Victoria Regional Airport is a county-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 five

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 (6 mi, 9 km) northeast 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 ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, a city in

Victoria County, Texas Victoria County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 91,319. Its county seat is Victoria. Victoria County is included in the Victoria, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area. History * Paleo-I ...

, United States. It is mostly used for

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 ...

and

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 ...

, but is also served by one commercial airline with this scheduled passenger service being subsidized by the federal

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 ...

(EAS) program.

History

World War II

Foster Field began as 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 ...

(USAAF) facility that was established in 1941 as an advanced single-engine flying school for fighter pilots. Originally known as Victoria Field, it was renamed in 1942 in memory of 1st Lt Arthur L. Foster, a

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

instructor killed in a crash at Brooks Field in 1925. Foster's son received his training and commission at the base in the spring of 1942. After

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 ...

, Foster Field was deactivated and the site was returned to its private owners, the Buhler and Braman estates. It was later reactivated as

Foster Air Force Base Foster Air Force Base (1941–1945, 1952–1959) is a former United States Air Force facility in Texas, located in Victoria County, approximately east-northeast of Victoria. A flying training airfield during World War II, it was part of Ta ...

, a

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air 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 of the United States Army Signal ...

installation of the

Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. It was inactivated on 1 J ...

(TAC) from 1951 to 1958, during which time it operated

F-86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing So ...

and

F-100 Super Sabre The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard (ANG) until 1979. The first of the Century Series of ...

fighter aircraft and served as Headquarters for

19th Air Force The Nineteenth Air Force (19 AF) is an active Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force. During the Cold War it was a component of Tactical Air Command, with a mission of command and control over deployed USAF forces in support of Unit ...

(19 AF). The base closed in December 1958 and formally inactivated in January 1959.

Post-military use

The local economy suffered greatly from the closure of Foster AFB. In the summer of 1960, the

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...

approved the exchange of Aloe Field for Foster Field, and Victoria County Airport was moved to the latter site. The growth of the county airport slowly replaced the loss of Foster AFB as numerous businesses located there. Two of the largest businesses to locate at Victoria County Airport were the Devereux Foundation, a therapeutic-education center, and Gary Aircraft, which repaired surplus

C-54 Skymaster The Douglas C-54 Skymaster is a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the Korean War. Like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain derived from the DC-3, the C-54 Skymaster was derived from a civilian a ...

(military version of the

Douglas DC-4 The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s ...

) aircraft in 1968. In 1976, Foster became the site of the Victoria Regional Airport, which currently provides scheduled passenger service with connections to major air carriers at Austin (AUS) and Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW).

Historical airline service

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 ...

(''TTa'') and its successor

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. ...

served Victoria for over 20 years. In 1949, Trans-Texas was operating 21-seat

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 (which the airline called "Starliners") into the airport with an intrastate routing of 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 ...

- Victoria - Beeville - San Antonio - Uvalde - Eagle Pass - Carrizo Springs - Laredo - McAllen - Harlingen - Brownsville. In the fall of 1966, Trans-Texas was operating five departures a day with DC-3 aircraft with three nonstops to Houston Hobby and two nonstops to San Antonio with direct, no change of plane DC-3 service being flown from Victoria 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 ...

(DAL), Midland/Odessa, San Angelo, TX, Jackson, MS, Lake Charles, LA, Alexandria, LA, Fort Polk, LA, Lufkin, TX and Longview, TX. By August 1968, TTa was operating all flights into Victoria with 40-seat

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 with nonstop service to Houston Hobby (HOU), Harlingen and McAllen as well as direct, no change of plane international service to

Tampico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fifth ...

and

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Trans-Texas then changed its name to Texas International which in 1970 was flying 15-seat

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 ...

commuter turboprops nonstop to 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). Texas International then ceased all flights into Victoria with its service being replaced by

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 ...

operating

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 turboprops to Houston Intercontinental during the 1970s and early 1980s with up to seven nonstop flights a day.

Tejas Airlines Tejas Airlines was a commuter airline based in San Antonio, Texas with scheduled passenger service operated to several destinations inside Texas. History Tejas Airlines commenced operations in 1977 with service to five destinations in Texas and ...

, a commuter air carrier based in San Antonio, was also serving the airport in 1979. By the mid 1980s, Metro Airlines had entered into 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 with

Eastern Air Lines Eastern Air Lines, also colloquially known as Eastern, was a major United States airline from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Florida. Ea ...

in order to provide passenger feed for Eastern at Houston Intercontinental and was serving Victoria as Eastern Express with up to seven flights a day to IAH operated with Twin Otter aircraft. By the late 1980s,

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 ...

was operating a hub at Houston Intercontinental with service into Victoria being flown by

Britt Airways Britt Airways was a United States airline established as Vercoa Air Service in 1964 and renamed to Britt Airlines when it was purchased by William and Marilyn Britt in 1975 later on ''Britt Airways''. It was based in Terre Haute, Indiana until 19 ...

