Casper–Natrona County International Airport

Casper–Natrona County International Airport
Casper Army Airfield
IATA: CPR – ICAO: KCPR – FAA LID: CPR
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Airport Board of Trustees
Serves Casper, Wyoming
Location Natrona County, near Casper, Wyoming
Elevation AMSL 5,344 ft / 1,629 m
Coordinates 42°54′29″N 106°27′52″W / 42.90806°N 106.46444°WCoordinates: 42°54′29″N 106°27′52″W / 42.90806°N 106.46444°W
Website iFlyCasper.com
Map
KCPR

Location in Wyoming

Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
3/21 10,165 3,098 Asphalt
8/26 8,679 2,645 Asphalt
Statistics (2013)
Aircraft operations 45,986
Based aircraft 123
Sources: airport web site[1] and FAA[2]

Casper–Natrona County International Airport (IATA: CPR, ICAO: KCPR, FAA LID: CPR) is 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Casper, in Natrona County, Wyoming.[2] Before December 19, 2007 the airport was called Natrona County International Airport.[3]

Scheduled passenger service is offered by SkyWest Airlines for Delta Air Lines, SkyWest Airlines for United Airlines, and Allegiant Air. Charter flights (known as "casino or gamblers' flights") occasionally go to Laughlin or Wendover, Nevada. Near the airport is the NCIA Business Park, which houses a World War II museum and over 35 business ranging from manufacturing to aviation.[4]

History

Casper had airline flights in the 1930s at Wardwell Field, north of town at 42°54′47″N 106°21′00″W / 42.913°N 106.35°W. The airport started as the Casper Army Airfield in September 1942,[5] consisting of four asphalt hard surfaced runways - N/S, NE/SW, E/W, NW/SE - varying in length between 8900' and 8600'. ) Casper AAF was assigned to Second Air Force as a heavy bomber (B-17; B-24) replacement training unit, with the 331st Bombardment Group being the training unit with four squadrons (461st, 462d, 463d and 464th Bombardment) training of personnel in heavy bomber operations. The 331st Combat Crew Training School provided ground instruction. Once personnel completed the training course, they were sent to various combat units overseas as replacement personnel.

The 331st was converted to a Very Heavy (B-29) group in July 1944 and began training for deployment to Twentieth Air Force in the Pacific. The 211th Army Air Force Base Unit took control of the airfield. Casper AAF became part of Air Transport Command as a transit station for WASP pilots ferrying combat aircraft across the United States. The airfield was inactivated in March 1945, and on 30 September 1945 was turned over to the Army Corps of Engineers as surplus.

The War Assets Administration turned the airfield over to civil control in the late 1940s, and in 1949 it became Natrona County Municipal Airport, in what is now Bar Nunn: the streets were the runways.

Challenger and successor Frontier Airlines stopped at Casper from the 1940s until 1986; Western was there most of the time from the 1940s until 1987, and successor Delta continued until 1993-94. Continental appeared off and on starting in 1980, and United appeared for a few years starting around 1984.

In July 2004 the airport was renovated.[6] TSA baggage screening was moved from in front of the ticket counters to the area behind them. The rental car counters were moved next to baggage claim. T upper level of the gate area, once used for jet flights, was transformed into a viewing station.

Since early 2008 the airport has been in talks with the carriers to increase capacity.[7] This is due in part to the 5.8% increase in the Natrona County population in 2000-2006 and a 1.8% growth rate in 2006 alone. Some of the capacity will be provided by larger equipment. On April 30 2008, SkyWest Airlines began operating flights for United Airlines using CRJ 200 aircraft, replacing smaller turboprops. Other increases in capacity have come as a result of additional flights. Most recently Delta has announced the addition of an extra flight in summer 2011 on Saturday and Sunday [8]

The airport hopes to bring fares down; a recent leakage study shows that many travelers drive to Denver International Airport to get lower fares. The information was passed on to the airlines in the hopes of lower fares. Maybe it worked, as data obtained on May 20, 2008 shows that fares decreased from the previous week.[9]

Environmental investigation

As a formerly used defense site (FUDS) the Army has had to review sites according to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act since 1980. It was not until 2014, that funding became available. The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality's main concern is chemical contamination in the area of a former landfill and sewage treatment plant. Together with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the US Environmental Protection Agency it is investigating 12 sites.[10]

Facilities

The airport covers 5,131 acres (2,076 ha) and has two asphalt runways: 3/21 is 10,165 x 150 ft (3,098 x 46 m) and 8/26 is 8,679 x 150 ft (2,645 x 46 m).

In the year ending May 31, 2006 the airport had 47,210 aircraft operations, average 129 per day: 60% general aviation, 24% scheduled airline, 14% air taxi and 1% military. 90 aircraft are based at the airport: 51% single-engine, 34% multi-engine, 9% jet and 6% helicopter.[2] The airport is governed by a Board of Trustees with 5 members each serving a 5-year term.[11]

Airlines and destinations

Airlines Destinations
Allegiant Air Las Vegas
Delta Connection Salt Lake City
United Express Denver
Top destinations: (Feb 2014 - Jan 2015)[12]
Rank Airport Passengers Carrier
1 Denver, CO 61,000 United
2 Salt Lake City, UT 28,000 Delta
3 Las Vegas, NV 13,000 Allegiant

Cargo

Airlines Destinations
FedEx Express Boise, Memphis
FedEx Feeder[13] Cody, Hayden (CO), Rock Springs, Salt Lake City, Scottsbluff

Ground transportation

Taxi service and car rental agencies are available. Several local hotels offer free shuttle service.

In popular culture

In the 2011 comedy film Bridesmaids, an airplane makes an emergency landing at the airport to deplane a rowdy flier and her group of friends.

See also

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

  1. ↑ Natrona County International Airport, official web site
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 FAA Airport Master Record for CPR (Form 5010 PDF), effective 2007-12-20
  3. ↑ "NCIA adds Casper to name". Casper Star-Tribune. 2007-12-20. Retrieved 2007-12-23.
  4. ↑ "NCIA Business Park".
  5. ↑ History - Casper Army Air Field
  6. ↑ "Airport renovations to start in July". Casper Star-Tribune. 2004-06-24. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
  7. ↑ "Into rare air". Casper Star-Tribune. 2008-01-27. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
  8. ↑ "Delta adds summer weekend flight". Casper Star-Tribune. 2011-03-20. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
  9. ↑ "Casper airfares plummet after study". 2008-05-26. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
  10. ↑ Graff, Trevor. "Regulators investigate Casper airport for WWII-era contamination". Casper Star-Tribune Onlinedate=July 25, 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  11. ↑ NCIA - Airport Board of Trustees. Retrieved on 2007-12-23.
  12. ↑ WY: Casper/Natrona County International&carrier=FACTS "Casper, WY: Casper/Natrona County International (CPR)". Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), U.S. Department of Transportation. December 2013. Retrieved April 2015.
  13. ↑ "FedEx Feeder Routes". Corporate Air dba FedEx Feeder. Retrieved 7 September 2014.

External links