California Redwood Coast – Humboldt County Airport , also known as Arcata–Eureka Airport and Arcata Airport, is in

Humboldt County, California Humboldt County () is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 136,463. The county seat is Eureka, California, Eureka. Humboldt County compri ...

, United States, north of

Arcata Arcata (; ; ) is a city adjacent to the Arcata Bay (northern) portion of Humboldt Bay in Humboldt County, California, United States. At the 2020 census, Arcata's population was 18,857. Arcata was first founded in 1850 as Union, was officially ...

and north of

Eureka Eureka often refers to: * Eureka (word), a famous exclamation attributed to Archimedes * Eureka effect, the sudden, unexpected realization of the solution to a problem Eureka or Ureka may also refer to: History * Eureka Rebellion, an 1854 g ...

, in

McKinleyville McKinleyville (formerly Minorsville) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Humboldt County, California. McKinleyville is located north of Arcata, at an elevation of . The population was 15,177 at the 2010 census, up from 13,599 at the time of t ...

. The

National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) is an inventory of U.S. aviation infrastructure assets. With the Airport and Airway Improvement Act of September 3, 1982, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was required to develop a ...

for 2011–2015 categorized it as a ''Nonhub primary commercial service'' airport. The airport is a federally designated port of entry for civil aircraft arriving in the United States. The airport is the site of the command center for and primary facilities of the United States

Coast Guard Air Station Humboldt Bay Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Humboldt Bay is a United States Coast Guard Air Stations, United States Coast Guard Air Station and Sector, with command and primary assets located at the Arcata-Eureka Airport in McKinleyville, California, 16 mil ...

, which provides rescue and law enforcement for the region north of the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

History

The airport was built by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during World War II to test defogging systems. It operated in support of the

Naval Air Station Alameda Naval Air Station Alameda (NAS Alameda) was a United States Navy Naval Air Station mostly in Alameda, California, with a slight portion of it within San Francisco proper, on San Francisco Bay. NAS Alameda had two runways: 13–31 measuring and ...

as the Arcata Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) and was headquarters for the Eureka section of naval local defense forces for the

12th Naval District United States Naval Districts is a system created by the United States Navy to organize military facilities, numbered sequentially by geographic region, for the operational and administrative control of naval bases and shore commands in the Unit ...

. In December

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

Southwest Airways Pacific Air Lines was a local service carrier on the West Coast of the United States that began scheduled passenger flights in the mid-1940s under the name Southwest Airways. The company linked small cities in California with larger cities such ...

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the 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 ...

made the world's first blind landing by a scheduled commercial airliner using

Ground-Controlled Approach In aviation, a ground-controlled approach (GCA) is a type of service provided by air-traffic controllers whereby they guide aircraft to a safe landing, including in adverse weather conditions, based on primary radar images. Most commonly, a GCA u ...

(GCA) radar, Instrument Landing System (ILS) and Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation (FIDO) oil-burners next to the runway. By the following year the airline had made 1,200 routine instrument landings at the often fog-shrouded airport.

Facilities

The airport covers at an elevation of . It has two asphalt runways: 14/32 is and 01/19 is . The airport is under the jurisdiction of the California Coastal Commission and major changes to the airport such as rezoning or fencing in the airport require its approval. The approach path for runway 32 passes over Central Avenue. The glare of the strobe lights that direct planes to the runway were a hazard for drivers, especially during rain when the strobes' intensity increased and the road reflected the blinking lights. Baffles were installed on the strobes which block the lights from shining on the road while still guiding aircraft.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Statistics

In the year period ending May 31, 2019, the airport had 42,174 aircraft operations, average 116 per day: 61% military, 25%

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

, and 14% airline. 24 aircraft at the time were based at the airport: 18 single-engine, 3 multi-engine, and 3 helicopters.

Top destinations

Annual traffic

Current airline service

Scheduled flights are currently operated by

SkyWest Airlines SkyWest Airlines is an American regional airline headquartered in St. George, Utah. SkyWest operates and maintains aircraft used on flights that are scheduled, marketed and sold by four partner Mainline (air travel), mainline airlines. The comp ...

flying as

United Express United Express is a regional airline network that supports United Airlines operations, primarily by serving smaller cities and connecting traffic to United's main hubs. Representing six percent of United's total capacity for 2024, United Express ...

on a

code sharing A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...

basis on behalf of

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

with three or four nonstop flights per day to SFO on

Canadair Canadair Ltd. was a Canadian civil and military aircraft manufacturer that operated from 1944 to 1986. In 1986, its assets were acquired by Bombardier Aerospace, the aviation division of Canadian transport conglomerate Bombardier Inc. Canadai ...

