| Lake Tahoe Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: TVL – ICAO: KTVL – FAA LID: TVL | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | The City of South Lake Tahoe | ||
| Location | South Lake Tahoe, California | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 6,264 ft / 1,909.3 m | ||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 18/36 | 8,544 | 2,604 | Asphalt |
Lake Tahoe Airport (IATA: TVL, ICAO: KTVL, FAA LID: TVL) is a public airport located three miles (3.8 km) southwest of South Lake Tahoe, serving El Dorado County, California, USA. This general aviation airport covers 348 acres (141 ha) and has one runway. The airport is sometimes called Tahoe Valley Airport.
The airport formerly offered commercial service to several destinations by various carriers from the late 70s to the early 2000s. For the first few years of airline service, the airport had a ban on pure-jet traffic. As a result, Pacific Southwest Airlines and Air California(later AirCal) delayed the retirement of their Lockheed L-188 Electra to continue service to the airport. PSA ended up retiring their Electras and ending service to Lake Tahoe in 1979 before the ban was lifted. Air California, however, remained at the airport and eventually began pure-jet service with Boeing 737s and MD-80s which served the airport until the airline was acquired by American Airlines in 1987. American continued service briefly with former-AirCal Boeing 737s, but soon gave all Lake Tahoe service to its regional partner American Eagle who continued to serve the airport with Saab 340s and Fairchild Swearingen Metroliners into the 90s.
In 1999, Casino Express Airlines started a Tahoe-based carrier under the name of Tahoe Air. The carrier flew Boeing 737-200s serving San Jose(CA) and Los Angeles offering low fares. Around the same time, Allegiant Air, then based in Fresno, began service to Tahoe from Fresno and Las Vegas with DC-9s. The airport was unable to house two large carriers, and Tahoe Air was chosen to stay while Allegiant ended service. Tahoe Air ceased operations that same year, and Lake Tahoe has yet to see airline service since.
The Tahoe area is currently served by the nearby Reno-Tahoe International Airport.
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| AirCal | Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose |
| Allegiant Air | Fresno, Las Vegas |
| Alpha Air | Los Angeles |
| American Airlines | San Jose |
| American Eagle operated by Wings West Airlines | Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose |
| Aspen Airways | Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose |
| Cal Sierra Airlines | San Diego |
| Golden Gate Airlines | Reno, San Francisco |
| Golden West Airlines | Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County |
| Great Sierra Airline | Oakland, San Jose |
| Hawthorne Nevada Airlines | Hawthorne (NV) |
| Pacific Coast Airlines | San Francisco, San Jose |
| Reno Air | Los Angeles |
| Pacific Southwest Airlines | Los Angeles, San Francisco |
| Tahoe Air | Los Angeles, San Jose |
| Yosemite Airlines | San Francisco |