Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
.
The airport opened on January 13, 2011, a replacement for smaller land-locked St. George Municipal Airport, atop a
mesa
A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge or hill, which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas characteristically consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks capped by a ...
in the city, which was declared unsuitable for expansion. It is served by SkyWest Airlines with code sharing flights operated on behalf of
American Airlines
American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
,
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 ...
and
United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.
. SkyWest, one of the largest regional airlines in the world, is based in St. George.
The former airport used SGU as the
location identifier
A location identifier is a symbolic representation for the name and the location of an airport, navigation aid, or weather station, and is used for staffed air traffic control facilities in air traffic control, telecommunications, computer programm ...
for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and International Air Transport Association (IATA). The new airport was assigned a transitional identifier DXZ by the FAA, but retained the IATA designation SGU. On December 15, 2011, the FAA returned SGU to use at the new airport.
History
The prospect of a new airport for the region had been considered for many years. The old airport had a small terminal with a single gate and a runway that was too small for larger aircraft. It had no room for expansion, as it was situated atop a mesa. With the growth of the area and tourism rapidly increasing, the need for a new airport became more urgent. A site was chosen about 6 miles southeast of downtown at an abandoned airfield which had not seen air traffic since 1961 and most recently had been used for vehicle drag racing and radio controlled aircraft.
An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the present airport was completed in August 2006. The study concluded that the impact on the environment and noise pollution would be minimal. Plans for this new larger airport included a single 10,000 ft (3048m) runway suitable for regional jets and smaller mainline aircraft. The runway was initially planned to be oriented at about 010/190 degrees. It was also initially planned to be with subsequent plans for the runway to be extended to . A 9,300 ft runway was eventually constructed.
The new St. George Airport was partially funded by grants from the FAA totaling $123 million. The entire project was expected to cost about 159 million
dollars
Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, U ...
. The city broke ground on the new site in October 2008 and the airport opened on January 13, 2011. SkyWest Airlines (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 ...
) announced that on January 13, 2011 the airline would begin nonstop daily services to
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...
from the airport, using
Canadair CRJ
The Bombardier CRJ100 and CRJ200 (previously Canadair CRJ100 and CRJ200) is a regional jet designed and manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace between 1991 and 2006, the first of the Bombardier CRJ family.
The ''Canadair Regional Jet'' (CRJ) pr ...
regional jets. SkyWest subsequently initiated nonstop Canadair CRJ regional jet services to Denver operating as
United Express
United Express is the brand name for the regional branch of United Airlines, under which six individually owned regional airlines operate short- and medium-haul feeder flights.
On October 1, 2010, UAL Corporation and Continental Airlines merged t ...
.
On July 13, 2015 the airport changed its name from St. George Municipal Airport to St. George Regional Airport in a bid to attract more airline services to the airport.
Late in 2018,
Allegiant Air
Allegiant Air (usually shortened to Allegiant) is an ultra low-cost U.S. carrier that operates scheduled and charter flights. It is a major air carrier, the fourteenth-largest commercial airline in North America.
Allegiant was founded in 1 ...
announced flights from St. George to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport from November 9 of that year, which were the first mainline jets to serve St. George, as Allegiant operates
Airbus A320
The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus.
The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France.
The first member of the famil ...
aircraft. However, Allegiant Air later suspended all flights to St. George Regional Airport.
Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 80,562 boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2020 (during
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 ...
), 102,297 in calendar year 2019 (during which the airport was closed for part of the year), 123,060 in calendar year 2018, 103,569 in 2017, 103,569 in calendar year 2017, 78,680 in calendar year 2016, 69,680 in calendar year 2015, and 59,321 in calendar year 2014.
2019 closure
The airport was closed in May 2019 for reconstruction of its lone runway. Officials found soil issues at the airport only a few years after its opening, and sealed cracks quickly became ubiquitous on the runway and tarmac. The airport was closed through September 2019 as crews excavated as much as 17 feet of earth below the runway. During the closure, the nearest commercial service airports would be Cedar City Regional Airport, 60 miles northeast, or McCarran International Airport near Las Vegas, 129 miles southwest.
Facilities
St. George Regional Airport covers ; its single runway, 1/19, is 9,300 by 150 feet (2,835 x 46 m). The airport has a terminal.
In the 12 months ending August 4, 2020 the airport had 80,105 aircraft operations, average 219 per day: 86% general aviation, 3% air taxi, 8% airline, and 2% military. 195 aircraft were then based at the airport: 150 single-engine, 20 multi-engine, 6 jet, 7 helicopter, 10 gliders and 2 ultralight.
The airport is serviced by two
fixed-base operator
A fixed-base operator (FBO) is an organization granted the right by an airport to operate at the airport and provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, tie-down and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instruction, ...
Bonanza Air Lines
Bonanza Air Lines was an airline (known at the time as a "local service" air carrier as defined by the federal Civil Aeronautics Board) in the Western United States (and eventually Mexico) from 1945 until it merged with two other local service ai ...
, which in the late 1950s, began flying Douglas DC-3s to Salt Lake City via Cedar City and Provo, and to Phoenix via Prescott. By 1962, Bonanza had replaced its DC-3s with larger
Fairchild F-27
The Fairchild F-27 and Fairchild Hiller FH-227 were versions of the Fokker F27 Friendship twin-engined turboprop passenger aircraft manufactured under license by Fairchild Hiller in the United States. The Fairchild F-27 was similar to the standa ...
turboprops; however, this airline had ceased all service to St George, instead serving Cedar City, Utah with the F-27 as this aircraft was deemed too large for the old airfield. SkyWest Airlines then started flying to Salt Lake City on June 19, 1972 via Cedar City. SkyWest later introduced
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 ...
propjets followed by
Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia
The Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia is a twin-turboprop 30-passenger commuter airliner designed and manufactured by the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer.
The EMB 120 began development during 1974. While initially conceived as a modular series of ...
propjets to the old airport before moving to the new airport.
In November 2016
American Eagle
The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...
operated by SkyWest Airlines CRJ 200 regional jets began flying between St. George and Phoenix.
Passenger
Statistics
Top destinations
Annual Traffic
Accidents and incidents
*On May 26, 2012 at around 1:30 a.m., four people were killed when a
Cessna 172
The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is an American four-seat, single-engine, high wing, fixed-wing aircraft made by the Cessna Aircraft Company.
*On July 17, 2012 a SkyWest Airlines Bombardier
CRJ200
The Bombardier CRJ100 and CRJ200 (previously Canadair CRJ100 and CRJ200) is a regional jet designed and manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace between 1991 and 2006, the first of the Bombardier CRJ family.
The ''Canadair Regional Jet'' (CRJ) pro ...
,
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 ...
aircraft, was stolen by SkyWest employee Brian Hedglin, and substantially damaged at the airport. The terminal and a jetway also were damaged. The plane was not put back in service.
Between the St. George Municipal and Regional Airports there have been a total of only 21 accidents or incidents in and around the airport since 1982 (less than one per year for 80K yearly operations).