single-engine, 11% multi-engine, 14% jet, <1% helicopter and <1% glider. [2]

Airlines and destinations

AirlinesDestinations
Denver Air Connection Denver, [9] Phoenix–Sky Harbor [10]

Historical airline service

Mesa Airlines introduced the first commercial airline service to Telluride on December 19, 1985, with flights to Albuquerque and Denver using Beechcraft 1900C turboprops. Flights to Phoenix were added a few months later. Monarch Airlines was serving the airport in 1987 with de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter turboprop flights from Aspen, Crested Butte, Grand Junction and Vail with the latter service being flown from the Eagle County Regional Airport. [11] Rocky Mountain Airways operating as Continental Express on behalf of Continental Airlines served Telluride from 1986 through mid-1991 flying 19-passenger Beechcraft 1900C and 50-passenger de Havilland Canada DHC-7 Dash 7 turboprops nonstop to Denver (DEN). Some flights stopped in Aspen (ASE) during the 1986/1987 ski season. [12] The four-engine, STOL capable Dash 7 was the largest aircraft ever to provide scheduled passenger service into Telluride. The Continental Express service to Denver was operated by Britt Airways from mid-1991 through March 8, 1994, then replaced with Continental Connection service operated by GP Express Airlines until January 1995.

StatesWest Airlines flew Beechcraft 1900C turboprops nonstop to Laughlin, NV/Bullhead City, AZ with continuing service to Orange County and Los Angeles on Saturdays only during the 1989/1990 ski season. [13] SkyWest Airlines operating as the Delta Connection flew nonstop Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia service to Los Angeles (LAX) during the 1990/1991, 1991/1992, and 1992/1993 ski seasons. [14] WestAir Commuter Airlines operating as United Express flew an Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia turboprop nonstop to Los Angeles on Saturdays only during the 1992/1993 ski season.

In 1990 the Mesa Airlines flights to Denver began operating as United Express on behalf of United Airlines and in 1992 the Phoenix flights began operating as America West Express on behalf of America West Airlines. Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia and de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8 aircraft were periodically added to the flight schedules. The Albuquerque flights ended after the 1992/1993 ski season and the Denver flights ended in early 1998 being replaced by Great Lakes Airlines. The Phoenix flights were upgraded to operate with de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8 turboprops in 1998 and then changed over to operate as US Airways Express in 2007 when America West Airlines and US Airways merged. All service by Mesa Airlines ended on April 4, 2011. [15]

Great Lakes Airlines began service to Telluride in mid 1998 by taking over the United Express contract formerly held by Mesa Airlines. Great Lakes flew Beechcraft 1900Ds nonstop to Denver and changed over to operating under their own identity in early 2002 after the carrier lost its designation as a United Express code sharing air carrier. Service to Telluride continued until September 16, 2014. [16] Great Lakes returned to the airport in December 2016 with flights to Denver and later Phoenix and Los Angeles with one stop en route; however, all service ended once again on March 30, 2018, when Great Lakes ceased all of their operations with turboprop aircraft. [17]

Boutique Air was then recruited to reinstate commercial airline service at Telluride with flights to Denver beginning on August 29, 2018. The carrier uses 9-seat single-engine Pilatus PC-12 turboprop aircraft. Service to Cortez with continuing service to Phoenix was added in mid-2019 but all service ended on October 31, 2019. [18]

Key Lime Air operating as Denver Air Connection began the first scheduled jet service into Telluride on May 15, 2019, with the Fairchild Dornier 328JET on a daily flight to Denver. The service will operate year-round with the exception of two short seasonal breaks in the spring and fall.

Renovation

Between April 7 and November 4, 2009, the Telluride runway was closed for a $24 million runway renovation. The west end of the runway was lowered 30 feet, and the east end 14 ft. The material removed was placed in the center, removing the notorious dip in the middle of the runway. In addition, 41 feet of length was added to the runway and retaining walls were built on the side. In 2010, crews widened the airfield's safety areas from 150 feet to 250 feet, installed an Engineered Materials Arrestor System (EMAS) and finished ancillary aspects of the projects. Work on the EMAS was scheduled at night to prevent disrupting operations. This system is designed in part to allow larger aircraft to utilize the airport. [19]

Statistics

Carrier shares (April 2022 - March 2023) [20]
CarrierPassengers (arriving and departing)
Denver Air Connection
22,540(100.00%)
Top domestic destinations
(November 2022 - December 2023) [20]
RankAirportPassengersCarrier
1 Denver, Colorado 6,680Denver Air Connection
2 Phoenix, Arizona 4,130Denver Air Connection

Media appearances

Telluride Regional Airport is the destination in the "Telluride Landing" mission supplied with Microsoft Flight Simulator X . The player must land a Bombardier Learjet 45 with passengers on board.

