Bradford Regional Airport is 11 miles south of Bradford, in Lafayette Township,

McKean County, Pennsylvania McKean County is a rural county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,432. Its county seat is Smethport. The county was created in 1804 and organized in 1826. It was named in honor of former Pennsyl ...

. It has scheduled airline service subsidized by the

Essential Air Service Essential Air Service (EAS) is a U.S. government program enacted to guarantee that small communities in the United States, which had been served by certificated airlines prior to deregulation in 1978, maintained commercial service. Its aim is t ...

program. The airport is owned by the Bradford Regional Airport Authority and serves Pennsylvania and western New York including Olean, NY. It is surrounded by the oil field which makes up a large part of local economy. Bradford is the home of

Zippo A Zippo lighter is a reusable metal lighter produced by Zippo Manufacturing Company of Bradford, Pennsylvania, United States. Thousands of different styles and designs have been made in the nine decades since their introduction, including milita ...

lighters and Case knives; there is an

armory Armory or armoury may mean: * An arsenal, a military or civilian location for the storage of arms and ammunition Places *National Guard Armory, in the United States and Canada, a training place for National Guard or other part-time or regular mili ...

at the airport for the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2021–2025 categorized it as a '' non-primary commercial service'' airport (between 2,500 and 10,000 enplanements per year).

Former airline service

Its first scheduled airline flights were

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

Douglas DC-3s in 1948. In 1953 United's DC-3 flew New York Newark Airport -

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

- Bradford -

Youngstown Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, which ...

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...

/ Canton -

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

- Toledo -

Chicago Midway Airport Chicago Midway International Airport , typically referred to as Midway Airport, Chicago Midway, or simply Midway, is a major commercial airport on the Southwest side of Chicago, Illinois, located approximately 12 miles (19 km) from the Lo ...

Moline, IL Moline ( ) is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in 2020, it is the largest city in Rock Island County. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline and Rock Island ...

- Cedar Rapids - Omaha -

Lincoln, NE Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

. United left in 1954. In 1953 Allegheny Airlines DC-3s stopped at Bradford on a multi-stop route between

Buffalo, NY Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

. In 1971 Allegheny

Convair 580 The Convair CV-240 is an American airliner that Convair manufactured from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement for the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series made some inroa ...

s flew nonstop to

Erie Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

, Jamestown, NY, New York Newark Airport, Pittsburgh and Washington National Airport and direct to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

. Allegheny introduced McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s and flew one-stop in 1976 from

Chicago O'Hare Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Loop busine ...

via Erie and from New York

LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering , the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia ...

via Elmira while continuing to fly nonstop Convair 580s from Buffalo and Pittsburgh. Allegheny remained until 1979 when

Allegheny Commuter Allegheny, Alleghany or Allegany may refer to: Places Geologic and geographic features * Allegheny River, in Pennsylvania and New York * Allegheny Mountains, part of the Appalachian Mountain Range in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Vir ...

took over, with nonstop

Beechcraft Beechcraft is an American brand of civil aviation and military aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of Beech Aircraft Corporation, an American manufacturer of general avi ...

s from Buffalo and nonstop

Short 330 The Short 330 (also SD3-30) is a small turboprop transport aircraft produced by Short Brothers. It seats up to 30 people and was relatively inexpensive and had low maintenance costs at the time of its introduction in 1976. The 330 was based on ...

s from Pittsburgh. Allegheny Commuter service continued for a number of years for Allegheny successor

USAir US Airways (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon b ...

. In 1994 Allegheny Commuter successor

USAir Express US Airways Express was the brand name for the regional affiliate of US Airways, under which a number of individually owned commuter air carriers and regional airlines operate short and medium haul routes. This code sharing service was previously ...

was operating nonstop code sharing

BAe Jetstream 31 The British Aerospace Jetstream is a small twin- turboprop airliner, with a pressurised fuselage, developed as the ''Jetstream 31'' from the earlier Handley Page Jetstream. A larger version of the Jetstream was also manufactured, the Britis ...

s to Pittsburgh. USAir changed its name to

US Airways US Airways (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon ...

with

US Airways Express US Airways Express was the brand name for the regional affiliate of US Airways, under which a number of individually owned commuter air carriers and regional airlines operate short and medium haul routes. This code sharing service was previously ...

Beechcraft 1900C The Beechcraft 1900 is a 19-passenger, pressurized twin-engine turboprop regional airliner manufactured by Beechcraft. It is also used as a freight aircraft and corporate transport, and by several governmental and military organizations. With ...

s being flown nonstop to Pittsburgh in 1999.http://www.departedflights.com, June 1, 1999 Official Airline Guide

Facilities

The airport covers 1,015 acres (411 ha) at an elevation of 2,143 feet (653 m). It has two asphalt runways: 14/32 is 6,307 by 150 feet (1,922 x 46 m) and 5/23 is 4,499 by 100 feet (1,371 x 30 m). In the year ending January 31, 2019, the airport had 2,987 aircraft operations, an average of 8 per day: 80% commercial, 14% general aviation, 4%

air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. In 2001 air taxi operations were promoted in the United States by a NASA and aerospace industry study on the potential Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) ...

and 2% military. In April 2022, there were 15 aircraft based at this airport: all 15 single-engine.

