| Colorado Springs Airport City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport |
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| FAA airport diagram | |||
| IATA: COS – ICAO: KCOS – FAA LID: COS
COS
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| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Owner | City of Colorado Springs | ||
| Serves | Colorado Springs, Colorado | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 6,187 ft / 1,886 m | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 17L/35R | 13,501 | 4,115 | Concrete |
| 17R/35L | 11,022 | 3,360 | Asphalt |
| 12/30 | 8,269 | 2,520 | Asphalt |
| Statistics (2006) | |||
| Aircraft operations | 153,244 | ||
| Based aircraft | 292 | ||
| Sources: airport web site[1] and FAA[2] | |||
Colorado Springs Airport[1] (IATA: COS, ICAO: KCOS, FAA LID: COS), also known as the City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport,[2] is a city-owned, public-use, joint civil-military airport located six miles (10 km) southeast of the central business district of Colorado Springs, a city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States.[2] It is the second busiest airport in the state of Colorado. The airport is co-located with Peterson Air Force Base, which is located along the north side of runway 12/30.
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The airport was founded in 1927, the same year Charles Lindbergh made his transatlantic flight. Originally the airport covered an area of 640 acres (2.6 km²) and had two gravel runways. By the late 1930s the first passenger traffic was flowing through the airport on a flight that ran from El Paso, Texas, through Pueblo, Colorado Springs, and Denver, then back again. The original site was the present day location of the northern municipal power plant, east of Nevada Avenue and south of Winters Street. The first terminal was built in 1940 in an art deco style. Soon after the terminal was built, the field was taken over by the military in the months preceding World War II. After the war, the city regained operations at the airport.
In 1966, a new terminal was built on the west side of the runways, at a new site east of Colorado Springs beyond Powers Boulevard. This terminal was expanded several times throughout the 1970s and 80s. By 1991, the airport consisted of three 150-foot (46 m) wide runways, one of which had a length of 13,501 feet (4,115 m), making it the longest runway in Colorado until 16R/34L, a 16,000-foot (4,900 m) long runway, opened at Denver International Airport in September 2003. By 1991, the old terminal could no longer handle the increasing passenger traffic, and the city approved the building of a new terminal on the south side of the airfield.
The new terminal, a 280,000-square-foot (26,000 m2), 17-gate facility cost $140 million dollars to build. It was opened on October 22, 1994.[3]
Through the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, the airport was constantly adding new fares and expanding service. The largest number of passenger arriving and departing the Colorado Springs Airport was in 1996, when the airport handled nearly 5 million passengers. At that time the now defunct Western Pacific Airlines had a hub at the airport. The airline moved their hub to Denver International Airport in late 1996, which caused an abrupt decline in passenger traffic.
Colorado Springs continues to expand service and now offers non-stop service to eleven U.S. cities. Most of the cities that can be reached from the airport are hubs for major airlines. However, Colorado Springs has seen sporadic service to several non-hub cities in recent years.
City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport covers an area of 7,200 acres (2,900 ha) which contains three paved runways: 17L/35R measuring 13,501 x 150 ft (4,115 x 46 m), 17R/35L measuring 11,022 x 150 ft (3,360 x 46 m) and 12/30 measuring 8,269 x 150 ft (2,520 x 46 m).[2]
The passenger terminal, centrally located on the airport grounds and accessible from Milton Proby Parkway, connects to two concourses. Of the two concourses, only the main portion (gates 1-12) is in use. The second concourse (called the Western Pacific Airlines concourse) is not in active use and provides gates 14-18 (there is no gate 13.) The second concourse is now primarily used for meetings. Access between the concourses requires leaving the secure area and traversing the main terminal, down a long hallway, and entering a pair of sliding glass doors.
Beginning in September, 2011, the main airport terminal is undergoing renovation. The project includes reconstruction of the TSA checkpoint to support full body scanners, an expansion of the office space behind the ticket counters, and facilities for automated baggage screening in the baggage rooms.
Repairs to runway 17L/35R, originally scheduled for 2011 but delayed by the FAA shutdown, will begin in spring 2012.
For the 12-month period ending January 31, 2006, the airport had 153,244 aircraft operations, an average of 419 per day: 58% general aviation, 18% air taxi, 14% scheduled commercial and 11% military. At that time there were 292 aircraft based at this airport: 50% single-engine, 22% multi-engine, 12% jet, 1% helicopter and 16% military.[2]
The single 16-gate passenger terminal opened on October 22, 1994. It currently serves over 2 million passengers annually.[3]
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Allegiant Air | Las Vegas, Phoenix/Mesa |
| American Airlines | Dallas/Fort Worth |
| Delta Air Lines | Atlanta |
| Delta Connection operated by SkyWest Airlines | Minneapolis/St. Paul, Salt Lake City |
| Frontier Airlines operated by Republic Airlines | Denver |
| United Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines | Houston-Intercontinental |
| United Express operated by Mesa Airlines | Chicago-O'Hare |
| United Express operated by SkyWest Airlines | Chicago-O'Hare, Denver, Houston-Intercontinental, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington-Dulles |
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