Tyler Pounds Regional Airport is a city-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 ...

located west of

Tyler Tyler may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tyler (name), an English name; with lists of people with the surname or given name * Tyler, the Creator (born 1991), American rap artist and producer * John Tyler, 10th president of the United ...

, in Smith County,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, United States. 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 called it a "primary commercial service" airport.

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 show 76,168 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, 73,841 in 2009, and 74,357 in 2010. The airport has been expanding to meet goals in the Tyler Master Plan; on August 17, 2002, the airport opened a new terminal building, doubling its space. Tyler is a large center 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 ...

, with three public parking lots for general aviation.

History

: ''see: Pounds Army Airfield for its

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 ...

use'' The airport opened in November 1929 as Tyler Municipal Airport. During

, the airfield was used by 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 ...

as a training base and renamed Pounds Field after Lieutenant Jack Windham Pounds. At the end of the war, the airfield was turned over to local government for civil use and became Tyler Pounds Regional Airport.

Past airline service

Airline service began in the 1930s. Tyler was listed in

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 ...

timetables by 1936 on a Dallas-Atlanta multi-stop route via Shreveport and other stops. In 1952, Delta

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 Fort Worth – Dallas – Tyler – Longview – Shreveport – Monroe – Jackson – Meridian – Selma – Montgomery – Columbus – Atlanta as well as Atlanta – Columbus – Montgomery – Meridian – Hattiesburg – New Orleans – Baton Rouge – Alexandria – Shreveport – Tyler – Dallas – Fort Worth. Delta had competition to

Dallas Love Field Dallas Love Field is a city-owned public airport northwest of downtown Dallas, Texas., effective April 10, 2008 It was Dallas' main airport until 1974 when Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) opened. Love Field covers an area of a ...

Trans-Texas Airways Trans-Texas may refer to: * Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC), a transportation network in the planning and early construction stages in the U.S. state of Texas * Trans-Texas Airways, a former a United States airline, known as Texas International Texa ...

DC-3s. Delta left Tyler in 1956.

(TTa) began serving Tyler in the 1940s; its Douglas DC-3s flew between

, Beaumont/Port Arthur, and

Houston Hobby Airport William P. Hobby Airport (colloquially referred to as Hobby Airport, Houston Hobby, or simply Hobby) is an international airport in Houston, Texas, located from downtown Houston. Hobby is Houston's oldest commercial airport, and was its primar ...

. In 1952, TTa flew three DC-3s a day to Beaumont/Port Arthur via Lufkin, Palestine, and Nacogdoches, with one flight continuing on to Galveston and Houston.

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 inroa ...

propeller aircraft and then

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 ...

turboprops later took over. In 1966, TTa Convair 240s and DC-3s flew nonstop to Dallas, while Convair 240s flew direct to Houston and New Orleans. By 1968 TTa had begun

turboprop flights at Tyler. Trans-Texas changed its name to

Texas International Airlines Texas International Airlines Inc. was a United States airline, known from 1940 until 1947 as Aviation Enterprises, until 1969 as Trans-Texas Airways (TTa), and as Texas International Airlines until 1982, when it merged with Continental Airlines. ...

(TI); in 1970, TI Convair 600s and

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 ...

turboprops flew nonstop to Dallas with direct Convair 600 service to Memphis and New Orleans. Also in 1970, commuter air carrier Air Texas was operating nonstop Beechcraft 99 service between the airport and

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

(AUS), Dallas Love Field (DAL) and

Houston Intercontinental Airport George Bush Intercontinental Airport is an international airport in Houston, Texas, United States, serving the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Located about north of Downtown Houston between Interstate 45 and Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59 ...

(IAH). In 1974, all TI flights at Tyler were being operated with Convair 600 turboprops with three weekday nonstops to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), as well as direct service to Houston and Memphis. In 1975, Texas International had competition to Dallas/Fort Worth as commuter air carrier Metroflight Airlines, a subsidiary of

Metro Airlines Metro Airlines, originally Houston Metro Airlines, was a commuter airline that was originally headquartered in Houston, Texas, United States,. Metro subsequently moved its headquarters to north Texas. The airline had an operational base located ...

, was operating seven nonstop

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 ...

flights to DFW, while TI had two nonstops with Convair 600s. According to the February 1, 1976

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 ...

, Texas International was operating direct Convair 600 service to Tyler from Austin, Houston (IAH), Midland/Odessa, Shreveport and Wichita Falls.Feb. 1, 1976 Official Airline Guide This OAG also lists nineteen weekday Metroflight Twin Otter flights being operated into Tyler, including nine nonstops from Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), nine nonstops from Longview and one nonstop from Nacogdoches with this latter flight operating direct service from Houston (IAH) and Lufkin. By 1978, Texas International had pulled out of Tyler. In 1979, Metroflight Airlines was operating the only flights to Dallas/Fort Worth with nonstop de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter and

Short 330 The Short 330 (also SD3-30) is a small turboprop transport aircraft produced by Short Brothers. It seats up to 30 people and was relatively inexpensive and had low maintenance costs at the time of its introduction in 1976. The 330 was based on ...

service as well as direct Twin Otters to IAH via Longview and/or Nacogdoches. By 1981, the airline was operating 12 weekday nonstops between Tyler and Dallas/Fort Worth with Short 330s and Twin Otters. Metroflight became an

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 ...

carrier operating

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 for

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 ...

