Pocatello Regional Airport is a city-owned, public-use
airport located seven
nautical mile
A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude. Today ...
s (13
km) northwest of the
central business district
A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre 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 with the "city ...
of
Pocatello, a city in
Bannock County, Idaho
Bannock County is a county in the southeastern part of Idaho. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 87,018, making it the sixth-most populous county in Idaho. The county seat and largest city is Pocatello. The county was established in 1893 ...
, United States.
The airport is built on the site of the Pocatello Army Airfield, a
World War II training base. Many of the base facilities have been razed, although four large hangars remain. The airport is also the home to the National Weather Service Pocatello Office.
As per the
Federal Aviation Administration, this airport had 25,756 passenger boardings (enplanements) in
calendar year
Generally speaking, a calendar year begins on the New Year's Day of the given calendar system and ends on the day before the following New Year's Day, and thus consists of a whole number of days. A year can also be measured by starting on any o ...
2008, 21,039 in 2009, and 20,825 in 2010. The
National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems
The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) is an inventory of U.S. aviation infrastructure assets. NPIAS was developed and now maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
It identifies existing and proposed airports tha ...
for 2011–2015 categorized it as a ''
primary commercial service'' airport.
The airport is home to the Kizuna Garden, built to commemorate the bond between Pocatello and its sister city
Iwamizawa.
Facilities and aircraft
Pocatello Regional Airport covers an area of 3,374
acre
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imp ...
s (1,365
ha) at an
elevation of 4,452 feet (1,357 m) above
mean sea level. It has two
runways with
asphalt surfaces: 3/21 is 9,060 by 150 feet (2,761 x 46 m) and 17/35 is 7,150 by 100 feet (2,179 x 30 m).
For the 12-month period ending January 1, 2012, the airport had 36,764 aircraft operations, an average of 100 per day: 79%
general aviation, 20%
air taxi, 1%
military, and <1%
scheduled commercial. At that time there were 73 aircraft based at this airport: 70% single-
engine, 22% multi-engine, 7%
helicopter, and 1%
jet
Jet, Jets, or The Jet(s) may refer to:
Aerospace
* Jet aircraft, an aircraft propelled by jet engines
** Jet airliner
** Jet engine
** Jet fuel
* Jet Airways, an Indian airline
* Wind Jet (ICAO: JET), an Italian airline
* Journey to Enceladus a ...
.
History
* In 1943, the Pocatello Army Airfield was built as a
Second Air Force heavy bomber (B-17, B-24) training base. By 1949, the new airfield had become a surplus property and was obtained by the city of Pocatello to build a commercial airport.
* while the starting date is unknown,
Western Air Lines served Pocatello for a number of years, but discontinued all service by 1980. According to the airline's August 1, 1968 system timetable, Western operated
Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprops into Pocatello. In September of 1973, this service was replaced with the new and more efficient
Boeing 737-200, which offered nonstop flights to Salt Lake City, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. After discontinuing mainline flights, the airline subsequently served the airport as Western Express which was operated as
code share service by
SkyWest Skywest may refer to:
*SkyWest Airlines, an airline serving the United States, Canada and Mexico
**SkyWest, Inc., the parent company of SkyWest Airlines
*Skywest Airlines, now operating as Virgin Australia Regional Airlines
Virgin Australia R ...
with commuter turboprop aircraft.
* In the mid 1970s,
Hughes Airwest served the airport with
Douglas DC-9-10 and
DC-9-30
The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas.
Afte ...
jetliners, according to the February 1, 1976 edition of the North American
Official Airline Guide.
* In the mid 1980s,
Cascade Airways served Pocatello with
British Aircraft Corporation
The British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) was a British aircraft manufacturer formed from the government-pressured merger of English Electric Aviation Ltd., Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft), the Bristol Aeroplane Company and Hunting Aircraft in 1 ...
BAC One-Eleven
The BAC One-Eleven (or BAC-111/BAC 1-11) was an early jet airliner produced by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC).
Originally conceived by Hunting Aircraft as a 30-seat jet, before its merger into BAC in 1960, it was launched as an 80-se ...
twin jets, according to the February 15, 1985 edition of the North American
Official Airline Guide (OAG). The OAG also lists Cascade flights operated with smaller
Fairchild Metro commuter turboprops.
*
Horizon Air served Pocatello until January 7, 2006, originally with service to Salt Lake City in 1983. The airline canceled that service in favor of flights to Boise starting in 1984 operated with
de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8 turboprops.
*
Big Sky Airlines
Big Sky Airlines was an American commuter air carrier that operated from 1978 to 2008. Headquartered in Billings, Montana, United States. Big Sky was wholly owned by Big Sky Transportation Company, which in turn was a wholly owned subsidiary of M ...
served Pocatello from the day Horizon canceled service until March 30, 2007.
* In 2014, a World War II-era mortar was found on the airport grounds while doing routine maintenance work. The mortar was safely removed by law enforcement.
Airline and destination
Statistics
See also
*
Idaho World War II Army Airfields
During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) established numerous airfields in Idaho for training pilots and aircrews of USAAF fighters and bombers.
Most of these airfields were under the command of Second Air Force or the A ...
*
List of airports in Idaho
This is a list of airports in Idaho (a U.S. state), grouped by type and sorted by location. It contains all public-use and military airports in the state. Some private-use and former airports may be included where notable, such as airports that ...
References
*
External links
*
Pocatello AvCenter the
fixed-base operator
Aerial image as of June 1992from
USGS ''
The National Map''
*
*
*
{{authority control
Airports in Idaho
Pocatello, Idaho
Buildings and structures in Bannock County, Idaho
1943 establishments in Idaho
Airports established in 1943
Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Idaho