Garden City Regional Airport KS 2006 USGS

Garden City Regional Airport is nine miles southeast of Garden City, in Finney County, Kansas, United States. It sees one scheduled airline, subsidized by the federal government's

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 ...

program at a cost of $2,919,026 (per year). The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2021–2025 categorized it as a ''primary commercial service'' airport.

History

During World War II 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 ...

used Garden City Airport as a training airfield by the

Army Air Forces Flying Training Command An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, Gulf Coast Training Center. The facility was called Garden City Army Airfield. The main Garden City Army Airfield and its auxiliaries closed in November 1945 and were declared excess by the military on 18 May 1947. Civil authorities developed the main airfield into Garden City Regional Airport. Continental DC-3s landed at GCK from about 1946 until replaced by Central in 1961; successor Frontier's Convairs left in 1977. Earlier, Continental had landed at the old municipal airport three miles east of town. Garden City Regional Airport's status as former Garden City AAF made it important during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. When orders were dispatched to ground all domestic flights, three large jets were told to land at GCRA, the closest airport large enough for them. The airport had no stairs for large airliners and the passengers had to be evacuated by Garden City Fire Department ladder trucks.Story about the 9/11 landings from the Garden City Telegram's web site
/ref> In December 2011 the EAS program awarded

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 ...

two daily non-stop flights to Dallas-Fort Worth.

Facilities

The airport covers 1,848 acres (748 ha) at an elevation of 2,891 feet (881 m). It has two concrete runways: 17/35 is 7,299 by 100 feet (2,225 x 30 m) and 12/30 is 5,700 by 100 feet (1,737 x 30 m). In the year ending June 30, 2020 the airport had 15,003 aircraft operations, an average of 41 per day: 79%

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 ...

, 20% air taxi and 1% military. In December 2021, 62 aircraft were based at this airport: 53 single-engine, 5 multi-engine and 4 jet.

Airline and destination

Statistics

References

Other sources

* Essential Air Service documents
Docket DOT-OST-1998-3503
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 2009-9-5 (September 11, 2009)
re-selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd., to provide essential air service (EAS) at Dodge City, Garden City, Great Bend, Hays, and Liberal for the two-year period from October 1, 2009, through September 30, 2011, at combined annual subsidy rates of $8,897,565. ''Garden City, Kansas: Docket OST-1998-3503; Effective Period: Start of Denver-Only service through September 30, 2011; Scheduled Service: 30 nonstop round trips per week to Denver; Aircraft: Beech 1900, 19 seats.'' *
Order 2011-10-24 (October 31, 2011)
selecting American Eagle Airlines to provide essential air service (EAS) at Garden City for $2,919,026 annual subsidy. Effective Period: Two year period beginning when American Eagle begins full EAS through the 24th month thereafter. Service: 14 nonstop round trips per week to Dallas. Aircraft: Embraer Regional Jet. *
Order 2014-3-9 (March 14, 2014)
selecting American Airlines to provide Essential Air Service (EAS) at Garden City, Kansas. ''Garden City, Kansas: Docket 1998-3503; Effective Period: May 1, 2014, through July 31, 2016; Service: Fourteen (14) nonstop round trips per week to Dallas (DFW); Aircraft Type: 44-seat or larger Regional Jet; Annual Subsidy: $1,445,172.''

External links

* * from Kansas DOT Airport Directory
Aerial image as of September 1991
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 Kansas Essential Air Service Buildings and structures in Finney County, Kansas Airports established in 1942 1942 establishments in Kansas