, and in 1985 was continuing to operate Twin Otter service between Tyler and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. In 1985 Air Spirit, a commuter airline, flew

Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante The Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante (English: ''pioneer'') is a Brazilian general purpose 15–21 passenger twin-turboprop light transport aircraft designed by Embraer for military and civil use. The EMB 110 was designed by the French engineer Max Ho ...

turboprops nonstop to Austin as part of a Texarkana – Tyler – Austin route. In 1989, competition had resumed on the Tyler-Dallas/Fort Worth route: American Eagle

Saab 340 The Saab 340 is a Swedish twin-engine turboprop aircraft designed and initially produced by Saab AB and Fairchild Aircraft. It is designed to seat 30-36 passengers and, as of July 2018, there were 240 operational aircraft used by 34 different o ...

s and

Delta Connection Delta Connection is a regional airline brand name for Delta Air Lines, under which a number of individually owned regional airlines primarily operate short- and medium-haul routes. Mainline major air carriers often use regional airlines to ope ...

s (operated by

Atlantic Southeast Airlines Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) was a regional U.S. airline based in the A-Tech Center in College Park, Georgia, flying to 144 destinations as a Delta Connection carrier on behalf of Delta Air Lines via a code sharing agreement and, as of ...

(ASA) on behalf of

). The

lists fourteen weekday flights between Tyler and DFW. By 1991 Delta Connection (ASA)

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 ...

s and EMB-110 Bandeirantes were flying to DFW. In 1995,

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 ...

was flying

s to IAH with three weekday nonstops via a code-sharing agreement with

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 1999 Continental Express had replaced this Brasilia service with smaller

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 with four weekday nonstops. In the mid-1990s,

Conquest Airlines Conquest Airlines was an American regional airline initially headquartered in Jefferson County, Texas, and later headquartered in Austin, Texas. Conquest operated primarily on routes within Texas from its hub in Austin (at the now closed Robert M ...

, a commuter airline, flew

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 ...

s nonstop to both Austin and San Antonio. Dallas Express Airlines, another commuter airline, was flying twin-engined

Piper Piper may refer to: People * Piper (given name) * Piper (surname) Arts and entertainment Fictional characters Comics * Piper (Morlock), in the Marvel Universe * Piper (Mutate), in the Marvel Universe Television * Piper Chapman, lea ...

s nonstop from DAL. By 2000,

Austin Express Austin Express Inc. was a commuter airline headquartered in Austin, Texas, United States."World Airline Directory." ''Flight International''. March 18-12 200281 The airline incorporated on August 13, 1997. It was originally managed by ten former C ...

, also a commuter airline, had replaced Conquest with nonstop Metroliners to Austin. Denver, Colorado-based

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 ...

also offered flights from Tyler with

Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air F ...

mainline jetliner service nonstop to Denver; these flights lasted from July 2019 to April 2020 with the A320 being the largest aircraft ever to operate scheduled passenger airline service from the airport.

Museum

The Historic Aviation Memorial Museum, an aviation museum located at the airport, rented and moved into the former Tyler passenger terminal that had been closed since 2002. The museum has a number of military jet fighters on display among other exhibits, and also flies and maintains two Russian-manufactured MiG-17F jets based at the airport.

Facilities and aircraft

The airport covers at an elevation of . It has three asphalt runways: For the 12-month period ending July 31, 2011, the airport had 48,677 aircraft operations, average 133 per day: 83%

, 14%

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 ...

, 2% airline, and 1% military; 152 aircraft were then based at the airport: 60% single-engine, 22% jet, 16% multi-engine, and 2%

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

American Eagle operates

Bombardier CRJ-700 The Bombardier CRJ700, CRJ900, and CRJ1000 are a family of regional jet airliners that were designed and manufactured by Canadian transportation conglomerate Bombardier (formerly Canadair) between 1999 and 2020. Their design was derived from t ...

regional jets on its nonstop flights to DFW.

Destinations map

Accidents and incidents

* July 13, 2017:

Piper PA-31T Cheyenne The Piper PA-31T Cheyenne is a turboprop development of the earlier PA-31P Pressurized Navajo. Development Originally, the aircraft was an upgraded version of the Pressurized Navajo equipped with two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-28 turboprop en ...

owned by T-210 HOLDINGS LLC: The aircraft went down as it was leaving the airport, headed to

Midland Airpark Midland Airpark is a public airport three miles north of Midland, in Midland County, Texas. The FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2009–2013 categorized it as a ''general aviation'' facility.Historic Aviation Memorial Museum
official website
Tyler Pounds Regional (TYR)
at

Texas DOT The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT ) is a government agency in the American state of Texas. Though the public face of the agency is generally associated with the construction and maintenance of the state's immense state highway system ...

airport directory
Aerial image as of January 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 ...

'' * * * {{Authority control Airports in Texas Transportation in Smith County, Texas Buildings and structures in Smith County, Texas Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Texas