Sioux Gateway Airport , also known as Colonel Bud Day Field, is a public and military use airport in

Woodbury County, Iowa Woodbury County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 105,941, making it the sixth-most populous county in Iowa. The county seat is Sioux City. Woodbury County is included in the Sioux City me ...

, United States. It is located six

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 ...

s (7 mi, 11 km) south 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 ...

Sioux City Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, ...

, just west of

Sergeant Bluff Sergeant Bluff is a city in Woodbury County, Iowa, United States. It is part of the Sioux City, IA– NE– SD Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,015 at the time of the 2020 census. History The city was named in honor o ...

. On May 25, 2002, the airport was named in honor of United States Air Force Colonel George Everette "Bud" Day, a Sioux City, Iowa native who is the only person ever awarded both the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

and the Air Force Cross. 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 since it has over 10,000 passenger boardings (enplanements) per year. As per 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 ...

, this airport had 28,137 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 ...

2011, an increase of 13.91% from 24,701 in 2010. The airport is home to the 185th Air Refueling Wing (185 ARW), an

Air Mobility Command Air Mobility Command (AMC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the U.S. Air Force. It is headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, east of St. Louis, Missouri. Air Mobility Command was established on 1 June 1992, and was formed from elements ...

(AMC)-gained unit of the

Iowa Air National Guard The Iowa Air National Guard (IA ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of Iowa, United States of America. It is, along with the Iowa Army National Guard, an element of the Iowa National Guard. As state militia units, the units in the Iowa Air ...

, flying the

KC-135 Stratotanker The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It is the predominant variant of the C-135 Stratolifter family of transpo ...

, as well as

Sioux City Air National Guard Base Sioux City Air National Guard Base is an Iowa Air National Guard base, located at Sioux Gateway Airport It is located south-southeast of Sioux City, Iowa. On , the airport was named "Colonel Bud Day Field" in honor of United States Air For ...

. The airport is owned and operated by the city of Sioux City and governed by a seven-member Airport Board of Trustees. Airport Board members are appointed by the City Council and serve four-year terms.

History

The construction of Sioux City Army Air Base began in March 1942, about three months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Opened on July 5, 1942, it became a major training center during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

for crewmen of B-24 Liberators and

B-17 Flying Fortresses The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

. With the end of World War II, the former training base switched to becoming a processing center to discharge personnel out of the service and back into civilian life. Sioux City Army Air Base closed in December 1945, but in September 1946, the airfield was opened by the

Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a MAJCOM, major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of ...

. Sioux City Air Base was one of the first Air Force Reserve bases established after the war, and in December 1946, the 185th Iowa Air National Guard unit was established at Sioux City. Assigned to the new

Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was est ...

(ADC) upon reactivation, the 140th Army Air Force Base Unit was activated as its host organization. The mission of the 140th AAFBU was to offer flight and ground training to all commissioned and enlisted members of the Air Force Reserve residing in Iowa,

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

and

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 ...

. By the mid-1960s, ADC was reducing its forces and on April 1, 1966, the 31st AD was reassigned and the airport was turned over to the Air Force Reserve and

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...

for limited military use.

SUX controversy

The airport designator "SUX" has been contentious, due to the name sounding identical to the slang word "sucks". Sioux City Mayor Craig Berenstein in 2002 described SUX as an "embarrassment" to the city. After petitioning the

FAA 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 ...

for a changed airport identifier in 1998 and 2002, authorities found the alternatives offered - GWU, GYO, GYT, SGV, and GAY - to be unappealing, and elected to stay with SUX. In October 2007, airport board member Dave Bernstein proposed embracing the identifier, saying "Let's make the best of it. I think we have the opportunity to turn it into a positive," and noting "I've got buddies that I went to college with in different cities that can't even remember their own birthdays, but they all know the Sioux City designator — SUX." The airport now sells merchandise with the words "Fly SUX".

Airport growth

For several years the only airline service was from

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 ...

, commuter service on Northwest Airlink to

Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport , also less commonly known as Wold-Chamberlain Field, is a joint civil-military public-use international airport located in Fort Snelling Unorganized Territory, Minnesota, United States. Although s ...

