Sidney–Richland Municipal Airport is a mile west of Sidney, in Richland County,

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

, United States. The airport is served by one airline, subsidized by the federal government's

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 at a cost of $3,777,579 (per year). The

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 ...

says this airport had 2,031 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, 2,766 in 2009, and 3,659 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 ''

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 ...

'' airport based on enplanements in 2008 (the ''commercial service'' category requires at least 2,500 enplanements per year).

Passenger air service past & present

Scheduled air service temporarily ceased on March 8, 2008, when

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 M ...

ended operations due to a bankruptcy. In 1985, Big Sky was operating nonstop flights into the airport from

Billings Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Metrop ...

and

Williston, ND Williston is a city in and the county seat of Williams County, North Dakota, United States. The 2020 census gave its population as 29,160, making Williston the sixth-largest city in North Dakota. The city's population nearly doubled between 20 ...

as an independent air carrier with

Fairchild 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 ...

commuter propjets. By 1989, Big Sky was operating as a

Northwest Airlink Northwest Airlink was the brand name of Northwest Airlines' regional airline service, which flew turboprop and regional jet aircraft from Northwest's domestic hubs in Minneapolis, Detroit, and Memphis. Service was primarily to small-to-medium-siz ...

air carrier on behalf of

Northwest Airlines Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA) was a major American airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines, Inc. by a merger. The merger, approved on October 29, 2008, made Delta the largest airline in the world until the American Airlines ...

via a

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 ...

agreement and was continuing to serve Sidney with nonstop Metroliner propjet flights from Billings and Williston. By the early 1990s, Big Sky was no longer operating as a Northwest Airlink air carrier but was continuing to serve the airport as an independent airline and by 1995 was operating nonstop Metroliner propjet flights to the airport from Billings and

Glendive, MT Glendive is a city in and the county seat of Dawson County, Montana, United States, and home to Dawson Community College. Glendive was established by the Northern Pacific Railway when they built the transcontinental railroad across the northern ...

. Following cessation of service by Big Sky,

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 ...

was then given

USDOT 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 ...

approval to take over federal

(EAS) flights and flights began in 2009. Between 2011 and 2013, service was provided under a federal EAS contract by

Silver Airways Silver Airways LLC. is a United States regional airline with its headquarters in Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport in Broward County, Florida, near Fort Lauderdale. It was founded in 2011 with assets from the former Gulfstream I ...

(formerly

Gulfstream International Airlines Gulfstream International Airlines was a United States airline that operated from 1988 to 2010. The airline primarily operated codeshare flights for major airlines. In December 2010, the airline went bankrupt and its assets were sold. Silver Air ...

). Effective December 10, 2013 passenger service between Sidney and

was initiated by

Cape Air Hyannis Air Service Inc., operating as Cape Air, is an airline headquartered at Barnstable Municipal Airport in Hyannis, Massachusetts, United States. It operates scheduled passenger services in the Northeast (US), Northeast, the Caribbean, Midw ...

with small Cessna 402C twin prop aircraft with Cape Air continuing to serve the airport at the present time with five flights per day to Billings. The first airline flights were operated by the original Frontier Airlines (1950–1986) with

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 ...

aircraft commencing in September 1954. By 1968, Combs Aviation, a commuter air carrier operating small

Aero Commander 500 The Aero Commander 500 family is a series of light-twin piston-engined and turboprop aircraft originally built by the Aero Design and Engineering Company in the late 1940s, renamed the Aero Commander company in 1950, and a division of Rockwell ...

twin prop aircraft, was serving the airport on behalf of Frontier via a contract agreement following cessation of Frontier DC-3 flights; however, Frontier then returned to Sidney with

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 ...

commuter turboprop flights and continued to serve Sidney until 1980. In 1977, Frontier was operating round trip Twin Otter service on a routing of

- Miles City, MT -

- Sidney -

Minot Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Minot Air Force Base, Air Force base approximately north of ...

with connections at both Billings and Minot to and from

Boeing 737-200 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton Factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the Boeing 707, 7 ...

jet flights operated by Frontier.

then began serving the airport during the early 1980s primarily with

Handley Page Jetstream The Handley Page HP.137 Jetstream is a small twin-turboprop airliner, with a pressurised fuselage. The aircraft was designed to meet the requirements of the United States commuter and regional airline market. The design was later improved and b ...

and

commuter propjets with nonstop flights from Billings, Glendive and Williston.April 1, 1981 Official Airline Guide (OAG), North American edition, Sidney, MT flight schedules

Facilities

The airport covers 335

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 (136 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 1,985 feet (605 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: 1/19 is 5,705 by 100 feet (1,739 x 30 m) and 11/29 is 4,023 by 100 feet. In 2009 the airport had 6,815 aircraft operations, average 18 per day: 59%

, 26% airline, 15%

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. 32 aircraft were then based at the airport: 84% single-engine and 16% multi-engine.

