Pueblo Memorial Airport is a public airport located six miles east of

Pueblo In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...

, in

Pueblo County, Colorado Pueblo County ( or ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 168,162. The county seat is Pueblo. The county was named for the historic city of Pueblo which took its name from the Spanish lan ...

, United States. It is primarily used for

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 ...

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...

records say the airport had 4,345 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008, 5,192 in 2009 and 11,641 in 2010. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 called it a ''non-primary commercial service'' airport based on enplanements in 2008/2009 (between 2,500 and 10,000 per year).

History

Built in 1941 as the Pueblo Army Air Base, it was used as an advanced flying school to train B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator four engine heavy bomber crews. It was under the command of the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

Second Air Force The Second Air Force (2 AF; ''2d Air Force'' in 1942) is a USAF numbered air force responsible for conducting basic military and technical training for Air Force enlisted members and non-flying officers. In World War II the CONUS unit defende ...

360th Army Air Force Base Unit. Known bomb groups which trained or based at Pueblo were: * 94th Bombardment Group (B-17) January - April 1943 * 302d Bombardment Group (B-24) 30 September 1942 - 1 December 1942 * 351st Bombardment Group (B-17) 1 March - 12 April 1943 * 381st Bombardment Group (B-17) 5 April - 9 May 1943 * 400th Bombardment Group (B-17) 2 May - 31 July 1943 * 466th Bombardment Group (B-29) 25 July - 15 August 1945 * 469th Bombardment Group (B-24) 1–7 May 1943 * 471st Bombardment Group (B-24) 7 May 1943 - 28 January 1944 Pueblo Memorial Airport

The history of the air base is preserved with the

Pueblo Historical Aircraft Society The Pueblo Historical Aircraft Society (PHAS), Pueblo, Colorado hosts a large collection of military aircraft in Colorado, United States through the operation of the Weisbrod Museum and the International B-24 Memorial Museum, together as the Pueblo ...

and its Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum. In 1948 it was handed over to the City of Pueblo. In the 1960s the main east–west runway (8/26) was extended from 6,000' to 10,000' to accommodate jet aircraft. Today, Pueblo Memorial Airport is home of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, 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 ...

's Initial Flight Training (IFT) program under the cognizance of the

12th Flying Training Wing The 12th Flying Training Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Education and Training Command's Nineteenth Air Force. It is headquartered at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas. The wing is the parent organization for the 479th Flyin ...

Randolph AFB Randolph Air Force Base was an United States Air Force base located at Universal City, Texas ( east-northeast of Downtown San Antonio). Opened in 1931, Randolph has been a flying training facility for the United States Army Air Corps, the Un ...

, Texas and the

306th Flying Training Group The 306th Flying Training Group (306 FTG) is a unit of the United States Air Force, assigned to Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The group is stationed at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) near Colorado Springs, Colorado. ...

at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado. IFT began operations on October 1, 2006, replacing the former Pilot Indoctrination Program (PIP) for

USAF Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Unit ...

cadets, the Flight Instruction Program (FIP) for Air Force ROTC cadets, and the Initial Flight Screening (IFS) program previously operated at South Texas Regional Airport at Hondo, Texas for USAF officers commissioned via Officer Training School. Doss Aviation, under contract with the USAF, conducts flight training for between 1300 and 1700 USAF officer student pilot and student combat system officer trainees annually.

Facilities

Pueblo Memorial Airport covers 3,872 acres (1,567 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 § Ver ...

of 4,729 feet (1,441 m). It has three

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, concre ...

s:Pueblo Memorial Airport: General Information
/ref> * 8R/26L, the primary runway, is 10,498 by 150 feet (3,200 x 46 m). * 17/35 is 8,310 by 150 feet (2,533 x 46 m). * 8L/26R is 4,690 by 75 feet (1,148 x 23 m). Runways 8R/26L and 17/35 are

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 ...

with a porous friction course overlay to improve surface drainage and increase aircraft braking action. Runway 8L/26R has a 3-4 inch asphalt overlay on of

Portland cement Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world as a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar, stucco, and non-specialty grout. It was developed from other types of hydraulic lime in England in the early 19th ...

