| Sioux Gateway Airport Colonel Bud Day Field |
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|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 USGS photo | |||
| IATA: SUX – ICAO: KSUX – FAA LID: SUX | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Owner | Sioux Gateway Airport Authority | ||
| Location | Sioux City, Iowa | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 1,098 ft / 335 m | ||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 13/31 | 9,002 | 2,744 | Concrete |
| 17/35 | 6,600 | 2,012 | Asphalt |
| Statistics (2006) | |||
| Aircraft operations | 30,726 | ||
| Based aircraft | 67 | ||
| Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||
Sioux Gateway Airport (IATA: SUX, ICAO: KSUX, FAA LID: SUX), also known as Colonel Bud Day Field, is a joint civil-military public airport located 6 miles (10 km) south of Sioux City and just west of Sergeant Bluff, in Woodbury County, Iowa, United States.[1]
On 25 May 2002, the airport was named "Colonel Bud Day Field" in honor of United States Air Force Colonel George Everette "Bud" Day, a Sioux City, Iowa native and is the only person ever awarded both the Medal of Honor and the Air Force Cross. In addition to commercial and general aviation service, the airport is home to the 185th Air Refueling Wing (185 ARW), an Air Mobility Command (AMC)-gained unit of the Iowa Air National Guard, flying the KC-135 Stratotanker.
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The airport is owned and operated by the City of Sioux City and governed by a seven member Airport Board of Trustees. Airport Board members are appointed by the City Council and serve four-year terms.
In June 2007, after months of waiting, the city and the airport found out that Frontier Airlines would start service to and from Denver. Since July 2007 the airport has added an additional three arrivals and departures. In the first few months of 2008 Frontier was expected to begin another arrival and departure time, adding to total of three arrivals/departures by Frontier and five arrivals/departures by Northwest Airlines daily. Since adding a second airline, passenger numbers at the airport have increased by as low as 120 percent and as high as 210 percent in February 2008. However, Frontier ended all service from the airport on May 12, 2008 leaving Northwest Airlines (Who has since merged with Delta Air Lines) as the sole carrier at the airport.
American Airlines announced on December 9, 2011 that their subsidiary, American Eagle Airlines, will begin serving Sioux City from Chicago O'Hare in the spring of 2012. American Eagle flights will be subsidized through the Essential Air Service program.[2]
The Board of Trustees has been pursuing other airlines as well as finalizing plans to remodel the airport.
The airport designator "SUX" has been contentious. Sioux City Mayor Craig Berenstein in 2002 described SUX as an "embarrassment" to the city.[3] After petitioning the FAA for a changed airport identifier in 1998 and 2002, authorities found the alternatives offered - GWU, GYO, GYT, SGV and GAY - to be unappealing, and elected to stay with SUX.[3] In October 2007, airport board member Dave Bernstein proposed embracing the identifier, saying "Let's make the best of it. I think we have the opportunity to turn it into a positive." and noting "I've got buddies that I went to college with in different cities that can't even remember their own birthdays, but they all know the Sioux City designator — SUX."[3] The airport now sells merchandise with the words "Fly SUX".[4][5]
Sioux Gateway Airport covers an area of 2,460 acres (1,000 ha) which contains two runways: 13/31 with a concrete surface measuring 9,002 x 150 ft (2,744 x 46 m) and 17/35 with an asphalt surface measuring 6,600 x 150 ft (2,012 x 46 m).[1]
For the 12-month period ending April 30, 2006, the airport had 30,726 aircraft operations, an average of 84 per day: 65% general aviation, 19% military and 16% scheduled commercial. There are 67 aircraft based at this airport: 66% single engine, 19% jet aircraft, 13% military and 1% helicopters.[1]
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| American Eagle | Chicago O'Hare (begins spring 2012)[6] |
| Delta Connection operated by Pinnacle Airlines | Minneapolis/St. Paul |
The construction of Sioux City Army Air Base began in March 1942, about three months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Opened on 5 July 1942, it became a major training center during World War II[7] for crew members of B-24 Liberators and B-17 Flying Fortresses. With the end of World War II, the former training base switched to becoming a processing center to discharge personnel out of the service and back into civilian life.
With its mission completed, Sioux City Army Air Base closed in December 1945.[8] However, the facility would not remain closed for long, as in September 1946 the airfield was opened by the Air Force Reserve. Sioux City Air Base was one of the first Air Force Reserve bases established after the war, and in December 1946 the 185th Iowa Air National Guard unit was established at Sioux City. Assigned to the new Air Defense Command (ADC) upon reactivation, the 140th Army Air Force base unit was activated as its host unit.[9] The mission of the 140th AFBU was to offer flight and ground training to all commissioned and enlisted members of the Air Force Reserve residing in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming.[10]
However, by the mid-1960s ADC was reducing its forces, and on 1 April 1966 the 31st AD was reassigned and the airport was turned over to the Air Force Reserve and Iowa Air National Guard for limited military use.
-December 27, 1968. Ozark Airlines flight 982 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-15. Crashed while taking off from runway 35 at Sioux Gateway Airport en route to Chicago O' Hare. The plane was inadequately deiced, causing it to have no control after takeoff. The plane rolled violently 90 degrees to the right causing the wing to strike the ground. The plane came to rest 1181 feet past the runway end. No fatalities.
-January 31, 1944. United States Army Air Force Douglas C-39 en route to Saint Joseph Missouri caught fire shortly after takeoff and crashed and burned. All 3 of the crew members died.
-March 2, 1951. Mid-Continent Airlines Douglas DC-3 crashed 500 feet short of runway 17 while attempting to land in a snowstorm. The probable cause of the crash was a stall at low altitude while turning to line up on the runway. 16 of the plane's 25 occupants were killed in the crash.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.