Lea County Regional Airport (Lea County-Hobbs Airport) is four miles (6.4 km) west of Hobbs, in Lea County,

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

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., ...

. The airport covers and has three runways. It is an FAA certified commercial airport served by

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

' affiliate with daily regional flights. Lea County Regional Airport is the largest of the three airports owned and operated by Lea County Government. Lea County also owns and operates two general aviation airports in Lovington and

Jal, New Mexico Jal is a small city located in Lea County, New Mexico, United States. It is New Mexico's south-easternmost city, and shares a border with eastward state Texas. The population was 2,047 at the 2010 census. Jal is historically important in the natu ...

Facilities

The airport covers 898 acres (363 ha) and has three asphalt runways: * 3/21 – 7,398 × 150 ft (2,255 × 46 m) * 12/30 – 6,002 × 150 ft (1,829 × 46 m) * 17/35 – 4,998 × 100 ft (1,523 × 30 m) In the year ending April 7, 2010 the airport had 11,506 aircraft operations, average 32 per day: 81%

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 ...

, 18%

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) ...

and 1% military. 47 aircraft are based at this airport: 83% single-engine, 8% multi-engine, 8% jet, and 3% helicopter. The airport has one terminal for all arrivals and departures, and two FBOs, Tailwind Aviation and Christian Aero. The data below lists annual total aircraft operations from 2009 to 2013 from the FAA's air traffic activity system. The percent changes indicate an average of −13.93% in aircraft operations per year over these five years.

Airline and destinations

History

Me-Tex Airport opened on July 23, 1937, where the Hobbs golf course is now, next to Lea County Regional Airport. The Me-Tex Supply Company had leased land from the state and built oiled runways and a hangar at Me-Tex. In 1940, the city of Hobbs passed a bond issue to purchase some adjoining acreage, with the intent of bringing airline service and airmail delivery. Federal grants helped pay for paved runways and taxiways and a terminal building for Hobbs Municipal Airport, which opened during World War II.Max Clampitt Me-Tex Airport closed in 1946–47. Ownership of the airport was transferred from the city of Hobbs to Lea County on November 19, 1945 The terminal building was expanded in the late 2000s and another significant expansion occurred in the late 2010s.

Historical airline service

The first air mail arrived in Hobbs via

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 ...

in May 1940, and started passenger flights that year to

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding i ...

, El Paso,

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...

, and

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region wit ...

, each making several stops en route. Service was started using Lockheed Electras and Lodestars, later upgraded to

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 versi ...

s and

Convair 340 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 inro ...

s. As Hobbs was a crossroads on Continental's routes from Albuquerque to San Antonio and from El Paso to Tulsa in the 1950s, passengers were able to change planes at Hobbs between the two routes. In 1963, Continental Airlines was replaced by Trans-Texas Airways (TTa). Supplemental service was provided by Bison Airlines in 1963–64. TTa started with DC-3s but soon upgraded to Convair 600s. The name was later changed to Texas International Airlines (TI) and nonstop flights to

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

TX were occasionally operated. For a brief time in 1977/1978 the airline introduced

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 to Hobbs but reverted back to Convair 600s. TI's service ended in early 1979, being replaced by Crown Airlines with nonstop flights to Albuquerque and

Air Midwest Air Midwest, Inc., was a Federal Aviation Administration Part 121 certificated air carrier that operated under air carrier certificate number AMWA510A issued on May 15, 1965. It was headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, United States, and was a sub ...

to Albuquerque and

Lubbock Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...

. Crown Airlines flights ended about a year later and Air Midwest switched the Lubbock flights to Midland/Odessa, TX.

Mesa Airlines Mesa Airlines, Inc., is an American regional airline based in Phoenix, Arizona. It is an FAA Part 121–certificated air carrier operating under air carrier certificate number MASA036A issued on June 29, 1979. It is a subsidiary of Mesa Air ...

came to Hobbs in early 1984 with

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 ...

s to Albuquerque and Lubbock while Air Midwest left the city late that year. Mesa upgraded to

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 ...

s and was the main airline at Hobbs for over 22 years until they were replaced by New Mexico Airlines in 2007 operating 9-seat

Cessna 208 The Cessna 208 Caravan is a utility aircraft produced by Cessna. The project was commenced on November 20, 1981, and the prototype first flew on December 9, 1982. The production model was certified by the FAA in October 1984 and its Cargo ...

Caravans to Albuquerque, El Paso, and Midland/Odessa. The city was also briefly served by Permian Airways in 1979 with flights to El Paso and Midland/Odessa, and by

Big Sky Airlines Big Sky Airlines was an American commuter air carrier that operated from 1978 to 2008. Headquartered in Billings, Montana, United States. Big Sky was wholly owned by Big Sky Transportation Company, which in turn was a wholly owned subsidiary of ...

in 2000/2001 first with nonstop flights to Dallas/Ft. Worth but later a stop in Brownwood, TX was added. New Mexico Airlines left Hobbs in early 2011 and new nonstop service to Houston Bush Airport by

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 ...

began on July 1, 2011, using 50-seat

Embraer 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 ...

regional jets.

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.

in early 2012, changing the Hobbs flights to

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 ...

. The contract carrier operating as United Express switched from

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 ...

SkyWest Skywest may refer to: *SkyWest Airlines, an airline serving the United States, Canada and Mexico ** SkyWest, Inc., the parent company of SkyWest Airlines *Skywest Airlines, now operating as Virgin Australia Regional Airlines Virgin Australia ...

Airlines and began flights to

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

on October 27, 2019.Albuquerque Journal, August 6, 2019 The Denver flights were suspended in March of 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but were reinstated in October of 2021. All United Express flights were switched from SkyWest Airlines to

CommuteAir CommuteAir, operating as United Express, is a U.S. regional airline founded in 1989. Today, CommuteAir operates more than 1600 weekly flights to over 75 U.S. destinations and 3 in Mexico, with Embraer ERJ-145 aircraft, from its bases at Denver, ...

in mid-2022.

References

*
Lea County Regional Airport

External links