Borrego Valley Airport is a county-owned public

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

three miles east of

Borrego Springs Borrego Springs (''Borrego'', Spanish for "Sheep") is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Diego County, California. The population was 3,429 at the 2010 census, up from 2,535 at the 2000 census, made up of both seasonal and year-round resid ...

, in

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, United States.

Facilities

The airport covers at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Ver ...

of 520 feet (158 m). Its one

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concre ...

(8/26) is 5,011 x 75 ft (1,527 x 23 m) asphalt. In 2004 the airport had 22,000 aircraft operations, average 60 per day: 99.9%

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

and 0.1%

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. 28 aircraft were then based at the airport: 64% single-

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...

, 7% multi-engine, 7%

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

and 21%

ultralight Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with aile ...

Attractions

The

International Aerobatic Club The International Aerobatic Club (IAC) is a division of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and the National Aeronautics Association (NAA). It promotes aerobatics and governs the sport of competition aerobatics in the United States under ...

has a practice and competition area just north of the airport. The area was designated in 1976 and has a waiver from the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...

. Aerobatic pilots from California and the southwest US regularly use it for practice and major competitive events; users have included three past national champions. Visitors are welcome to come to the airport and watch the flight activity, which does not interfere with other operations. Two annual competitions are sponsored by the San Diego Aerobatic Club, in April and October.

Past airline passenger service

Borrego Springs Airlines, a locally based commuter air carrier, was serving the airport from the late 1960s with scheduled nonstop flights to San Diego (SAN) and Palm Springs (PSP) operated with

Cessna 402 The Cessna 401 and 402 are a series of 6 to 10 seat, light twin-piston engine aircraft. This line was manufactured by Cessna from 1966 to 1985 under the name Utiliner and Businessliner.Montgomery, MR & Gerald Foster: ''A Field Guide to Airplane ...

twin prop aircraft. By 1975, the airline had changed its name to

Sun Aire Lines Sun Aire Lines was a United States commuter airline that operated from 1968 to 1985. Sun Aire served a number of cities in Southern California and Arizona. History Sun Aire Lines was founded as Borrego Springs Airlines in 1968. Its operations ini ...

and upgraded its fleet with 19-passenger seat

Swearingen Metro The Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner (previously the Swearingen Metro and later Fairchild Aerospace Metro) is a 19-seat, pressurized, twin-turboprop airliner first produced by Swearingen Aircraft and later by Fairchild Aircraft at a plant in San ...

II turboprops and was continuing to operate nonstop service to San Diego and Palm Springs. In the early 1980s the carrier was operating nonstop service to Los Angeles (

LAX Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...

) as well as direct service to Phoenix (PHX) via intermediate stops in Imperial (IPL) and Yuma (YUM) with Metro II propjets. In 1984, Sun Aire was acquired by SkyWest Airlines which in turn continued to serve Borrego Springs with

Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner The Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner (previously the Swearingen Metro and later Fairchild Aerospace Metro) is a 19-seat, pressurized, twin-turboprop airliner first produced by Swearingen Aircraft and later by Fairchild Aircraft at a plant in San ...

(Metro III) propjets with flights to several destinations in southern California and Arizona. SkyWest became affiliated with

Western Airlines Western Airlines was a major airline based in California, operating in the Western United States including Alaska and Hawaii, and western Canada, as well as to New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Miami and to Mexico City, London and ...

in 1986 and all flights then code-shared with Western, operating as Western Express. One year later in 1987, Western Airlines was merged into

Delta Airlines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along wi ...

and all SkyWest flights began operating as

Delta Connection Delta Connection is a regional airline brand name for Delta Air Lines, under which a number of individually owned regional airlines primarily operate short- and medium-haul routes. Mainline major air carriers often use regional airlines to ope ...

. SkyWest/Delta Connection ceased all flights to the Borrego Springs airport on September 30, 1989.http://www.departedflights.com, Nov. 15, 1985; April 3, 1988; June 1, 1989 SkyWest Airlines route maps The airport currently does not have scheduled passenger air service.

References

External links

Borrego Valley Airport
at County of San Diego website * Airports in San Diego County, California {{California-airport-stub