Gallup Municipal Airport is three miles (5 km) southwest of
Gallup in
McKinley County,
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...
, United States.
The airport is on
Historic Hwy 66. The
FBO is Gallup Flying Service; Gallup Med Flight operates Critical Care Air Transport Air Ambulance service.
Facilities
The airport covers at an
elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Ver ...
of 6,472 feet (1,973 m); its one runway, 6/24, is 7,316 by 100 feet (2,230 x 30 m) asphalt.
In the year ending March 31, 2009 the airport had 4,643 aircraft operations, average 12 per day: 58%
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) ...
, 26%
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
, 12% airline and 4% military. 23 aircraft were then based at this airport: 57% single-engine and 43% multi-engine.
Historical airline service
Gallup has been served by many airlines since the late 1940s. The first was Monarch Airlines which provided
Douglas DC-3 flights to Albuquerque and to Salt Lake City with several stops. In 1950 Monarch Airlines merged with two other carriers to become
Frontier Airlines. Frontier added flights to Denver and Phoenix, each making several stops en route, and upgraded to larger 50-seat aircraft during the 1960s with the
Convair 340
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 inr ...
followed by the
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 ...
. Frontier's service continued until 1981 when the carrier went to an all jet aircraft fleet and ended service to all their smaller cities. Meanwhile, several commuter carriers began serving Gallup;
Cochise Airlines
Cochise Airlines was a commuter airline which was founded in 1971 in Tucson, Arizona. It operated until the early 1980s. Cochise linked small cities in Arizona with Phoenix, Arizona and Tucson, Arizona and also served southern California and Ne ...
came in 1979 followed by Desert Airlines in 1980, each with flights to Phoenix making several stops.
Sun West Airlines
Sun West Airlines was a commuter airline that flew in the Southwestern United States from 1980 through 1985. Hubs were operated at Phoenix, Arizona and Albuquerque, New Mexico.
History
Sun West Airlines began in early 1980 with Piper Navajo Chi ...
began service later in 1980 with flights to Albuquerque as well as Phoenix using
Piper Navajo
The Piper PA-31 Navajo is a family of cabin-class, twin-engined aircraft designed and built by Piper Aircraft for the general aviation market, most using Lycoming engines. It was also license-built in a number of Latin America
Latin Ameri ...
aircraft and later upgrading with
Beechcraft 99
The Beechcraft Model 99 is a civilian aircraft produced by Beechcraft. It is also known as the Beech 99 Airliner and the Commuter 99. The 99 is a twin-engine, unpressurized, 15 to 17 passenger seat turboprop aircraft, derived from the earlier Be ...
s. Their service continued into 1985 at which time
Mesa Airlines
Mesa Airlines, Inc., is an American regional airline based in Phoenix, Arizona. It is an FAA Part 121–certificated air carrier operating under air carrier certificate number MASA036A issued on June 29, 1979. It is a subsidiary of Mesa Air ...
began operating on the same routes also using Beech 99's. Mesa ended their Albuquerque flights in 1989 and the Phoenix flights became
America West Express
America West Express was the brand name for America West Airlines commuter and regional flights operated by Mesa Air Group's Mesa Airlines under a code share agreement. Today Mesa Airlines operates for American Eagle.
Mesa Airlines operated Am ...
in 1992 operating as a feeder for
America West Airlines
America West Airlines was a major American airline, founded in 1981, with service commencing in 1983, and having reached US$1 billion in annual revenue in 1989, headquartered in Tempe, Arizona. At the time of its acquisition of US Airways, Americ ...
using
Beechcraft 1900D airliners. The Phoenix service thrived with the major airline code-share and as many as seven flights per day were operated. Mesa/America West Express also added a larger 30-seat
Embraer 120
The Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia is a twin-turboprop 30-passenger commuter airliner designed and manufactured by the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer.
The EMB 120 began development during 1974. While initially conceived as a modular series of ...
Brasilia aircraft to its schedule for a brief time in 1994. In the late 1990s commuter airline traffic suffered a major downturn nationwide and the Phoenix flights ended in 1999. Flights to Albuquerque were reinstated under the Mesa Airlines brand but ended three years later. In 2005 Westward Airways provided flights to Phoenix using Pilatus PC-12 aircraft but the airline shut down after a few months. Gallup then went two years without airline service until an agreement was made with
Great Lakes Airlines
Great Lakes Airlines was an American regional airline operating domestic scheduled and charter services. Corporate headquarters were in Cheyenne, Wyoming, with a hub at Denver International Airport.
As of November 2013, Great Lakes Airlines ...
in 2007 to provide flights to Phoenix and Denver (via Farmington) using Beech 1900Ds. This service lasted a little under a year, ending in 2008. Gallup did not see airline service for fourteen years until
Advanced Air
Advanced Air is an American scheduled commuter and private charter airline based in Hawthorne, California, at the Hawthorne Municipal Airport where it also owns a fixed base operator, Jet Center Los Angeles.
History
Advanced Air was founded in ...
began a single daily flight to Phoenix on August 1, 2022. The Phoenix flight was made possible by a 3.5 million dollar Rural Air Service Enhancement grant through the State of New Mexico.
[Timetables from the various airlines that have served Gallup, NM]
Airline and destination
Advanced Air operates
Raytheon King Air 350 turboprop aircraft on all flights. The aircraft has eight seats arranged in an executive configuration.
Statistics
External links
Gallup Municipal Airportat City of Gallup website
*
{{US-airport-ga, GUP
References
Airports in New Mexico
Gallup, New Mexico
Buildings and structures in McKinley County, New Mexico
Transportation in McKinley County, New Mexico
Former Essential Air Service airports