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Colorado Springs Airport

Colorado Springs Airport

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City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport
Official Colorado Springs Airport Logo 2015.png
Colorado Springs Airport Terminal Building.jpg
Summary
Airport typePublic
Owner/OperatorCity of Colorado Springs
ServesColorado Springs, Colorado
Elevation AMSL6,187 ft / 1,886 m
Coordinates38°48′21″N 104°42′03″W / 38.80583°N 104.70083°W / 38.80583; -104.70083Coordinates: 38°48′21″N 104°42′03″W / 38.80583°N 104.70083°W / 38.80583; -104.70083
WebsiteColorado Springs Airport
Maps
FAA airport diagram
FAA airport diagram
COS is located in Colorado
COS
COS
Location of airport in Colorado
COS is located in the United States
COS
COS
COS (the United States)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
17L/35R 13,501 4,115 Concrete
17R/35L 11,022 3,360 Asphalt
13/31 8,269 2,520 Asphalt
Statistics
Total Passengers Served (2018)1,725,037
Aircraft operations (2018)137,089
Based aircraft (2018)251
Sources: airport web site[1] and FAA[2]

City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport[2] (IATA: COS, ICAO: KCOS, FAA LID: COS) (also known as Colorado Springs Airport[1]) is a city-owned public civil-military airport 6 miles (9.7 km) southeast of Colorado Springs, in El Paso County, Colorado.[2] It is the second busiest commercial service airport in the state after Denver International Airport. Peterson Air Force Base, which is located on the north side of runway 13/31, is a tenant of the airport.

History[edit]

Busy morning ramp
Inside the Mortgage Solutions Financial Premier Lounge.

In 1927 the airport opened on 640 acres (260 ha) 7 miles (11 km) east of the city, with two gravel runways. In the late 1930s the first scheduled airline flight went from El Paso, Texas, through Pueblo, Colorado Springs, to Denver and back. The first municipal terminal was built in 1942 in an art deco style. Soon after the terminal was built the field was taken over by the military in the months preceding World War II. After the war, the city regained control.

In 1966 a new terminal was built on the west side of the runways, just east of Powers Boulevard. This terminal expanded by the 1980s, with a six gate addition. By 1991 the airport had three 150-foot (46 m) wide runways, one 13,501 feet (4,115 m) long, making it the longest runway in Colorado until 16R/34L, a 16,000-foot (4,900 m) runway, opened at Denver International Airport in September 2003. In 1991 the city approved a new terminal, two miles east of the former terminal, in the south-center part of the airport. The 280,000-square-foot (26,000 m2) terminal opened on October 22, 1994 with 12 gates; it was designed by the Van Sant Group and cost $140 million. In the 1990s a second, 5-gate concourse was added on the east side of the main terminal.

In 1996, the 1941 passenger terminal, two hangars, and a caretaker residence — by that time all located on Peterson Air Force Base — were inscribed on the National Register of Historic Places. They form the campus of the Peterson Air and Space Museum.[3][4]

Commercial Service[edit]

Through the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, the airport tried to expand service. The largest number of passengers was nearly 5 million in 1996 when now-defunct Western Pacific Airlines had a hub at COS (they moved it to Denver International Airport in late 1996). Their timetable for 15 June shows 33 daily departures to 20 airports between the west coast and Newark and Washington Dulles. (All their flights left from or landed at COS).

In 2012, Frontier Airlines attempted to build a focus city at COS with added nonstop service to a number of destinations including Los Angeles, Orlando, Phoenix-Sky Harbor, Portland, OR, San Diego and Seattle–Tacoma in addition to existing daily flights to their Denver hub. In 2013, Frontier discontinued all service from COS citing that performance on the newly served routes were not meeting expectations. Frontier returned to COS in 2016 with nonstop service to Las Vegas, Phoenix-Sky Harbor, and Orlando with plans to grow to 15-20 destinations within 3 to 5 years. In March 2017, Frontier announced 7 new seasonal cities from COS including Chicago O'Hare, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Washington to begin summer 2017 and Ft. Myers and Tampa to begin fall 2017. In 2020, Frontier announced that all seasonal service from COS would be discontinued to allow for the airline to move aircraft for route development in other markets. The airline will continue to offer daily service to Las Vegas, NV and Phoenix, AZ in addition to three-times-weekly service to Orlando, FL. [5]

Colorado Springs currently has non-stop flights to 17 U.S. cities on 4 carriers.