operating 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 ...

with five flights every weekday to IAH being operated with 30-seat

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 ...

propjets. Continental Express would continue to serve the airport during the 1990s and by the end of the decade was operating 19-seat

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 ...

commuter turboprops on the route to IAH in addition to the Embraer Brasilia aircraft. By 2007,

Colgan Air Colgan Air was an American certificated regional airline subsidiary of Pinnacle Airlines Corp. The headquarters of Colgan Air were located in Memphis, Tennessee. Colgan Air operated for Continental Express/United Express, and US Airways Expre ...

flying as

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 ope ...

was operating two flights a day to IAH with 34-seat

Saab 340B 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 ...

turboprops. Continental was eventually merged into

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

and

flights to Houston Intercontinental airport were discontinued.

Sun Air Express Sun Air Express was a United States airline with its headquarters in Dania Beach, Florida in Greater Miami (the headquarters had a Fort Lauderdale mailing address). It operates charter services as well as scheduled passenger services subsidized un ...

operated scheduled passenger service to Houston Intercontinental via a two-year federal

(EAS) contract; however, this commuter air carrier then ceased all service between the airport and IAH on October 31, 2014.

Current airline service

Boutique Air was awarded the

contract for Victoria and began operations in late 2018. Service was operated on the twin engine

Beechcraft King Air 350 The Beechcraft Super King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by Beechcraft. The Model 200 and Model 300 series were originally marketed as the "Super King Air" family; the "Super" designation was dropped in 1996. ...

. An additional flight was added in 2019 to Dallas to allow business travelers to make day trips. Due to reliability issues with the King Air, Boutique Air requested and was granted dual aircraft authorization from the Department of Transportation to supplement the route with the highly reliable

Pilatus PC-12 The Pilatus PC-12 is a pressurized, single-engined, turboprop aircraft, manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Stans, Switzerland, since 1991. It was designed as a high-performance utility aircraft that incorporates a large aft cargo door in ad ...

. Boutique Air plans to phase out the King Air 350 and focus on the Pilatus PC-12.

Facilities and aircraft

Victoria Regional Airport covers an area of 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 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 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 concrete, as ...

s: * 13L/31R is 9,111 by 150 feet (2,777 x 46 m) with an

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 ...

surface * 13R/31L is 4,643 by 150 feet (1,415 x 46 m) with a

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 ...

surface * 18/36 is 4,908 by 75 feet (1,496 x 23 m) with an asphalt surface It also has one

helipad A helipad is a landing area or platform for helicopters and powered lift aircraft. While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard s ...

designated H1 which measures 60 by 60 feet. For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2019; the airport had 57,422 aircraft operations, an average of 157 per day: 80%

, 13%

, and 6%

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 ...

. At that time there were 41 aircraft based at this airport: 71% single-

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

, 17% multi-engine, 7% jet, and 5%

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

The following

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...

offers scheduled passenger service:

Statistics

References

Other sources

* Essential Air Service documents
Docket OST-2005-20454
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 2005-5-2 (May 9, 2005)
selecting Colgan Air, Inc., d/b/a Continental Connection, to provide essential air service at Victoria, Texas, for a two-year period at a subsidy rate of $510,185 annually. *
Order 2007-4-8 (April 6, 2007)
selecting Colgan Air, Inc., d/b/a Continental Connection, to continue providing essential air service (EAS) at Victoria consisting of 12 weekly nonstop round trips to Houston with 34-seat Saab 340B turboprop aircraft for an annual subsidy of $610,049. *
Order 2009-6-10 (June 11, 2009)
re-selecting Colgan Air, Inc., d/b/a Continental Connection, to continue providing subsidized essential air service (EAS) at Victoria, TX, for the two-year period beginning July 1, 2009, at the annual subsidy rate of $1,593,922. *
Order 2011-5-7 (May 5, 2011)
re-selecting Colgan Air, Inc., operating as Continental Connection, to provide essential air service (EAS) at Victoria, Texas, using 34-seat

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 ...

aircraft for a two-year period beginning July 1, 2011, through June 30, 2013 for an annual subsidy of $1,856,692. *
Ninety-Day Notice (March 8, 2012)
from Colgan Airlines, Inc. of termination of Essential Air Service at Victoria, Texas *
Order 2012-3-14 (March 23, 2012
prohibits Colgan Airlines, Inc. d/b/a United Airlines Express, from terminating service at Altoona and Johnstown, PA; Victoria, TX; Staunton, VA; and Beckley, Clarksburg/Fairmont, and Morgantown, WV, for 30 days beyond the end of the 90-day notice period, i.e. July 8, 2012. We are also requesting proposals by April 25, 2012, from air carriers interested in providing replacement Essential Air Service (“EAS”) at Victoria, TX; and Staunton, VA, for a new term, with or without subsidy.

External links

*
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 Essential Air Service Victoria, Texas Transportation in Victoria County, Texas Buildings and structures in Victoria County, Texas