. In October 2007,

Frontier Airlines 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 ...

began service with two daily flights between its Denver hub and Sioux City. The new service from Frontier quickly expanded to three daily non-stop flights to Denver and helped passenger traffic increase by over 150%. In April 2008, Frontier announced it would be ending service to Sioux City on May 12, citing economic conditions after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In July 2011,

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...

(who merged with Northwest in 2009) told the

United States 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 ...

that a weak economy and lower seat demand would force the company to reduce flights to several smaller communities including Sioux City unless it received assistance from the federal government. Delta said planes left Sioux Gateway with an average of only 51.4% of their seats full, so given that the company planned to remove turboprop planes and some of its 50-seat jets from service by the end of 2011 it wasn't economically viable for Delta to continue service. Of the average 75 passengers who flew the SUX-MSP route each day, only nine flew directly to the Twin Cities or to Sioux City, according to the

Metropolitan Airports Commission The Minneapolis-Saint Paul Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) is the airport authority, owner and operator of Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport in Minnesota as well as six other reliever airports in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Twin Ci ...

. The majority of passengers were connecting through MSP to destinations such as

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

. Delta made its final flights into Sioux Gateway in April 2012.

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 ...

announced on December 9, 2011 that their subsidiary,

American Eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

, would begin serving Sioux City from

Chicago O'Hare Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Loop busine ...

in the spring of 2012. American ended service to Sioux City on April 5, 2021.

Facilities and aircraft

Sioux Gateway Airport covers 2,460

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 (996 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 1,098 feet (335 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 two

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 ...

s: 13/31 is 9,002 by 150 feet (2,744 x 46 m)

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 wi ...

and 17/35 is 6,600 by 150 feet (2,012 x 46 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 ...

. In June 2011, work was completed on a $6.2 million remodeling of the 58-year-old terminal building. The City of Sioux City received federal and state funds that picked up 78 percent of the $6.2 million cost to renovate the terminal building. The city received a Federal Aviation Administration grant for the new passenger loading bridge, plus $3.97 million in federal stimulus funds and a state Airport Vertical Infrastructure grant. The city's share was $1.4 million, which was about twice as much as originally estimated caused construction problems due to termite and drainage damage. In the year ending November 30, 2012, the airport had 18,258 aircraft operations: an average of 50 per day. For itinerant operations: 10,447

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 ...

, 2,841

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 ...

, 2,599

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 41

air carrier An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in which ...

. Local operations totaled 2,330: 1,694

civil Civil may refer to: *Civic virtue, or civility *Civil action, or lawsuit * Civil affairs *Civil and political rights *Civil disobedience *Civil engineering *Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism *Civilian, someone not a membe ...

and 636 military. Air Traffic Activity System (ATADS)
/ref>

Airline and destinations

Passenger

Accidents and incidents

* On January 31, 1944, a

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 ...

Douglas C-39 The Douglas DC-2 is a 14-passenger, Aircraft engine, twin-engined airliner that was produced by the American company Douglas Aircraft Company starting in 1934. It competed with the Boeing 247. In 1935, Douglas produced a larger version called the ...

en route to

Saint Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and the county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri. Small parts of St. Joseph extend into Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the principal city of the St. Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area, which inclu ...

, caught fire shortly after takeoff, crashed and burned. All three crew members died. * On March 2, 1951, a

Mid-Continent Airlines Mid-Continent Airlines was an airline which operated in the central United States from the 1930s until 1952 when it was acquired by and merged with Braniff International Airways. Mid-Continent Airlines was originally founded as a flight school a ...