CRJ-200 and

Embraer 175 The Embraer E-Jet family is a series of four-abreast, narrow-body, short- to medium-range, twin-engined jet airliners designed and produced by Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer. The E-Jet was designed to complement Embraer’s earlier ...

regional jets as well one nonstop flight per day to both

LAX A lax is a salmon. LAX as an acronym most commonly refers to Los Angeles International Airport in Southern California, United States. LAX or Lax may also refer to: Places Within Los Angeles * Union Station (Los Angeles), Los Angeles' main tr ...

and Denver International Airport. SkyWest Airlines also operated American Eagle service from the airport via a code sharing agreement on behalf of

American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...

with nonstop flights to the American hub in Phoenix (PHX) operated with Canadair CRJ-700 regional jets. The service started June 3, 2021, and ended August 15, 2022. Daily nonstop service to Denver International Airport (DEN) began on June 7, 2019. Service has increased significantly since 2015, with five new destinations (

, DEN, BUR, PHX, & LAS), and passenger departures have increased 56%. On May 19, 2021, new nonstop scheduled passenger service to Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR) operated by

Avelo Airlines Avelo Airlines, Inc. () is an American ultra-low cost airline headquartered in Houston, Texas. It previously operated charter flights as ''Casino Express Airlines'' and ''Xtra Airways'' before transitioning to scheduled operations and rebrandi ...

was initiated with

Boeing 737-800 The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a twinjet, twin-engine narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third-generation derivative of the Boeing 737, it ha ...

mainline jetliners which are currently the largest aircraft type serving the airport. Avelo added service to Las Vegas

Harry Reid International Airport Harry Reid International Airport , formerly known as McCarran International Airport, is the primary international airport serving the Las Vegas Valley, a metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Nevada. It is located south of downtown Las Vega ...

in November 2021. The service ended on May 2, 2022, resumed on September 8, 2023, and ended again January 8, 2024. On November 9, 2021, new nonstop scheduled service to Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO) operated by Aha! Airlines was initiated with Embrear 145s. Aha! ended service to Reno on March 30, 2022. In August 2022,

Alaska Airlines Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is the fifth-largest airline in North America when measured by scheduled passengers carried, as of 2024. Alaska, togethe ...

announced a possible reintroduction of service to Seattle Tacoma International Airport or

Portland International Airport Portland International Airport is a joint civil–military airport and the largest airport in the U.S. state of Oregon, accounting for 90% of the state's passenger air travel and more than 95% of its air cargo. It is within Portland's city li ...

. On October 20, 2022, the airline cited a potential delay due to the ongoing pilot shortage.

Past airline service

ACV was previously served by several airlines. * Eureka Aero (mid-1970s) (Eureka, Crescent City) * Air Oregon (early 1980s) (

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

Portland, OR Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

Medford, OR Medford is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Oregon, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census on April 1, 2020, the city had a total population of 85,824, making it the List of cities in Oregon, eighth-most populo ...

Eugene, OR Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. The se ...

, North Bend, OR) * American Eagle ( San Jose) *

Pacific Air Lines Pacific Air Lines was a local service carrier on the West Coast of the United States that began scheduled passenger flights in the mid-1940s under the name Southwest Airways. The company linked small cities in California with larger cities such ...

and predecessor

(

) *

Pacific Southwest Airlines Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) was a low-cost carrier, low-cost US airline headquartered in San Diego, California, that operated from 1949 to 1988. It was the first substantial scheduled low-cost carrier, discount airline. PSA called itself "Th ...

(PSA) (San Francisco) * Horizon Air (from 1994 to 2011) ( Redding,

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and briefly

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

) *

Delta Connection Delta Connection is a brand name under which Delta Air Lines has air service agreements with domestic regional air carriers that feed traffic to their network by serving passengers primarily in small and medium-sized cities in the domestic mark ...

(2008–2010) operated by SkyWest Airlines (

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

) *

Hughes Airwest Hughes Air Corporation, doing business as Hughes Airwest, was a local service carrier from 1970 to 1980 in the Western United States. It was backed by Howard Hughes' Summa Corporation. Its original name in 1968 was Air West and the air carr ...

and predecessor

Air West Air West is an airline based in Khartoum, Sudan. It operates domestic passenger services and international cargo charters. Its main base is Khartoum International Airport, with a hub at Sharjah International Airport. This airline has no connect ...

(Crescent City, Medford, San Francisco,

Eugene Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gene Eugene, stage name of Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musi ...

, Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle) *

Republic Airlines (1979–1986) Republic Airlines was an airline in the United States that operated from 1979 until it merged with Northwest Airlines in 1986. Republic was formed by the merger of North Central Airlines and Southern Airways on July 1, 1979. Their headquar ...