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...

. In the year ending January 1, 2011 the airport had 182,119 aircraft operations, an average of 498 per day: 95%

, 3%

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) ...

, <1% airline and 2% military. In March 2017, there were 128 aircraft based at this airport: 109 single-engine, 9 multi-engine, 8 jet, 1 helicopter and 1 glider.

Historical airline service

Pueblo was initially a hub and crossroads for commercial airline traffic from the late 1920s through the 1970s. The first carrier to serve Pueblo was

Colorado Airways Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

which operated a north–south route from Cheyenne, WY to Pueblo with stops in Denver and Colorado Springs from 1926 through 1927.

Western Air Express 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 ...

(WAE) acquired the route in 1927 and in 1929 the route was extended southward to El Paso, TX with stops in Trinidad, Las Vegas (NM), Santa Fe, and Albuquerque. This southward extension was initially operated by Mid-Continent Air Express but acquired by WAE in 1931. WAE also operated a route from Pueblo to Amarillo, TX from 1929 through 1934. The first air carriers primarily focus was transporting mail and connecting with the transcontinental mainline routes of

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

at Cheyenne, with TWA at Albuquerque, and with

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

at El Paso. In 1934, the north–south route was divided between two new carriers,

Wyoming Air Service Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the sou ...

, which operated the legs from Cheyenne to Pueblo, and Varney Speed Lines, which operated the legs from Pueblo to Albuquerque and El Paso. In 1937, Varney Speed Lines was changed to Continental Airlines and Continental then operated the route beginning in Denver and flying southward to El Paso. In 1939 Continental added an eastward extension from Pueblo to Wichita and later to Tulsa making stops in La Junta CO, Garden City, Dodge City, and Hutchinson, KS. Aircraft first used included the

Lockheed Vega The Lockheed Vega is an American five- to seven-seat high-wing monoplane airliner built by the Lockheed Corporation starting in 1927. It became famous for its use by a number of record-breaking pilots who were attracted to the rugged and very l ...

Lockheed Model 12 Electra Junior The Lockheed Model 12 Electra Junior, more commonly known as the Lockheed 12 or L-12, is an eight-seat, six-passenger all-metal twin-engine transport aircraft of the late 1930s designed for use by small airlines, companies, and wealthy private ind ...

Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra The Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra was an American civil passenger and cargo aircraft built by the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation during the late 1930s. An outgrowth of the earlier Model 10 Electra, the Model 14 was also developed into larger, ...

, Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar, and the Douglas DC-3 by the mid-1940s. In the late 1940s

Convair 240 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 ...

aircraft were introduced followed by 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 ...

and the

Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. The Vi ...

in the 1950s. The eastbound route to Tulsa ended in 1961 and the north–south route ended in 1963 which ended all Continental service to Pueblo.

Braniff Airways Braniff Airways, Inc., operated as Braniff International Airways from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until air operations ceased, was an airline in the United States that once flew air carrier operations from 1928 un ...

began service in 1943 on a route from Denver to Brownsville, TX with stops in Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Amarillo, Wichita Falls, Fort Worth, Dallas, Houston, and Corpus Christi. At times some flights operated from Pueblo to Amarillo, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Little Rock, and Memphis. Douglas DC-3 aircraft were used and Braniff's service to Pueblo continued through 1952. Monarch Air Lines began service on November 27, 1946, with a route from Denver to Durango making stops in Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Canon City, and Monte Vista, CO using DC-3 aircraft. Monarch was merged with two other carriers to become Frontier Airlines on June 1, 1950. Frontier Airlines continued serving Pueblo with DC-3s and extended the route from Durango westward to Phoenix with several more stops in New Mexico and Arizona. A new route from Denver to Grand Junction was also started with stops in Pueblo, Gunnison, and Montrose, CO.

aircraft were introduced in the late 1950s and upgraded to 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 ...

by the mid-1960s. Frontier acquired the original north–south route from Denver to El Paso in 1963 previously operated by Continental Airlines. The direct flights to Phoenix ended in 1971 and the southward legs from Pueblo to Albuquerque and El Paso ended in 1974. A route from Pueblo to Amarillo, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa was also operated from 1967 through 1977. These flights would then continue onto Kansas City or to Memphis.