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 ...

crashed 500 feet short of runway 17 while attempting to land in a snowstorm. The probable cause of the crash was a stall at low altitude while turning to line up on the runway. 16 of 25 occupants were killed in the crash. * On December 27, 1968, an airplane operating as

Ozark Air Lines Flight 982 Ozark Air Lines Flight 982 was a regularly scheduled flight on December 27, 1968, originating from Sioux Falls Regional Airport to O'Hare International Airport connecting through Sioux Gateway Airport that crashed shortly after takeoff. The plane ...

crashed while taking off from runway 35 at Sioux Gateway Airport en route to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. The plane was inadequately deiced, causing it to have no control after takeoff. The plane rolled violently 90 degrees to the right and then overcorrected to a mild left bank, causing the left wing to strike the ground. The plane came to rest in a flat position 1181 feet past the runway end. There were injuries but no fatalities. * On July 19, 1989,

United Airlines Flight 232 United Airlines Flight 232 was a regularly scheduled United Airlines flight from Stapleton International Airport in Denver to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, continuing to Philadelphia International Airport. On July 19, 1989, the DC ...

, en route from Denver-Stapleton to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

via Chicago-O'Hare, crashed at Sioux Gateway Airport while attempting an emergency landing. 110 passengers and 1 crew member were killed, while 175 passengers and 10 crew members survived. The accident was one of the most famous aviation disasters in American history, due to several factors: the nature of the incident (deemed as "unsurvivable", especially as it compared in similarity to the earlier

Japan Air Lines Flight 123 Japan Air Lines Flight 123 (JAL123) () was a scheduled domestic Japan Air Lines , also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as of 2021 and 2022, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tok ...

crash), the skill of the crew in saving many of the occupants, the survival of so many occupants despite the circumstances and because of the media exposure. The actual footage of the crash was used three years later for the making of the

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923April 5, 2008) was an American actor and political activist. As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film ''The Ten C ...

and

James Coburn James Harrison Coburn III (August 31, 1928 – November 18, 2002) was an American film and television actor who was featured in more than 70 films, largely action roles, and made 100 television appearances during a 45-year career.AllmoviBi ...

made-for-TV movie ''Crash Landing: The Rescue of Flight 232'' (1992; also known as ''

A Thousand Heroes ''A Thousand Heroes'' is a 1992 American disaster drama television film directed by Lamont Johnson and written by Harve Bennett. The film stars Charlton Heston, Richard Thomas, and James Coburn. It is based on a true story of United Airlines Fl ...

'') about the beginnings (and ultimate test) of the Woodbury County Disaster Services program.

References

Other sources

* Essential Air Service documents
Docket DOT-OST-2011-0131
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 2011-12-2 (December 8, 2011)
selected

American Eagle Airlines Envoy Air Inc. is an American regional airline headquartered in Irving, Texas, in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The airline is a wholly owned subsidiary of the American Airlines Group and it is paid by fellow group member American Airline ...

, a regional affiliate of American Airlines, to provide 13 nonstop round trips per week to each community, Sioux City and Waterloo, from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD). Rate effective for a two-year period beginning when it inaugurated EAS at both communities through the end of the 24th month thereafter. The carrier inaugurated service at both communities on April 3, 2012, thus making the expiration date April 30, 2014. American Eagle was selected to provide service at Sioux City with 50-seat aircraft and 44-seat aircraft at Waterloo, with annual subsidy rates of $1,512,799 and $1,541,824, respectively. *
Order 2014-3-14 (March 28, 2014)
selecting American Airlines to provide Essential Air Service (EAS) at Sioux City and Waterloo, Iowa, for annual subsidies of $611,334 and $945,546, respectively. EAS to be Provided to Sioux City, Iowa - Effective period: May 1, 2014, through April 30, 2016. Service: 13 nonstop round trips per week to Chicago (ORD). Aircraft type: Regional jets, 44-50 seats. *

External links

*
Sioux Gateway Airport
official website

at GlobalSecurity.org
JetSun Aviation Centre
the

fixed-base operator A fixed-base operator (FBO) is an organization granted the right by an airport to operate at the airport and provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, tie-down and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instruction, ...

(FBO)
Aerial image as of March 2000
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 ...

'' * * {{authority control Airports in Iowa Transportation buildings and structures in Woodbury County, Iowa Buildings and structures in Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City, Iowa Airports established in 1942 Essential Air Service 1942 establishments in Iowa