(San Francisco and other destinations) *

(San Francisco) *

WestAir WestAir Commuter Airlines (IATA:OE, VB/ICAO WCA, SDU), was a U.S.-based regional airline formed when Stol Air Commuter changed its name in 1978 to WestAir Airlines; it was renamed WestAir Commuter Airlines in 1986. One of the founders was Maur ...

operating as United Express (San Francisco) * Arcata Flying Service (early 1980s) (Redding, Portland, and

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

). * In 2016 and part of 2017, PenAir offered service to Portland International (PDX) and Redding (RDD) with 30 passenger

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 ...

s. *

started flights to

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is a civil-military public international airport east of downtown Phoenix, in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is Arizona's largest and busiest airport; among the largest commercial airports ...

on June 3, 2021, but ended them on August 15, 2022. * Aha Airlines also started flights to Reno-Tahoe International Airport on November 11, 2021, but ended on March 30, 2022.

Past jet service

flew

Boeing 727-100 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavier 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airp ...

s nonstop to San Francisco and direct to Burbank. *

(PSA) flew

BAe 146-200 The British Aerospace 146 (also BAe 146) is a short-haul and regional airliner that was manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2001. Avro International Aerospace manu ...

s nonstop to San Francisco and direct to Los Angeles. *

(operating

service as United Express on behalf of United Airlines) flew

s nonstop to San Francisco. *

flew

Boeing 737-200 The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retained the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating ...

s to San Francisco. *

SkyWest SkyWest Airlines is an American regional airline headquartered in St. George, Utah. SkyWest operates and maintains aircraft used on flights that are scheduled, marketed and sold by four partner mainline airlines. The company is contracted by ...

(operating code sharing service as the

on behalf of

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, operating nine hubs, with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being its ...

) flew Canadair CRJ-200s to Salt Lake City. *

(previously Air West) flew

Douglas DC-9-10 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast, single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced as the Douglas DC-9 prior to August 1967, after which point the company had merged with McDonnell ...

s and

McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast, single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced as the Douglas DC-9 prior to August 1967, after which point the company had merged with McDonnell A ...

s nonstop to San Francisco and direct to Los Angeles, Phoenix, Tucson, Portland, OR and Seattle. At one point, Hughes Airwest DC-9s flew direct, no change of plane DC-9 service to Mazatlán and Guadalajara via San Francisco, Los Angeles and Tucson. Predecessor Air West operated

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 as the Douglas DC-9 prior to August 1967, after which point the company had merged with McDonnell ...

-10s and

s nonstop to San Francisco. *

Republic Airlines Republic Airlines was an airline in the United States that operated from 1979 until it merged with Northwest Airlines in 1986. Republic was formed by the merger of North Central Airlines and Southern Airways on July 1, 1979. Their headquar ...

, which was the successor to Hughes Airwest, operated McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s nonstop to San Francisco with direct, no change of plane DC-9 service to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson, Memphis and Tampa during the early 1980s. The first jets scheduled to ACV were Pacific Air Lines Boeing 727-100s in 1967; Pacific also served ACV with

Fairchild F-27 The Fairchild F-27 and Fairchild Hiller FH-227 are versions of the Fokker F27 Friendship twin-engined, turboprop, passenger aircraft formerly manufactured under license by Fairchild Hiller in the United States. The Fairchild F-27 was similar to ...

turboprops.

Ground transportation

* The U.S. Route 101 freeway is accessible to the airport via the Arcata Airport exit. *

Amtrak Thruway Amtrak Thruway is a system of through-ticketed transportation services to connect passengers with areas not served by Amtrak trains. In most cases these are dedicated motorcoach routes, but can also be non-dedicated intercity bus services, transi ...

: Dedicated Express Service to Martinez connecting with Amtrak California's '' San Joaquin'' and ''

Capitol Corridor The ''Capitol Corridor'' is a passenger train route in Northern California operated by Amtrak between San Jose, California, San Jose, in the Bay Area, and Auburn, California, Auburn, in the Sacramento Valley. The route is named after the two ...

'' trains. * Redwood Transit System * Door-to-door airport shuttle Service, taxis, and rental cars can be arranged at the airport.

Other local airports

* Eureka Municipal Airport * Kneeland Airport *

Murray Field Murray Field is a county-owned public airport, located adjacent to Humboldt Bay within Eureka, California in Humboldt County. Most of its use is general aviation, but UPS flights stop for package delivery. History Murray Field was establis ...

* Rohnerville Airport

References

External links

Official Page

Humboldt County: Aviation

Aerial image as of April 1989
from

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an government agency, agency of the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geograp ...

The National Map ''The National Map'' is a Collaboration, 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 eff ...

'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arcata-Eureka Airport Airports in Humboldt County, California Eureka, California 1940s establishments in California Airports established in the 1940s Closed installations of the United States Navy