Jackson Hole Airport is a United States public airport located seven miles (11 km) north of Jackson, in Teton County, Wyoming. In 2019, it was the busiest airport in Wyoming by passenger traffic with 455,000 passengers. During peak seasons of summer and winter, Jackson Hole has nonstop airline service from up to 20 destinations throughout the United States. The airport is served year-round by

Alaska Airlines Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is the sixth largest airline in North America when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and the num ...

American Airlines American Airlines is a major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the largest airline in the world when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and revenue passeng ...

, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines and seasonally by

Sun Country Airlines Sun Country Airlines is an American Low-cost carrier, ultra-low-cost passenger airline, passenger and cargo airline, and the List of largest airlines in North America, eleventh largest in the US by passengers carried. Based at Minneapolis–Sai ...

. Jackson Hole Airport is the only commercial airport in the United States located inside a national park, in this case Grand Teton. (The

Provincetown Municipal Airport Provincetown Municipal Airport is a public airport located at the end of Cape Cod, two miles (3 km) northwest of the central business district of Provincetown, in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. This airport is operated by t ...

in Massachusetts is on land leased from the National Park Service, but it is not in a national park.)

History

The airport was created in the 1930s as the best place to put an airport in Teton County. The airport was declared a national monument in 1943 and merged with Grand Teton National Park in 1950. The runway was extended to its current length in 1959. President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

landed in an Army helicopter here on September 25, 1963. In the 1960s and 1970s a runway extension to to allow jets was considered; the National Park Service successfully opposed it. In the late 1970s jets began using the existing runway. The area is noise sensitive and the airport allows no jets louder than stage III. The airport is a popular mating ground for the rare

sage grouse Sage-grouse are grouse belonging to the bird genus ''Centrocercus.'' The genus includes two species: the Gunnison grouse (''Centrocercus minimus'') and the greater sage-grouse (''Centrocercus urophasianus''). These birds are distributed throug ...

. The original

Frontier Airlines (1950-1986) Frontier Airlines is a major ultra-low-cost U.S. airline headquartered in Denver, Colorado. It operates flights to over 100 destinations throughout the United States and 31 international destinations, and employs more than 3,000 staff. The c ...

was the first carrier to serve

Jackson Hole Jackson Hole (originally called Jackson's Hole by mountain men) is a valley between the Gros Ventre and Teton mountain ranges in the U.S. state of Wyoming, near the border with Idaho, in Teton County, one of the richest counties in the Unite ...

, which began in 1959 with routes to Denver, Salt Lake City, and Billings using Douglas DC-3s,

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 inro ...

s, and 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 inr ...

. This was later upgraded to the

Boeing 737-200 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two u ...

series aircraft shorty before shutting down in 1986 due to the

Airline Deregulation Act The Airline Deregulation Act is a 1978 United States federal law that deregulated the airline industry in the United States, removing federal control over such areas as fares, routes, and market entry of new airlines. The Civil Aeronautics Bo ...

. Other than some commuter airlines that briefly served the airport, Frontier had the only service until

Western Airlines Western Airlines was a major airline based in California, operating in the Western United States including Alaska and Hawaii, and western Canada, as well as to New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Miami and to Mexico City, London and ...

began flights to Salt Lake City in 1983 using

s. Since then the airport really took off and has also seen service by

Continental Airlines Continental Airlines, simply known as Continental, was a major United States airline founded in 1934 and eventually headquartered in Houston, Texas. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continental started o ...

, Northwest Airlines,

Horizon Air Horizon Air Industries, Inc., operating as Horizon Air, is an American regional airline based in SeaTac, Washington, United States. Horizon Air and its sister carrier Alaska Airlines are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group, and all Horizon-oper ...

Big Sky Airlines Big Sky Airlines was an American commuter air carrier that operated from 1978 to 2008. Headquartered in Billings, Montana, United States. Big Sky was wholly owned by Big Sky Transportation Company, which in turn was a wholly owned subsidiary of ...

, and

Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines Co., typically referred to as Southwest, is one of the major airlines of the United States and the world's largest low-cost carrier. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has scheduled service to 121 destinations in the U ...

in the past as well as many other commuter carriers. The airport once had an unusual terminal resembling a pioneer log cabin. The terminal was completely rebuilt between 2009 and 2014. The new terminal, designed by Gensler, still blends with the unique surroundings of the national park with exposed wood, fireplaces, and nature photography throughout. The park limited the height of the terminal building to 18 feet. The terminal design received an American Institute of Architects Honor Award in 2014. In the spring of 2021, construction began on relocating the pre-security Café to baggage claim. Doing this gave check in counter space for Allegiant Airlines. In 2021, Allegiant left the airport due to small flight loads and the inability to reliably turn a profit at the airport. The next phase of construction will modernize and expand the TSA checkpoint and give more gate space to

. In the spring of 2022 when the airport is closed, construction will commence on rebuilding Jedediah's restaurant and adding two more gates.

Facilities

Jackson Hole Airport covers ; its one

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concrete, ...

