Del Rio International Airport is two miles northwest of Del Rio, in

Val Verde County, Texas Val Verde County is a county located on the southern Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population is 47,586. Its county seat is Del Rio. In 1936, Val Verde County received Recorded Texas Historic Landmark number 5625 to co ...

, United States. It is used 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 ...

, and, being near

Laughlin Air Force Base Laughlin Air Force Base is a facility of the United States Air Force located east of Del Rio, Texas. Overview Laughlin AFB, the largest pilot training base in the US Air Force, is home to the 47th Flying Training Wing of the Air Education an ...

, it is often used by

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, 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 ...

students.

Facilities

The airport covers 268 acres (108 ha) at an elevation of 1,002 feet (305 m). Its single runway, 13/31, is 6,300 by 100 feet (1,920 x 30 m) asphalt. In 2010 the airport had 15,357 aircraft operations, an average of 42 per day: 83%

, 9% airline, and 8%

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) ...

. 42 aircraft were then based at the airport: 79% single-engine, 12% multi-engine, and 9%

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 ...

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 ...

records say the airport had 16,028 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008, 13,436 in 2009, and 13,180 in 2010. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a ''primary commercial service'' airport (more than 10,000 enplanements per year). The airport is owned by the City of Del Rio. A seven-member airport advisory board, appointed by the City Council, monitors the development and operations of the airport. The terminal has counter space to accommodate two airlines, but is currently only served by twice-daily

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 ...

service operated by regional partner SkyWest Airlines on their 65-seat Canadair CRJ 700 aircraft. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Air Patrol Unit has a station at the airport. The city is working on a 2,500 feet expansion of the runway, when completed will have a total of 8,800 feet. The runway expansion is due to Laughlin AFB future arrivals of the new Boeing T-7A Red Hawks training jets which will also utilize the airport for training. FedEx has a shipping center on the north boundary of the airport. They serve Del Rio with four Cessna 208 Caravans with daily service to San Antonio. Ameriflight operates Beechcraft 1900 with daily service to

San Antonio International Airport San Antonio International Airport is an international airport in San Antonio, Texas. It is in Uptown Central San Antonio, about north of Downtown. It has three runways and covers . Its elevation is above sea level. SAT averages 260 daily dep ...

on behalf of

United Parcel Service United Parcel Service (UPS, stylized as ups) is an American multinational shipping & receiving and supply chain management company founded in 1907. Originally known as the American Messenger Company specializing in telegraphs, UPS has grown t ...

. Major air cargo companies provide weekly service between Del Rio and Detroit, Michigan for automotive part manufacturers in Ciudad Acuña and Piedras Negras, Mexico. The following jets are utilized for the Del Rio route: Ameristar (DC-9), USA Jet (MD-83 and DC-9), IFL Group Cargo (Boeing 727-200), and Kalitta Air (Boeing 737-300 and DC-9).

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo service

Former service

For four or five years starting in 1949

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 An airline is a company that p ...

Douglas DC-3s flew from Del Rio to El Paso, Houston, San Antonio, and other Texas cities, but they used Val Verde County Airport east of town. That airport closed in 1959–60. The first airline at the present airport was Wild Goose Airlines in 1964, on their flights between Eagle Pass and San Antonio. Davies/Quastler says they flew Aztecs. Between May and November 2017 Texas Sky Airlines, operated by

Contour Aviation Contour Aviation (legally Corporate Flight Management, Inc. d.b.a. Contour Aviation) is a multifaceted aviation services company based in Smyrna, Tennessee, USA. It started operations in 1982 as an on-demand charter service for passengers and fre ...

, scheduled a daily

British Aerospace Jetstream The British Aerospace Jetstream is a small twin-turboprop airliner, with a pressurised fuselage, developed as the ''Jetstream 31'' from the earlier Handley Page Jetstream. A larger version of the Jetstream was also manufactured, the Britis ...

between Del Rio International Airport and

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport , also known as DFW Airport, is the primary international airport serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and the North Texas Region in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest hub for American Ai ...

. From June 7, 2012, until April 2013

ExpressJet ExpressJet Airlines was a regional U.S. airline headquartered in College Park, Georgia. The company originally operated as a contracted codeshare partner, flying under the American Eagle, Delta Connection and United Express brands at variou ...

(

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 ...

)

Embraer ERJ-145 The Embraer ERJ family (for Embraer Regional Jet, model names EMB-135, EMB-140 and EMB-145) are regional jets designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace company Embraer. The family includes the ERJ135 (37 passengers), ERJ140 (44 passenger ...

s served Del Rio, flying 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 ...

. The route previously used turboprops.

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 oper ...

had served Del Rio before the merger of Continental Airlines with United Airlines. The Continental Connection service nonstop to Houston Intercontinental was flown by

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 ...

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.February 2007 OAG Worldwide Flight Guide Other commuter airlines at Del Rio included

Lone Star Airlines Lone Star Airlines was an American regional airline that operated both domestic and international flights. For much of the airline's life its headquarters were located in the Fort Worth Stockyards in Fort Worth, Texas. The airline's largest hub w ...

(which also operated as

Aspen Mountain Air Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, ...

), Texas National Airlines, Alamo Commuter Airlines, Amistad Airlines, and Wise Airlines.

References

External links

Airport page
at City of Del Rio website
Pico Aviation
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 February 2002
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 pro ...

'' *
{{Authority control Airports in Texas Buildings and structures in Val Verde County, Texas Transportation in Val Verde County, Texas 1937 establishments in Texas Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Texas USAAF Contract Flying School Airfields Airports established in 1937