Part of an episode of The Grand Tour was filmed at the airport, in which the presenters tried to get some Jaguar Cars up to 100 mph (160 km/h) and then stop before going over the cliff at the end of the runway. [21]

See also

Related Research Articles

Mesa Airlines, Inc., is an American regional airline based in Phoenix, Arizona. It is an FAA Part 121–certificated air carrier operating under air carrier certificate number MASA036A issued on June 29, 1979. It is a subsidiary of Mesa Air Group and operates flights as United Express via respective code sharing agreements with United Airlines. It serves more than 180 markets in the Western Hemisphere. In a 1997 article from the Journal of Air Transportation, Mesa's safety record was noted as having the fewest incidents among domestic regional airlines at that time. Mesa filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2010, hoping to shed financial obligations for leases on airplanes it no longer needed and emerged from bankruptcy in March 2011. In November 2017, Mesa opened a new training center in Phoenix. The 23,000-square-foot facility features a full-size CRJ-200 cabin trainer aircraft, 14 classrooms, and has the capacity to train 300 crew members at one time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lafayette Regional Airport</span> Airport in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana

Lafayette Regional Airport(French: Aéroport régional de Lafayette) is a public use airport two miles (4 km) southeast of Lafayette, in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is owned and operated by the City Parish of Lafayette.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palmdale Regional Airport</span> Joint public-military airport in Palmdale, California

Palmdale Regional Airport is an airport in Palmdale, California, United States. The city of Palmdale took over the airport at the end of 2013, managing it via the Palmdale Airport Authority. The airport currently does not have any scheduled passenger airline service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billings Logan International Airport</span> Public airport in Billings, Montana, United States

Billings Logan International Airport is in the western United States, two miles northwest of downtown Billings, in Yellowstone County, Montana. It is the fourth largest airport in Montana, having been surpassed in recent years by Bozeman, Missoula, and Flathead County (Kalispell) in both number of gates as well as annual enplanements. Owned by the city of Billings, the airport is on top of the Rims, a 500-foot (150 m) cliff overlooking the downtown core, and covers 2,500 acres of land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyler Pounds Regional Airport</span> Airport

Tyler Pounds Regional Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located 3 mi (4.8 km) west of Tyler, in Smith County, Texas, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McClellan–Palomar Airport</span> Municipal airport serving the city of Carlsbad, California, United States

McClellan–Palomar Airport is a public airport three miles (5 km) southeast of Carlsbad in San Diego County, California. It is owned by the County of San Diego. The airport is used for both general aviation and commercial aviation. As of March 2013, the airport was the fourth-busiest single runway airport in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casper–Natrona County International Airport</span> Airport in Wyoming, USA

Casper–Natrona County International Airport is 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Casper, in Natrona County, Wyoming. Before December 19, 2007, the airport was called Natrona County International Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Four Corners Regional Airport</span> Airport in Farmington, New Mexico, USA

Four Corners Regional Airport is in San Juan County, New Mexico, United States, in the city of Farmington, which owns it. It is a Class D towered general aviation airport with no commercial passenger services, but has chartered flight services, flight instruction, and a full service fixed base operator (FBO). It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2019–2023, in which it is categorized as a regional general aviation facility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Fe Regional Airport</span> Airport

Santa Fe Regional Airport is a public use airport in Santa Fe, Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States, 10 miles (16 km) southwest of the city center. The airport serves the greater Santa Fe and Los Alamos areas.

Clovis Regional Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located six nautical miles east of the central business district of Clovis, a city in Curry County, New Mexico, United States. The facility opened in April, 1959 and is mostly used for general aviation, but is also served by one commercial airline. Current scheduled passenger service is subsidized by the Essential Air Service program. The airport was previously known as Clovis Municipal Airport but underwent a name change to Clovis Regional Airport in 2021 when it was upgraded to Part 121 status.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flagstaff Pulliam Airport</span> Airport in Coconino County, Arizona

Flagstaff Pulliam Airport is 5 miles south of Flagstaff, in Coconino County, Arizona, United States. The airport is serviced by American Eagle, and is also used for general aviation. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 called it a "primary commercial service" airport. It is the closest airport to Grand Canyon National Park with scheduled passenger service from a major airline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Junction Regional Airport</span> Airport in Grand Junction, Colorado

Grand Junction Regional Airport is three miles (4.8 km) northeast of Grand Junction, in Mesa County, Colorado, United States. Owned by the Grand Junction Regional Airport Authority, it is the largest airport in western Colorado and third largest in the state, behind Denver International Airport and Colorado Springs Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Durango–La Plata County Airport</span> Airport in Durango, Colorado, USA