, 1/19, is 6,298 x 155 ft (1,919 x 47.2 m)

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

. Jackson Hole Airport is noise sensitive and bans older, noisier aircraft with stage-II engines. Due to a short runway at high altitude, the largest aircraft seen regularly at the Jackson Hole Airport is the

Boeing 757-200 The Boeing 757 is an American narrow-body airliner designed and built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The then-named 7N7, a twinjet successor for the 727 (a trijet), received its first orders in August 1978. The prototype completed its maide ...

operated by Delta Air Lines on flights to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. Other aircraft typically seen include the

Airbus A319 The Airbus A319 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin-engine jet airliners manufactured by Airbus. The A319 carries 124 to 156 passengers and has a maximum range of . Final asse ...

A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first member of the fami ...

, Embraer 175, and the

Bombardier CRJ700 The Bombardier CRJ700, CRJ900, and CRJ1000 are a family of regional jet airliners that were designed and manufactured by Canadian transportation conglomerate Bombardier (formerly Canadair) between 1999 and 2020. Their design was derived from ...

. Due to these conditions, Jackson Hole Airport does not typically see stretched versions of aircraft such as the Airbus A321 or Boeing 737-900, as they become weight restricted when taking off. The airport currently has eleven hard stand gates and three baggage carousels. Jackson Hole Airport does not have jet bridges so passengers board aircraft via ramps. The airport terminal has a restaurant and gift shop post security as well as a cafe by the baggage claim area. The airport is served by Alamo, Avis, Budget, Enterprise and National rental car companies. Dollar, Hertz, and Thrifty offer shuttle service from the airport to in-town rental cars. Jackson Hole Airport is one of 16 airports that employs its security screeners under contract with the

Transportation Security Administration The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that has authority over the security of transportation systems within, and connecting to the United States. It was created ...

Screening Partnership Program The Screening Partnership Program (SPP), instituted in 2004 by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in the United States, is a program that allows airports to employ private security agencies to conduct screening, instead of having the T ...

. Screeners are employed by the Jackson Hole Airport Board rather than TSA.

Airlines and destinations

Statistics

In the year ending December 31, 2019 the airport had 27,325 aircraft operations, average 75 per day: 37% general aviation, 29%

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) ...

, 33% airline and 1% military. 21 aircraft at the time were based at the airport: 17 single-engine, 2 multi-engine, and 2 jet. Plane Descends past Jackson Hole Mountain Resort

Plane Descends past Jackson Hole Mountain Resort

Top destinations

Accidents and incidents

*On September 11, 1988, a ''Snowy Butte Aviation''

Beechcraft Super King Air The Beechcraft Super King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by Beechcraft. The Model 200 and Model 300 series were originally marketed as the "Super King Air" family; the "Super" designation was dropped in 1996. ...

nosedived and crashed during a nighttime take off due to pilot fatigue and spatial disorientation. The sole occupant, the pilot, was killed. *On August 17, 1996, a

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signa ...

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally design ...

aircraft assigned to the

317th Airlift Group The 317th Airlift Wing (317 AW) is a United States Air Force unit, stationed at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. Assigned to Air Mobility Command (AMC) Eighteenth Air Force, the 317 AW operates as a tenant unit at Dyess AFB, an installation under t ...

Dyess AFB Dyess Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located about southwest of downtown Abilene, Texas, and west of Fort Worth, Texas. The host unit at Dyess is the 7th Bomb Wing assigned to the Global Strike Command Ei ...

, Texas was unable to clear Sheep Mountain, crashing into it and killing all nine aboard. The aircraft was supporting the United States Secret Service as part of visit by President Bill Clinton to the area. *On December 20, 2000, actress and resident

Sandra Bullock Sandra Annette Bullock (; born July 26, 1964) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, Bullock was the world's highest-paid actress in 2010 and 2014. In 2010 ...

survived the crash of a chartered business jet at Jackson Hole Airport. The aircraft hit a snowbank instead of the runway, shearing off the nose gear and nose cone and damaging the wings. *On June 27, 2005,

John T. Walton John Thomas Walton (October 8, 1946 – June 27, 2005) was an American war veteran and a son of Walmart founder Sam Walton. He was also the chairman of True North Venture Partners, a venture capital firm. Walton cofounded the Children's Scholars ...

, son of Walmart founder Sam Walton, died when his CGS Hawk Arrow homebuilt aircraft (registered as an "experimental aircraft" under FAA regulations) that he was piloting crashed in Jackson, Wyoming. Walton's plane crashed at 12:20 p.m. local time (1820 GMT) shortly after taking off from Jackson Hole Airport.

Gallery

Image:KJAC Aerial Photograph.jpg, Aerial photo of airport Image:Jackson hole airport map.jpg, Map showing the airport Image:Jackson hole airport map closeup.jpg, Closeup of airport map File:Boeing 757 Delta KJAC.JPG, View of the Tetons from the ramp File:IMF72017.jpg, An American A319 approaching the airport with the Teton range in view

References

External links

* {{Authority control Airports in Wyoming Buildings and structures in Grand Teton National Park Buildings and structures in Jackson, Wyoming Transportation in Teton County, Wyoming Airports established in 1939 1939 establishments in Wyoming