Los Alamos Airport , also known as Los Alamos County Airport, is a county-owned, public-use

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States. It is located one

nautical mile A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude. Today ...

(2 km) east of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

Los Alamos, New Mexico Los Alamos is an census-designated place in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States, that is recognized as the development and creation place of the atomic bomb—the primary objective of the Manhattan Project by Los Alamos National Labora ...

. This airport is included in the

National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) is an inventory of U.S. aviation infrastructure assets. NPIAS was developed and now maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It identifies existing and proposed airports tha ...

for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a ''

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 ...

'' facility.

History

The airport was built in 1947 by the Atomic Energy Commission as part of

Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy (DOE), located a short distance northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, in ...

, but the federal government transferred the facility to county ownership in 2008.

Facilities

Los Alamos Airport covers an area of 89

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

s (36 ha) 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 § Vert ...

of 7,171 feet (2,186 m) above

mean sea level There are several kinds of mean in mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. ...

. It has 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, as ...

designated 9/27 with an

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 ...

surface measuring 6,000 by 120 feet (1,829 x 37 m). Because of the restricted airspace immediately to the south of the runway, and the noise-sensitive residential area just west of the runway, Los Alamos Airport employs a non-standard traffic pattern. All takeoffs, regardless of wind conditions, are to the east on runway 9. All landings, regardless of wind, are to the west on runway 27. Unlike many airports, the orientation of the runway at Los Alamos was chosen due to geographic necessity rather than preferential wind alignment. Pilots will frequently encounter a gusty crosswind at this airfield, particularly in spring. This fact, combined with the rugged terrain off the east end of the runway, has given LAM a reputation for being a challenging airport at which to land.

Historical airline service

Los Alamos has seen scheduled passenger airline service to Albuquerque since the airport opened in 1947. Carco Airlines was the first, operating primarily

Beechcraft Bonanza The Beechcraft Bonanza is an American general aviation aircraft introduced in 1947 by Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. The six-seater, single-engined aircraft is still being produced by Beechcraft and has been in continuous prod ...

s through 1969 under contract with Los Alamos National Labs. A number of commuter airlines operated turboprop aircraft on the Los Alamos - Albuquerque route as well including Ross Aviation which was subsequently awarded the contract and flew

de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarted ...

s through 1995. Occasionally Ross would operate larger, 50-seat

de Havilland Canada DHC-7 Dash 7 The de Havilland Canada DHC-7, popularly known as the Dash 7, is a turboprop-powered regional airliner with short take-off and landing (STOL) performance. It first flew in 1975 and remained in production until 1988 when the parent company, d ...

s when passenger loads warranted. According to the

Official Airline Guide OAG is a global travel data provider with headquarters in the UK. The company was founded in 1929 and operates in the USA, Singapore, Japan, Lithuania and China. It has a large network of flight information data including schedules, flight sta ...

( OAG), in late 1988 Ross Aviation was operating nine departures every weekday from the airport nonstop to Albuquerque including four flights with the Dash 7 and five flights with the Twin Otter. Peacock Air briefly provided flights to Albuquerque in late 1995 using

Swearingen Metroliner The Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner (previously the Swearingen Metro and later Fairchild Aerospace Metro) is a 19-seat, pressurized, twin-turboprop airliner first produced by Swearingen Aircraft and later by Fairchild Aircraft at a plant in San ...

s followed briefly by

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 Gr ...

in 1997 with

Beechcraft 1900D 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 c ...

airliners. Rio Grande Air served the route from 1999 through 2000 and New Mexico Airlines from 2013 until the beginning of 2015, each carrier using

Cessna 208 The Cessna 208 Caravan is a utility aircraft produced by Cessna. The project was commenced on November 20, 1981, and the prototype first flew on December 9, 1982. The production model was certified by the FAA in October 1984 and its Cargoma ...

Caravan aircraft.

Boutique Air Boutique Air, Inc. is a commuter airline based in San Francisco, California. The airline offers charter services as well as scheduled passenger services subsidized under the Essential Air Service (EAS) program. Boutique operates the second lar ...

was the most recent carrier serving Los Alamos from November 1, 2015 through April 30, 2016 using

Pilatus PC-12 The Pilatus PC-12 is a pressurized, single-engined, turboprop aircraft, manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Stans, Switzerland, since 1991. It was designed as a high-performance utility aircraft that incorporates a large aft cargo door in ad ...

aircraft.

New Mexico Airlines

As of January 23, 2015, Los Alamos County terminated its contract with

Pacific Wings Pacific Wings Airline was an American commuter airline headquartered in Mesa, Arizona, United States in Greater Phoenix. The airline operated flights under the brands New Mexico Airlines in New Mexico, GeorgiaSkies in Georgia, TennesseeSkies ...

subsidiary

New Mexico Airlines New Mexico Airlines was an American commuter airline brand founded by Pacific Air Holdings to operate flights in New Mexico after the airline was awarded an Essential Air Service contract to serve Hobbs and Carlsbad, New Mexico. The airline st ...

, which offered service to

Albuquerque International Sunport Albuquerque International Sunport is the primary international airport serving the U.S. state of New Mexico, the Albuquerque metropolitan area, and the larger Albuquerque– Santa Fe–Las Vegas combined statistical area. It handles around 5. ...

. The county issued a request for qualifications to seek a replacement carrier.

Boutique Air

Due to low passenger count, Boutique Air terminated all flights flying from Los Alamos County Airport to Albuquerque Sunport on April 30, 2016. No airlines currently serve Los Alamos. On November 20, 2017, the Los Alamos County Council approved funding to promote the use of

Santa Fe Regional Airport Santa Fe Regional Airport is a public use airport in Santa Fe, in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States, southwest of the city center. The airport serves the greater Santa Fe and Los Alamos areas. Santa Fe's is the second busiest commer ...

instead of seeking replacement service.

Operations

For the 12-month period ending June 30, 2008, the airport had 13,000 aircraft operations, an average of 35 per day: 99%

, <1%

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) an ...

, and <1%

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. At that time there were 57 aircraft based at this airport: 96% single-

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

, 2% multi-engine, and 2%

ultralight Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with ailer ...

Services

Los Alamos Airport has numerous services available for local and visiting pilots: a flight planning room, open 24 hours a day to pilots, which includes an internet-connected computer, telephone, and free WiFi connectivity. A bathroom is open 24 hours a day to pilots. The airport also has self-serve 100LL fuel available 24 hours a day, courtesy car, and a nearby bus stop.

References

External links

Aerial image as of October 1996
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 prov ...

'' * {{US-airport-ga, LAM Airports in New Mexico Buildings and structures in Los Alamos County, New Mexico Transportation in Los Alamos County, New Mexico 1947 establishments in New Mexico