Airline and destination

Scheduled passenger flights:

Statistics

Accidents and Incidents

References

Other sources

* Essential Air Service documents
Docket OST-2003-14528
from the

U.S. Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States and ...

: *
Order 2006-3-17 (March 24, 2006)
selecting RegionsAir to provide essential air service (EAS) with 30-passenger Saab 340 aircraft at Bradford, Pennsylvania, and Jamestown, New York, for two years. Service will be three round trips a day to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, and the annual subsidy rate will be set at $1,649,913.
Order 2006-9-20 (September 21, 2006)
tentatively vacating Order 2006-3-17 that selected Regions Air, Inc., to provide essential air service at Bradford, Pennsylvania, and Jamestown, New York, for two years. In addition, the Department is tentatively selecting Colgan Air, Inc., d/b/a US Airways Express to provide essential air service at both communities under its Pittsburgh option, i.e., three round trips each weekday and weekend to Pittsburgh at an annual subsidy rate of $2,434,827. *
Order 2006-10-3 (October 4, 2006)
finalizes Order 2006-9-20, which tentatively vacated our earlier selection of RegionsAir, Inc. to provide EAS at Bradford and Jamestown, and instead selects Colgan Air, Inc. d/b/a US Airways Express (Colgan) to provide EAS at both communities from October 1, 2006, through September 30, 2008, at an annual subsidy rate of $2,434,827. The subsidy rate is based on service to Pittsburgh, although Colgan has stated it is evaluating serving Washington Dulles International Airport instead of Pittsburgh, the service originally supported by both communities, at the same subsidy rate. *
Order 2008-6-37 (June 30, 2008)
selecting Gulfstream International Airlines, Inc. to provide subsidized essential air service (EAS) at Bradford, Pennsylvania, and Jamestown, New York, at a total annual subsidy of $2,701,865, for the two-year period from October 1, 2008, through September 30, 2010. However, if Gulfstream does not inaugurate full EAS by October 1, 2008, the selection defaults to Colgan Air, Inc. d/b/a United Express for the same two-period, for a total annual subsidy of $3,826,587. *
Order 2010-9-12 (September 9, 2010)
re-selecting Gulfstream International Airlines to provide essential air service (EAS) at Bradford, DuBois, and Oil City/Franklin, Pennsylvania, and Jamestown, New York, for a combined annual subsidy of $5,870,657 ($1,639,254 for Jamestown), from October 1, 2010, through September 30, 2012. *
Order 2012-9-23 (September 27, 2012)
selecting Silver Airways to provide Essential Air Service (EAS) at Bradford, DuBois, Franklin/Oil City, Pennsylvania, Jamestown, New York, and Parkersburg, West Virginia/Marietta, Ohio, for a combined annual subsidy of $10,348,117 ($1,940,272 for Bradford; $2,587,029 for DuBois, $1,293,515 for Franklin, $1,940,272 for Jamestown, and $2,587,029 for Parkersburg), from October 1, 2012, through September 30, 2014. *
Notice of Intent (February 14, 2014)
of Silver Airways Corp. to discontinue scheduled air service between Cleveland, Ohio (CLE) and: Jamestown, New York (JHW), Bradford, Pennsylvania (BFD), DuBois, Pennsylvania (DUJ), Franklin/Oil City, Pennsylvania (FKL), and Parkersburg, West Virginia/Marietta, Ohio (PKB). *
Order 2014-4-26 (April 24, 2014)
directing interested persons to show cause as to why the Department should not terminate the eligibility ... under the Essential Air Service (EAS) program based on criteria passed by Congress in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (Public Law No. 112-95). We find that Bradford is within 175 miles of a large or medium hub,

Buffalo Niagara International Airport Buffalo Niagara International Airport is in Cheektowaga, New York. The airport serves Buffalo, New York and Niagara Falls, New York United States, and the southern Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. It is the third-busiest airport i ...

(BUF), a medium hub, and, thus, is subject to the 10-enplanement statutory criterion. We also find that during fiscal year 2013, Bradford generated a total of 4,292 passengers (inbound plus outbound). Consistent with the methodology described above, that results in an average of 6.9 enplanements per day, below the 10-enplanement statutory criterion necessary to remain eligible in the EAS program.

External links

*
Bradford Regional Airport
at Pennsylvania DOT Bureau of Aviation
Aerial image as of April 2001
from

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

The National Map ''The National Map'' is a collaborative effort of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and other federal, state, and local agencies to improve and deliver topographic information for the United States. The purpose of the effort is to pro ...

'' * {{authority control Airports in Pennsylvania Essential Air Service Transportation buildings and structures in McKean County, Pennsylvania Airports with year of establishment missing