Boeing 727-200 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airpo ...

and

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 un ...

jets were flown from Pueblo to Colorado Springs and Denver from 1971 through 1981. These flights typically continued onto Kansas City and St. Louis. 737 jets were also flown to Durango, CO briefly in the late 1970s. All Frontier service at Pueblo ended on March 14, 1982.

Central Airlines Central Airlines was a passenger airline (the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) called it a "local service" air carrier) in Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas from 1949 to 1967. It was founded by Keith Kahle in 1944 to opera ...

began serving Pueblo in 1961 with routes from Denver to Kansas City and Oklahoma City stopping in Pueblo and Amarillo as well as several more points in Colorado, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Douglas DC-3 aircraft were first used and upgraded to

Convair 600 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 by the mid-1960s. Central Airlines was merged into Frontier Airlines in 1967 and Frontier continued operating these routes through the 1970s. Air Midwest operated a late night mail route from Pueblo to Garden City and Dodge City, KS from 1967 through 1977 in which they occasionally transported passengers. A

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 ...

aircraft was used. Trans Central Airlines, a commuter airline, provided service along the north–south route from Denver to Albuquerque in 1968 through 1970. Stops were made at Pueblo, Trinidad, Raton, and Las Vegas (NM) and

Cessna 402 The Cessna 401 and 402 are a series of 6 to 10 seat, light twin-piston engine aircraft. This line was manufactured by Cessna from 1966 to 1985 under the name Utiliner and Businessliner.Montgomery, MR & Gerald Foster: ''A Field Guide to Airplane ...

aircraft were flown.

Pioneer Airlines Essair (short for ''Efficiency, Safety, and Speed in the Air'') was incorporated in 1939, the first airline authorized by the federal Civil Aeronautics Board ( CAB) to fly as a "local service" air carrier in the United States. It changed its name ...

took over service from Pueblo to Denver from 1982 through 1983 following the termination of service by Frontier.

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 ...

aircraft were used and service was also provided to Santa Fe, NM.

Rocky Mountain Airways Rocky Mountain Airways was an American commuter airline headquartered in Hangar No. 6 of Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado. It was sold to Texas Air Corporation/Continental Airlines in 1986 and was operated as a Continental Expr ...

then provided service to Denver from 1983 through 1986 using de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft.

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 ...

briefly served Pueblo in late 1987 with flights to Albuquerque using

and

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 ...

commuter aircraft.

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 ...

operated

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 ...

jet service from Pueblo to Phoenix and Las Vegas from 1985 through 1991. Many flights would stop in Colorado Springs. Trans World Airlines ( TWA) provided service to St. Louis with a stop in Colorado Springs from 1988 through 1992 using

and McDonnell Douglas MD-80 jets.

Continental Express Continental Express was the operating brand name used by a number of independently owned regional airlines providing commuter airliner and regional jet feeder service under agreement with Continental Airlines. In 2012 at the time of the merger ...

, a feeder service for Continental Airlines reinstated Continental service to Pueblo in 1986 with flights to Denver.

first operated this service through 1991 then Britt Airways until 1994. In 1994 service was changed to

Continental Connection Continental Connection was a brand name under which several commuter airline carriers and their holding companies operated services marketed exclusively by Continental Airlines. As such, all Continental Connection banner carrier services were oper ...

operated by

GP Express Airlines GP Express Airlines was a scheduled passenger commuter air carrier with its headquarters located in Grand Island, Nebraska The parent corporation of the airline began on-demand air charter operations in December 1975. In December 1985 the Departme ...

. GP Express also flew from Pueblo to Amarillo during this time. Most flights were flown with

aircraft. All Continental service to Pueblo ended January 9, 1995.

United Express United Express is the brand name for the regional branch of United Airlines, under which six individually owned regional airlines operate short- and medium-haul feeder flights. On October 1, 2010, UAL Corporation and Continental Airlines merged t ...

, a feeder service for

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

began serving Pueblo in 1990 with flights to Denver.

operated the service through 1998 then

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 ...

from 1998 until 2002. Both carriers used Beechcraft 1900D aircraft.

then continued serving the Pueblo-Denver route under their own identity through 2004 then returned from 2006 through early 2014 using Beechcraft 1900D aircraft. Great Lakes returned once more from late 2015 through 2017 with flights to Denver using an

Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia 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 ...

aircraft.

also returned to Pueblo and filled in the service to Denver from late 2004 through 2005 while Great Lakes stopped operating the route. Mesa also flew to Albuquerque during this time and continued to use Beechcraft 1900D aircraft.

Allegiant Air Allegiant Air (usually shortened to Allegiant) is an ultra low-cost U.S. carrier that operates scheduled and charter flights. It is a major air carrier, the fourteenth-largest commercial airline in North America. Allegiant was founded in 1 ...

provided McDonnell Douglas MD-80 jet service to Las Vegas, Nevada from October, 2010 through April 8, 2012. Allegiant's flights operated twice per week.

returned to service the Pueblo-Denver route in 2014. This service was operated by SkyWest Airlines using

s and this service ended in mid-2015. United Express service returned in December 2017 and continues operating today with

CRJ-200 The Bombardier CRJ100 and CRJ200 (previously Canadair CRJ100 and CRJ200) is a regional jet designed and manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace between 1991 and 2006, the first of the Bombardier CRJ family. The ''Canadair Regional Jet'' (CRJ) pro ...

regional jets. An extension of one Denver-Pueblo flight continues to Liberal, KS. Up until the mid-1990s, Pueblo was served by multiple airlines and for much of the year 1991, four airlines were operating at Pueblo simultaneously: America West, TWA, Continental Express, and United Express. Pueblo has also seen mainline jet service (727s, 737s, and MD-80s) by four airlines. Since 1995, however, service has only been provided by one airline with commuter or regional jet flights to Denver with the exception of the Allegiant Air service in 2010–2012. Pueblo falls under 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 in which the U. S. Government subsidizes an airline to provide air service to a city. This subsidy comes up for bid every two years; therefore, Pueblo has seen its air service provider frequently change. There have also been times where there has been no commercial air service to Pueblo, such as in the spring of 2014 and the summer and fall of 2015.

Airline and destination

References

Other sources

* * Essential Air Service documents
Docket OST-1999-6589
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 2004-7-10 (July 15, 2004)
selects Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd., to provide essential air service with 19-passenger B1900D aircraft at Alamosa and Cortez, Colorado, for two years for annual subsidy rates of $1,083,538 and $853,587, respectively, and Mesa Air Group, Inc., d/b/a Air Midwest to provide essential air service with 19-passenger B1900D aircraft at Pueblo, Colorado, for two years at a subsidy rate of $618,621 annually. Also authorizes Great Lakes Aviation to reduce its current Pueblo service to two round trips each weekday and each weekend, and set a final subsidy rate of $687,616 on an annual basis for that service until Air Midwest inaugurates its service at Pueblo. *
Order 2005-11-26 (November 22, 2005)
selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd., to provide essential air service with 19-passenger B1900D aircraft at Pueblo, Colorado, for two years at a subsidy rate of $780,997 annually. *
Order 2007-11-10 (November 15, 2007
selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. to provide subsidized essential air service (EAS) at Pueblo, Colorado, at an annual subsidy rate of $1,057,128, for two years, beginning February 1, 2008. *
Order 2009-11-15 (November 23, 2009)
selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. to continue to provide essential air service (EAS) at Pueblo, Colorado, at an annual subsidy rate of $1,299,821, for the two-year period from February 1, 2010, through January 31, 2012. *
Order 2011-12-4 (December 13, 2011)
re-selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. to continue to provide essential air service (EAS) at Pueblo, Colorado, at an annual subsidy rate of $1,592,276, for the two-year period from February 1, 2012, through January 31, 2014.

External links

Pueblo Memorial Airport
at City of Pueblo website
Pueblo Memorial Airport
at Colorado DOT website
Aerial image as of October 1999
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 1941 establishments in Colorado Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Colorado Airports in Colorado Essential Air Service Pueblo, Colorado Transportation buildings and structures in Pueblo County, Colorado Airports established in 1941