Facilities and aircraft[edit]

The airport covers 7,200 acres (2,900 ha) and has three paved runways: 17L/35R, 13,501 ft × 150 ft (4,115 m × 46 m) long, 17R/35L, 11,022 ft × 150 ft (3,360 m × 46 m) and 13/31, 8,269 ft × 150 ft (2,520 m × 46 m).[2]

Reached via Milton Proby Parkway, the terminal consists of two concourses. However, only one, the larger concourse housing gates 1–12, has ever been put to commercial use; the second concourse (called the Western Pacific Airlines concourse) contains gates 14–18 (there is no gate 13) and is now mainly used for meetings. Access between the concourses requires leaving the secure area, walking through the main terminal and down a long hallway.

Since September 2011 the airport terminal has been under renovation, that includes reconstruction of the TSA checkpoint to support full body scanners, expansion of office space behind the ticket counters, and new facilities for automated baggage screening.

Repairs to runway 17L/35R, first scheduled for 2011, were delayed to spring 2012 by the FAA shutdown.

In the year ending December 31, 2018 the airport had 137,089 aircraft operations, an average of 375 per day: 51% general aviation, 28% military, 10% scheduled commercial, and 11% air taxi. At this time, there were 251 aircraft based at the airport: 148 single-engine, 40 multi-engine, 32 jet, 5 helicopter, 1 glider and 25 military.[2]

Airlines and destinations[edit]

Passenger[edit]

AirlinesDestinations
American Airlines Dallas/Fort Worth
Seasonal: Phoenix-Sky Harbor
American Eagle Chicago–O'Hare, Phoenix Sky Harbor (begins March 5, 2020)
Delta Air Lines Atlanta
Delta Connection Salt Lake City
Frontier Airlines Las Vegas, Orlando, Phoenix–Sky Harbor
United Airlines Denver
United Express Chicago–O'Hare, Denver, Houston–Intercontinental, Los Angeles

Cargo[edit]

AirlinesDestinations
FedEx Express Memphis, Grand Junction, San Bernardino

Statistics[edit]

Top destinations[edit]

Busiest domestic routes from COS
(May 2018 – April 2019)[6]
Rank City Passengers Carriers
1 Texas Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas 196,670 American
2 Colorado Denver, Colorado 151,710 United
3 Illinois Chicago–O'Hare, Illinois 105,110 American, United
4 Texas Houston–Intercontinental, Texas 62,270 United
5 Nevada Las Vegas, Nevada 53,540 Frontier
6 Georgia (U.S. state) Atlanta, Georgia 50,830 Delta
7 Arizona Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Arizona 49,440 American, Frontier
8 California Los Angeles, California 36,020 United
9 Florida Orlando, Florida 28,770 Frontier
10 Utah Salt Lake City, Utah 28,260 Delta

Accidents and incidents[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Colorado Springs Airport, official web site
  2. ^ a b c d e FAA Airport Master Record for COS (Form 5010 PDF), effective April 26, 2018
  3. ^ Mehls, Steven F. (March 1, 1996), National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Original Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (PDF), retrieved February 21, 2018.
  4. ^ National Park Service (November 22, 1996), Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 11/11/96 through 11/15/96, archived from the original on May 26, 2017, retrieved February 21, 2018.
  5. ^ "Frontier cancels seasonal flights out of the Colorado Springs Airport". January 8, 2020.
  6. ^ "RITA BTS Transtats - COS". www.transtats.bts.gov. April 2019.
  7. ^ "Colorado Springs Airport cancels commercial flights after rooftop fire". Denver Post. April 17, 2018.


External links[edit]

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