Airline and destination

Scheduled passenger airline:

Statistics

References

Other sources

* Essential Air Service documents
Docket DOT-OST-1997-2605
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 2005-12-20 (December 30, 2005)
selecting Big Sky Transportation Co., d/b/a

, to continue providing essential air service at seven Montana communities (Glasgow, Glendive, Havre, Lewistown, Miles City, Sidney, and Wolf Point) for a new two-year period beginning March 1, 2006, at a subsidy of $6,838,934 annually. *
Order 2007-11-21 (November 26, 2007)
selecting Big Sky Transportation Co., d/b/a

, to continue providing essential air service at seven Montana communities for a new two-year period beginning March 1, 2008, at a subsidy of $8,473,617 annually. *
Order 2007-12-22 (December 21, 2007)
allowing Big Sky Transportation Co., d/b/a Big Sky Airlines, to suspend its subsidized essential air services at seven Montana communities on the date that

Great Lakes Aviation 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 ...

, Ltd., begins replacement service, and selecting Great Lakes to provide those services at subsidy rates totaling $8,201,992. *
Order 2008-7-9 (July 3, 2008)
approving an alternate service pattern requested by Lewistown, Miles City and Sidney, Montana. *
Order 2011-1-27 (February 2, 2011)
selecting

, to provide subsidized essential air service (EAS) with 19-passenger Beechcraft B-1900D aircraft at Glasgow, Glendive, Havre, Lewistown, Miles City, Sidney, and Wolf Point, Montana, for a two-year period beginning when the carrier inaugurates full EAS at all seven communities through the end of the 24th month thereafter (two-year period ended May 31, 2013), at a combined annual subsidy rate of $10,903,854. Aircraft: 19-passenger Beech 1900-D. Destination: Billings. The subsidy and level of service for each community is as follows: Lewistown $1,325,733 (12 nonstop round trips each week), Miles City: $1,621,821 (12 nonstop round trips each week), Sidney $2,932,152 (17 nonstop round trips each week), Havre $1,162,329 (12 one-stop round trips each week), Glendive $1,193,391 (12 one-stop round trips each week), Glasgow $1,166,049 (5 nonstop and 7 one-stop round trips each week), Wolf Point $1,502,378 (7 nonstop and 5 one-stop round trips each week). *
Notice (June 28, 2013)
from Silver Airways of its intent to discontinue scheduled subsidized Essential Air Service between Glasgow, Glendive, Havre, Lewistown, Miles City, Sidney, Wolf Point, Montana and Billings, Montana. Commensurate with the end of subsidy eligibility, Silver Airways will end service to Lewistown and Miles City on July 15, 2013. Further, Silver Airways hereby serves 90-day notice of its intent to discontinue service to the communities of Glasgow, Glendive, Havre, Sidney and Wolf Point, Montana effective September 27, 2013. *
Order 2013-6-3 (June 4, 2013)
extending the contract established under Order 2011-1-27, issued on February 3, 2011, for

, Inc. (formerly Gulfstream International Airlines), to provide Essential Air Service (EAS) operations at Lewistown, Miles City, Glasgow, Glendive, Havre, Sidney, and Wolf Point, Montana, from June 1, 2013, until further notice. *
Order 2013-9-4 (September 5, 2013)
selecting Hyannis Air Service, Inc., d/b/a

, to provide Essential Air Service (EAS) with 9-passenger

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 at Glasgow, Glendive, Havre, Sidney, and Wolf Point, Montana, for a two-year period beginning December 1, 2013, through November 30, 2015, at a combined annual subsidy of $11,950,426. The subsidy and level of service for each community is as follows: Glasgow $2,046,800 (2 trips per day), Glendive $1,944,467 (2 trips per day), Havre $2,036,254 (2 trips per day), Sidney $3,777,579 (5 trips per day), Wolf Point $2,145,326 (2 trips per day). Scheduled service: to Billings. Aircraft Type: Cessna 402 (9 passenger seats). *
Order 2013-12-1 (December 2, 2013)
Cape Air will commence full EAS at all five of the above communities beginning December 10, 2013, thereby establishing an end date for this contract of December 31, 2015.

External links

* http://www.sidneyherald.com/news/sidney-richland-airport-nears-milestone-mark-for-year/article_7a7b435c-17ec-11e2-acbc-001a4bcf887a.html * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sidney-Richland Municipal Airport Airports in Montana Buildings and structures in Richland County, Montana Essential Air Service Transportation in Richland County, Montana