Central Wisconsin Airport , referred to as "C-Way", is a public

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 surfa ...

located southeast 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 ...

of Mosinee, in

Marathon County Marathon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 138,013. Marathon County's seat is Wausau. It was founded in 1850, created from a portion of Portage County. At that time the cou ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. It is owned by Marathon County and Portage County. It is included in 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 ...

(FAA)

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 2023–2027, in which it is categorized as a non-hub primary commercial service facility. It is the fifth busiest of eight commercial airports in Wisconsin in terms of passengers served. The airport serves a large swath of Central and North Central Wisconsin including cities such as Marshfield,

Stevens Point Stevens Point is the county seat of Portage County, Wisconsin, United States. The city was incorporated in 1858. Its 2020 population of 25,666 makes it the largest city in the county. Stevens Point forms the core of the United States Census Bur ...

, Wausau and Wisconsin Rapids, as well as several tourism communities. It is south-southeast of

Granite Peak Ski Area Granite Peak Ski Resort is a ski area located in Rib Mountain State Park in the Town of Rib Mountain, Marathon County, Wisconsin, south of Wausau. It features 58 runs and 4 terrain parks as of 2022 and boasts a vertical drop of . Granite Peak ...

, located in

Rib Mountain State Park Rib Mountain State Park is a Wisconsin List of Wisconsin state parks, state park near the city of Wausau, Wisconsin, Wausau. The park includes a ski resort, Granite Peak Ski Area, concession stand, picnic areas, a reservable amphitheater, a forme ...

Facilities and aircraft

Central Wisconsin Airport September 2012

Central Wisconsin Airport covers an area of at an elevation of 1,277 feet (389 m) above mean sea level. It contains two

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 wid ...

paved

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 ...

s: 8/26 measuring 7,723 x 150 ft (2,354 x 46 m) and 17/35 measuring 6,501 x 150 ft (1,982 x 46 m). For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2022, the airport had 13,592 operations, an average of 37 aircraft operations per day: 56% scheduled commercial / air taxi, 43%

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 almost 1% military. In August 2023, there were 27 aircraft based at this airport: 17 single-engine, 3 multi-engine, 5 jet, 1 helicopter and 1 glider aircraft. CWA has T-hangars for lease, or an individual or corporation can construct their own

hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

. The airport is home to a maintenance base for Endeavor Air which operates on behalf of

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 world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along ...

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 ...

History

Central Wisconsin Airport opened in 1969 as a centralized commercial airport between Wausau and Stevens Point which each had their own commercial airfields prior to that time.

North Central Airlines North Central Airlines was a regional airline in the Midwestern United States. Founded as Wisconsin Central Airlines in 1944 in Clintonville, Wisconsin, the company moved to Madison in 1947. This is also when the "Herman the duck" logo was bo ...

served the new airport with flights to Chicago, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis/St. Paul, some flights making stops at other cities within Wisconsin. North Central previously served Wausau and Stevens Point individually and was able to upgrade their service from prop aircraft to

Douglas DC-9 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas. After ...

jets with the opening of CWA. North Central merged with Southern Airlines to become Republic Airlines in 1979 which was then merged into

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 ...

in 1986. Northwest merged into

in 2010 which continues to serve CWA by way of feeder carriers operating as

. After airline deregulation was passed in 1978, several other carriers including

Skyway Airlines Skyway Airlines was an American ramp and aircraft ground handling services and catering company based in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Until April 5, 2008, it operated as a regional airline and banner carrier exclusively for Midwest Express Airlines (whic ...

, operating on behalf of

Midwest Express Midwest Airlines (formerly Midwest Express) was a U.S.-based airline headquartered in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, that operated from Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport between 1984 and 2010. For a short time, it also operated as a brand of ...

, have served CWA.

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

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

also began new service to Chicago by way of their feeder carriers operating as

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 ...

and

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 ...

. American Eagle and Delta Connection continue to serve the airport. In 1997, the terminal was modernized with five new gates, and the highway access was reconstructed. On September 1, 2012, the airport began a $10 million modernization program, moving the security checkpoints and enlarging the ticket counters to lower passenger congestion. The airport gained a geothermal energy system that reduces utility bills, providing all but 20% of its heating and cooling requirements.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Statistics

Cargo operations

Ground transportation

As of 2023, there is no public transit service to the airport. Metro Ride serves the Wausau area, however, no service is provided to the airport.

References

External links

Central Wisconsin Airport
official site * page from the Wisconsin DOT Airport Directory * * {{List of airports Airports in Wisconsin Buildings and structures in Marathon County, Wisconsin