Mankato Regional Airport is a public

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

located five miles (8 km) northeast of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

Mankato Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is the county seat of Blue Earth County, Minnesota. The population was 44,488 at the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Mi ...

, a city in Blue Earth County,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. This airport is publicly owned by the city of Mankato. The airport is home to North Star Aviation ( FBO) and

Minnesota State University Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU, MSU, or Minnesota State) is a public university in Mankato, Minnesota, United States. It is Minnesota's second-largest university and has over 145,000 living alumni worldwide. Founded in 1868, it is t ...

's flight training program. Base to Mn composite Squadron Mn 048 Civil Air Patrol (CAP/USAF-AUX)

Facilities and aircraft

Mankato Regional Airport covers an area of and contains two

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

s: * Runway 4/22: 4,000 x 75 ft (1,219 x 23 m), Surface: Asphalt * Runway 15/33: 6,600 x 100 ft (2,012 x 30 m), Surface: Concrete (Expanded from in 2007) For the 12-month period ending 31 July 2015 the airport had 119,320 aircraft operations, an average of 327 per day: 97% general aviation, 3% air taxi and less than 1% military. In March 2017, there were 74 aircraft based at this airport: 56 single-engine, 13 multi-engine, 2 jet, 2 helicopter and 1 ultralight.

History

By 1960,

North Central Airlines North Central Airlines was a local service carrier, a scheduled airline in the Midwestern United States. Founded as Wisconsin Central Airlines in 1944 in Clintonville, Wisconsin, the company moved to Madison in 1947. This is also when the "Her ...

provided schedule service to Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport and

Sioux Falls, SD Sioux Falls ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into northern Lincoln County. The population was 192, ...

with stops at Mankato, Fairmont, and Worthington. North Central Airlines' final scheduled flight using a

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper ...

took place on 7 February 1969 as flight #774. It flew the 30 minute leg from Mankato to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. On December 22, 1969 the Mankato City Council approved Imperial Airways Inc. request to begin commercial helicopter service between Mankato and the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The service started on December 26, 1969 with two daily round trip flights using Bell Jet Rangers. On December 4, 1970 Imperial Airways announced it was canceling its scheduled helicopter service flights in Minnesota. Other routes that were cut, were its routes from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to Rochester, Minnesota and to downtown Minneapolis. While no airlines serve Mankato Regional Airport as of August 2020,

Sun Country Airlines Sun Country Airlines is an ultra-low cost airline in the United States. Based at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport with headquarters on airport property, Sun Country operates to about 140 destinations in the United States, Canad ...

, in partnership with Landline, began bus service between Mankato and Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport in November 2019. This service allowed customers to book one itinerary from Mankato that includes bus transfer to Minneapolis, and then their flight to the next destination. Customers were allowed to check baggage in Mankato to be transferred directly to the aircraft, but must clear security in Minneapolis. It also offered rebooking services in case flights or buses are delayed, ensuring customers are booked on another flight or bus to their final destination. This service was discontinued on March 19, 2023. On August 17, 2020,

Air Force One Air Force One is the official air traffic control-designated Aviation call signs, call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. The term is commonly used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modifie ...

landed at Mankato Regional Airport for the first time. Due to the small size of the airport, President

Donald J. Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021. ...

used a

Boeing C-32 The Boeing C-32 is the United States Air Force designation for variants of the Boeing 757 in military service. Two variants exist, filling different parts of the military passenger transport role. The C-32A serves the Special Air Mission, prov ...

as Air Force One, instead of the usual

Boeing VC-25 The Boeing VC-25 is a military version of the Boeing 747 airliner, modified for presidential transport and commonly operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) as ''Air Force One'', the call sign of any U.S. Air Force aircraft carrying the pr ...

References

External links

Airports in Minnesota Buildings and structures in Blue Earth County, Minnesota Transportation in Blue Earth County, Minnesota Mankato, Minnesota {{Minnesota-airport-stub

Facilities and aircraft

History

See also

References

External links