Delta County Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located southwest of the central business district of

Escanaba Escanaba ( ), commonly shortened to Esky, is a port city in Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan, located on Little Bay de Noc in the state's Upper Peninsula. The population was 12,616 at the 2010 census, making it the third-largest city i ...

, a city in

Delta County, Michigan Delta County is a county in the Upper Peninsula in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 36,903. The county seat is Escanaba. The county was surveyed in 1843 and organized in 1861. Its name originates from the G ...

, United States. It offers limited commercial service, which is subsidized by the

Essential Air Service Essential Air Service (EAS) is a U.S. government program enacted to guarantee that small communities in the United States, which had been served by certificated airlines prior to deregulation in 1978, maintained commercial service. Its aim is t ...

program. It is included in 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 ...

(FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2021–2025, in which it is categorized as a non-hub primary commercial service facility. The airport received $1 million from the

US Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States a ...

in 2020 as part of the

CARES Act The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, is a $2.2trillion Stimulus (economics), economic stimulus bill passed by the 116th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27, ...

to help mitigate the effects of the

covid-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

Facilities and Aircraft

Delta County Airport covers an area of 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 above

mean sea level There are several kinds of mean in mathematics, especially in statistics. Each mean serves to summarize a given group of data, often to better understand the overall value (magnitude and sign) of a given data set. For a data set, the '' ari ...

. It has two

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...

paved

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 ...

s: 9/27 is and 1/19 is . For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2021, the airport had 38,986 aircraft operations, an average of 107 per day: 77%

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 ...

, 19%

air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. In 2001 air taxi operations were promoted in the United States by a NASA and aerospace industry study on the potential Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) ...

, 3% scheduled commercial and less than 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 ...

. For the same period, there were 33 aircraft based at this airport: 31 single-engine, 1 multi-engine and 1 ultra-light. The airport operates an FBO for general aviation use offering fuel, general maintenance, aircraft parking, courtesy and rental cars, a crew lounge, and more. A Republic F-84F is on display at the entrance.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

SkyWest Airlines operates flights on behalf of

Delta Air Lines 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 w ...

in Escanaba. The airport sees daily services both to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

and

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. The airline created controversy when, citing staffing shortages, it operated flights to Detroit as a "tag flight" with a stop in Pellston. These services only lasted a month, and the airline returned to nonstop flights. However, another change was announced for December 2022, when the airline announced plans to operate tag flights between Escanaba and Iron Mountain en route to one of their hubs.

Statistics

Cargo

Accidents & Incidents

*On November 3, 2015, a Glimn Kitfox 2-3 impacted terrain while attempting a forced landing at Delta County. The aircraft's propeller had stopped rotating inflight, but the engine was still producing power enough to remain in the air. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the aircraft owner's inadequate maintenance and servicing of the propeller gearbox, resulting in oil starvation, gearbox failure, and a subsequent loss of propeller thrust. A contributing failure was the aircraft's low altitude, which made it impossible to reach the runway in time. The private pilot in control, a prospective buyer of the aircraft, received minor injuries. *On August 2, 2018, a Gerald Dan Coppock homebuilt experimental aircraft substained substantial damage during a runway excursion following loss of directional control while landing at Escanaba. The pilot, who was uninjured, reported the aircraft veered left once the

tailwheel Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...

contacted the runway; both wingtips subsequently contacted the runway surface, and the airplane ground-looped. The right steering cable chain was later found to be broken and hanging out of the tailwheel, but it is undetermined whether the cable break occurred prior to or during the accident sequence.

References

Other sources

* Essential Air Service documents
Docket OST-2003-15128
from the

U.S. Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States and ...

: *
Order 2004-4-3
selecting Skyway Airlines, Inc., d/b/a Midwest Connect, to provide subsidized essential air service at Escanaba, Michigan, at an annual subsidy rate of $290,952 for the period of August 5, 2003, through March 31, 2006. *
Order 2006-6-23
re-selecting Skyway Airlines, Inc., d/b/a Midwest Connect, to provide subsidized essential air service (EAS) at Escanaba, Michigan, at an annual subsidy rate of $908,903 for the period April 1, 2006, through May 31, 2007. *
Order 2007-3-21
selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. to provide subsidized essential air service at Iron Mountain/Kingsford, Michigan, Ironwood, Michigan/Ashland, Wisconsin, Manistee/Lundington, Michigan, and Escanaba, Michigan for the two-year period beginning when the carrier inaugurates full service. The annual subsidy rates will be set at: $797,885 for Iron Mountain/Kingsford, $799,779 for Ironwood/Ashland, $957,978 for Manistee/Ludington, and $617,415 for Escanaba. *
Order 2008-1-13
selecting Mesaba Aviation, Inc., d/b/a Mesaba Airlines, operating as Northwest Airlink, utilizing 34-seat Saab 340 aircraft to provide subsidized EAS at Iron Mountain/Kingsford and Escanaba Michigan, at a combined annual subsidy rate of $2,251,767. *
Order 2008-8-14
re-selecting Mesaba Aviation, Inc., d/b/a Mesaba Airlines, operating as Northwest Airlink, utilizing 34-seat Saab 340 aircraft to provide subsidized EAS at Iron Mountain/Kingsford and Escanaba Michigan, at a combined annual subsidy rate of $2,870,236, for a new two-year period, beginning August 15, 2008. *
Order 2010-6-4
re-selecting Mesaba Aviation, Inc., d/b/a Mesaba Airlines, doing business as Delta Connection, utilizing 34-seat Saab 340 aircraft to provide subsidized essential air service (EAS) at Iron Mountain/Kingsford and Escanaba, Michigan, for a new two-year period, at a combined annual subsidy rate of $4,181,068. *
Order 2012-4-10
selecting Delta Air Lines, Inc., to provide essential air service (EAS) at Chisholm/Hibbing, Minnesota, and Escanaba, Pellston, and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, for $2,517,770, $2,833,558, $1,055,361, and $1,676,136, respectively. At Pellston, the service is to consist of 12 nonstop round trips per week to Detroit in the off-peak, and 14 per week in the peak period. At Sault Ste. Marie, the service will be 13 round trips per week year round. At the remaining two communities, service is to consist of 12 nonstop round trips per week year round. All service is to be operated with 50-seat CRJ-200 aircraft.

External links

* http://flyesc.com/ * at Michigan Airport Directory
Aerial image as of April 1999
from

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

The National Map ''The National Map'' is a collaborative effort of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and other federal, state, and local agencies to improve and deliver topographic information for the United States. The purpose of the effort is to pro ...

'' *
{{authority control Airports in Michigan Essential Air Service Buildings and structures in Delta County, Michigan Transportation in Delta County, Michigan Airports in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan