Central Wyoming Regional Airport, formerly Riverton Regional Airport, is three miles northwest of Riverton, in Fremont County,

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, 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 south ...

; it also serves nearby

Lander, Wyoming Lander is a city in Wyoming, United States, and the county seat of Fremont County. It is in central Wyoming, along the Middle Fork of the Popo Agie River, just south of the Wind River Indian Reservation. It is a tourism center with several near ...

. It is 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 ...

and sees one passenger airline. Service was subsidized by the Essential Air Service program until October 2006, when

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 ...

began providing subsidy-free service.

Key Lime Air Key Lime Air is a United States airline with corporate headquarters at Centennial Airport in Englewood, Colorado, within the Denver metropolitan area. Established in 1997, Key Lime Air operates scheduled air service, various types of public and p ...

operating as the

Denver Air Connection Denver Air Connection is a subsidiary of Key Lime Air providing both charter and scheduled passenger air service. History Key Lime Air, dba Denver Air Connection (DAC), operates FAR Part 121 regional airline scheduled passenger service and sc ...

began serving the airport with regional jet aircraft on July 1, 2016.

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 m ...

records say the airport had 17,035 passenger boardings (enplanements) in

calendar year Generally speaking, a calendar year begins on the New Year's Day of the given calendar system and ends on the day before the following New Year's Day, and thus consists of a whole number of days. A year can also be measured by starting on any o ...

2008, 14,186 in 2009 and 14,361 in 2010. 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 categorized it as a ''primary commercial service'' airport (more than 10,000 enplanements per year).

Facilities

The airport covers 1,250

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 (506 ha) at an elevation of 5,528 feet (1,685 m). It has two

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 ...

runways: 10/28 is 8,204 by 150 feet (2,501 x 46 m) and 1/19 is 4,800 by 75 feet (1,463 x 23 m). The airport is an

uncontrolled airport In aviation, a non-towered airport is an airport without a control tower, or air traffic control (ATC) unit. The vast majority of the world's airports are non-towered. In the United States, there are close to 20,000 non-towered airports compared ...

with no control tower. In 2018 the airport had 4,547 aircraft operations, average 12 per day: 78%

, 22%

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. 37 aircraft were then based at this airport: 86% single-engine, 11% multi-engine, and 3% helicopter.

History

Historic airline service

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 ca ...

served the airport for many years. In 1950 Frontier

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

s flew to Denver, Salt Lake City, Billings, Casper, Cheyenne and other cities. By 1964 Frontier had introduced Convair 580s nonstop to Denver, Casper, Jackson, WY, and Rock Springs and direct to Salt Lake City, Albuquerque, Billings, Cheyenne, Laramie and Cody. Frontier Airlines predecessor Challenger Airlines served Riverton in the 1940s. In 1979 Frontier Boeing 737-200s began serving the airport, along with Convair 580s. Frontier 737s flew direct to Denver via Casper; by 1985 Frontier had left the airport. Frontier was the only airline that flew mainline jets to the airport. Frontier's service was replaced by Pioneer Airlines Swearingen Metroliners nonstop to Denver,

code sharing In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ...

flights as

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 be ...

for

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 ...

. By 1989

nonstops to Denver were Rocky Mountain Airways

ATR 42 The ATR 42 is a regional airliner produced by Franco-Italian manufacturer ATR, with final assembly in Toulouse, France. On 4 November 1981, the aircraft was launched with ATR, as a joint venture between French Aérospatiale (now Airbus) and ...

s and Beechcraft 1900Cs. In 1995 the Continental Express code share service at the airport was being operated by GP Express Airlines with Beechcraft 1900Cs nonstop to Denver. By 1991

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 ...

(

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 ...

) had joined Continental Express at the airport with Beechcraft 1900Cs nonstop to Denver flown via a code sharing agreement with

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

. Continental shut down its hub in Denver and by 1999 only

(

) served the airport, with nonstop

Beechcraft 1900 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 ...

s to Denver. Great Lakes later lost its United Express designation but continued to serve the airport as an independent airline before dropping Riverton.

Recent developments

previously served the airport 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 ...

s. On November 1, 2016 Great Lakes introduced larger Embraer EMB-120 Brasilias on most of its flights to Denver. However, Great Lakes soon went out of business, ending service to Riverton.

SkyWest Airlines SkyWest Airlines is an American regional airline headquartered in St. George, Utah, United States. SkyWest is paid to staff, operate and maintain aircraft used on flights that are scheduled, marketed and sold by a partner mainline airline. The ...

operating as United Express replaced Key Lime Air service to Denver on January 12, 2020 when they took over the subsidized air service contract for Riverton and Sheridan. In 2020, the name changed from Riverton Regional Airport to Central Wyoming Regional Airport.

Airlines and destinations

Statistics

Top destinations

References

Other sources

* Essential Air Service documents
Docket OST-2003-14536
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 ...

: *
Notice (February 17, 2003)
of Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. to terminate scheduled air service at Riverton, Wyoming. The effective date of this intended termination is May 17, 2003. *
Order 2003-4-11 (April 15, 2003)
prohibiting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. (Great Lakes), from suspending its unsubsidized service at Riverton, Wyoming and requesting proposals from carriers interested in providing replacement at the community. *
Order 2004-7-16 (July 20, 2004)
selects Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd., to provide essential air service with 19-passenger B1900D aircraft at Laramie, Riverton, Rock Springs, and Worland, Wyoming, for two years for annual subsidy rates of $397,400, $394,046, $390,488, and $797,844, respectively. *
Order 2006-9-9 (September 11, 2006)
re-selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd., operating as both a United Airlines and Frontier code-share partner, to provide subsidized essential air service (EAS) at Laramie and Worland, Wyoming, at an annual subsidy rate of $487,516 for Laramie and $972,757 for Worland, for the two-year period of October 1, 2006, through September 30, 2008. On June 14, 2006, Great Lakes notified the Department that it will continue its existing service at Rock Springs but on a subsidy-free basis as of October 1, 2006, the beginning of the new rate-term. On July 24, 2006, Great Lakes notified the Department that it will also continue to provide its existing service at Riverton on a subsidy-free basis beginning October 1, 2006.

External links

Riverton Regional Airport
official site
Aerial image as of July 1994
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, RIW Airports in Wyoming Buildings and structures in Fremont County, Wyoming Transportation in Fremont County, Wyoming Former Essential Air Service airports Riverton, Wyoming