Durango–La Plata County Airport is a city- and county-owned public airport 12 miles southeast of Durango, in La Plata County, Colorado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gunnison–Crested Butte Regional Airport</span> Airport

Gunnison–Crested Butte Regional Airport is a county-owned, public airport one mile southwest of Gunnison, in Gunnison County, Colorado, United States. Also known as Gunnison County Airport, it serves the valley and nearby Crested Butte, Colorado, with airline and general aviation flights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Canyon National Park Airport</span> Airport in Coconino County, Arizona

Grand Canyon National Park Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located in Tusayan, CDP in unincorporated Coconino County, Arizona, United States. It is near Grand Canyon National Park, 1 mile from the South Rim entrance of the Grand Canyon. The airport is primarily used for scenic tours and charter flights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yakima Air Terminal</span> Airport in Washington, United States

McAllister Field is a public airport three miles south of Yakima, in Yakima County, Washington. Owned by the City of Yakima, it is used for general aviation and commercial air service. Yakima is served by one scheduled passenger air carrier and two non-scheduled carriers. Sun Country Airlines operates charter flights to Laughlin, NV and Xtra Airways operates charter flights to Wendover, NV.

Rocky Mountain Airways was an American commuter airline headquartered in Hangar No. 6 of Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado. It was sold to Texas Air Corporation/Continental Airlines in 1986 and was operated as a Continental Express subsidiary until its operations were merged with Britt Airways in 1991. The airline flew from Denver's Stapleton International Airport to a variety of destinations in Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming. The airline operated out of the old commuter terminal in Concourse A at Stapleton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Keys Marathon Airport</span> Airport in Marathon, Florida

The Florida Keys Marathon International Airport is a public airport located along the Overseas Highway (US1) in Marathon, in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The airport covers 197 acres (80 ha) and has one runway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mammoth Yosemite Airport</span> Regional airport in Mono County, California

Mammoth Yosemite Airport is a town-owned public airport seven miles east of Mammoth Lakes, in Mono County, California, United States. Also known as Mammoth Lakes Airport or Mammoth–June Lake Airport, it is mainly used for general aviation, but has scheduled passenger flights operated by one airline which primarily serves the airport on a seasonal basis during the winter ski season. Additional scheduled passenger service for the Mammoth area is seasonally available at the nearby Eastern Sierra Regional Airport located in Bishop, CA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Tahoe Airport</span> Airport in South Lake Tahoe, California

Lake Tahoe Airport is a public airport three miles southwest of South Lake Tahoe, in El Dorado County, California. It covers 348 acres (141 ha) and has one runway; it is sometimes called Tahoe Valley Airport. Although the airport had almost forty years of airline service, since 2000 it has served only general aviation.

References

  1. ↑ "Telluride Regional Airport". Tellurideairport.com. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 FAA Airport Form 5010 for TEX PDF , effective June 5, 2008
  3. ↑ Criado, Justin (March 28, 2018). "TEX loses commercial air service again". Telluride Daily Planet. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Boutique Air Launches Flights to Telluride Airport". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  5. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : "Telluride Airport landing in a Mitsubishi MU-2". YouTube. July 21, 2006. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). www.flysvra.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 31, 2021. Retrieved May 22, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ↑ "Unusual Airports: Telluride Regional Airport". Bing. Archived from the original on August 24, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Flying to Telluride | Telluride, Colorado". www.tellurideskiresort.com. Archived from the original on December 12, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  9. ↑ "First-ever commercial jet service coming to Telluride". American City Business Journals. Denver Business Journal. April 9, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  10. ↑ Corrigan, Kimberly (August 27, 2021). "Denver Air Connection Spreads Its Wings". Telluriderealestatecorp.com. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  11. ↑ http://www.timetableimages.com, January 16, 1987, Monarch Airlines timetable
  12. ↑ http://www.departedflights.com, February 1, 1987, Continental Airlines system timetable
  13. ↑ StatesWest Airlines timetable
  14. ↑ Delta Air Lines timetables
  15. ↑ Mesa Airlines timetables
  16. ↑ "Great Lakes pulls out of Telluride | News". telluridenews.com. December 1, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  17. ↑ American Express SkyGuide
  18. ↑ "Boutique Air. Fly Private for the Cost of Commercial". Boutiqueair.com. April 22, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  19. ↑ "KTEX - Telluride Regional Airport". AirNav. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  20. 1 2 "Thief River Falls, MN: Thief River Falls Regional (TVF)". Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), U.S. Department of Transportation. September 2019. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  21. ↑ Gray, Tim (April 2017). "Amazon's The Grand Tour Hosts Visit Colorado". KEKB (FM) . Retrieved January 12, 2018. Jeremy Clarkson sitting behind the wheel of a Jaguar on the runway of the Telluride Airport
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.