Lewiston–Nez Perce County Airport is a public airport in the

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, in north-central

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

. Owned by the city of Lewiston and Nez Perce County, it is in an elevated area of the city south of downtown, approximately above the

Snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

and Clearwater rivers. 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 ''primary commercial service'' airport.

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

records indicate the airport had 64,379 passenger boardings (enplanements) in

calendar year A calendar year begins on the New Year's Day of the given calendar system and ends on the day before the following New Year's Day, and thus consists of a whole number of days. The Gregorian calendar year, which is in use as civil calendar in ...

2008, 62,210 in 2009, and 61,737 in 2010.

History

Dedicated in 1928, the airport began as a Chamber of Commerce project in 1931, and the original runway was paved in 1942. Jet service arrived in October 1969 after the completion of the The

air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...

tower, southeast of the terminal, was commissioned in Zimmerly Air Transport began scheduled service in 1944 at Lewiston, flying intrastate routes in

Cessna Airmaster The Cessna Airmaster, is a family of single-engined aircraft manufactured by the Cessna Aircraft Company. The Airmaster played an important role in the revitalization of Cessna in the 1930s after the crash of the aviation industry during the Gre ...

s, and then became Empire Airlines in 1946, and moved to

Boeing 247 The Boeing Model 247 is an early American airliner, and one of the first such aircraft to incorporate advances such as all-metal ( anodized aluminum) semimonocoque construction, a fully cantilevered wing, and retractable landing gear.

prop aircraft. Two years later it changed to larger

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 ...

prop aircraft, and was then acquired by

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 ...

's West Coast Airlines in 1952. Lewiston was served by West Coast's

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 ...

turboprop A turboprop is a Gas turbine, gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft Propeller (aeronautics), propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction drive, reduction gearbox, gas compressor, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propellin ...

s in the 1960s. West Coast then merged with Bonanza Air Lines and Pacific Air Lines to form Air West in

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

; the San Francisco–based airline was subsequently acquired by

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American Aerospace engineering, aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, and investor. He was The World's Billionaires, one of the richest and most influential peo ...

in April

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

, and was soon renamed Hughes Airwest. Early jet service was flown by Hughes Airwest Douglas DC-9-10s 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 and later by Cascade Airways

BAC One-Eleven The BAC One-Eleven (BAC-111, BAC 1-11) is a retired early jet airliner produced by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Conceived by Hunting Aircraft as a 30-seat jet, before its merger into BAC in 1960, it was launched as an 80-seat airl ...

s, supplemented with turboprop aircraft operated by both airlines. Hughes Airwest merged into Republic Airlines in October

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

, which then subsequently cut back its jet service in Idaho and elsewhere in the western U.S. According to its August 1, 1982 system timetable, Republic was operating just two daily departures from the airport, both with Douglas DC-9-10 jets, with nonstop service to

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...

(GEG) with this flight continuing on direct to

(SEA) as well as nonstop service to

Boise Boise ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Located on the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and nor ...

(BOI) with this flight operating direct no change of plane service to Twin Falls, ID (TWF),

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 ...

(SLC) and Burbank, CA (BUR) in the

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, ...

area. Republic's final flight to Lewiston was in September 1982, and the airline ended its southern Idaho and eastern Washington service the following April. Cascade, based in

, served Lewiston from 1973, until it ceased operations in 1986. According to the

Official Airline Guide OAG is a global travel data provider with headquarters in the UK. The company was founded in 1929 and operates in the United States, Singapore, Japan, Lithuania and China. It has a large network of flight information data including schedules, ...

(OAG), Cascade was operating international service of a sorts into the airport in early 1985 with a direct flight once a week from

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

via an intermediate stop in

. The short-lived Gem State Airlines of Coeur d'Alene served Lewiston for eleven months, until November 1979. Mountain West Airlines of

served Lewiston for less than three months before folding in early March 1981. Big Sky Airlines of Billings briefly served Lewiston in 1979. All three commuter air carriers operated turboprop aircraft into the airport. Adjacent to the west, Bryden Canyon municipal

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

was built in the early 1970s, and opened in March 1975. Just west of runway 8/26 is the private Lewiston Country Club, which moved to the site in 1974 with a new 18-hole course. Its previous nine-hole course of 1927, nearby to the north and west of Bryden Canyon, was closed and later developed into residential housing. In the mid-1970s, a regional airport for the Quad Cities (Lewiston– Clarkston,

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

– Pullman) was explored, but the city council of Lewiston withdrew its support of the study in October 1974. The Pullman–Moscow airport is about north.

Airline service in 1975

According to the

(OAG), the only airline serving Lewiston in the spring of 1975 was Hughes Airwest with four daily jet flights, three operated with the

and one operated with the smaller Douglas DC-9-10, with nonstop service from

(BOI) and

(GEG), one stop service from

(SLC),

(SEA) and Twin Falls, ID (TWF), and direct no change of plane service from the

John Wayne Airport John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

(SNA) in

Orange County, CA Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 3,186,989, making ...

as well as direct from Phoenix (PHX) and

Tucson Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

(TUS) in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Airline service in 1985

The

lists two airlines serving Lewiston in early 1985 including Cascade Airways operating

British Aircraft Corporation The British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) was a British aircraft manufacturer formed from the government-pressured merger of English Electric, English Electric Aviation Ltd., Vickers-Armstrongs, Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft), the Bristol Aeroplane ...

jets and

Beechcraft 1900C The Beechcraft 1900 is a U.S made 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 customers favoring ...

turboprops with nonstop service from Boise (BOI), Pasco, WA (PSC),

Pullman, WA Pullman is the most populous city in Whitman County, located in southeastern Washington within the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. The population was 32,901 at the 2020 census, and estimated to be 32,508 in 2022. Originally founded as ...

(PUW), Seattle (SEA), Spokane (GEG)

Walla Walla, WA Walla Walla ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,339 as of 2023. The combined population of the city and its tw ...

(ALW) and

Yakima Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, United States, and the state's 11th most populous city. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The ...

(YKM), and Horizon Air operating as an independent air carrier with nonstop

Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner The Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner (previously the Swearingen Metro and later Fairchild Aerospace Metro) is a 19-seat, Cabin pressurization, pressurized, twin-turboprop airliner first produced by Sino Swearingen Aircraft Corporation, Swearingen ...

turboprop service from Boise (BOI) Pasco (PSC), Pullman (PUW), Seattle (SEA) and Spokane (GEG). The OAG lists a combined total of 20 flights every weekday operated by the two airlines into the airport at this time primarily flown with small commuter propjet aircraft. In addition, the OAG lists only one Cascade Airways BAC One-Eleven jet flight a day into the airport at this time which was a direct one stop service from Seattle via an intermediate stop in Pasco.

Airline service in 1995

According to the

, two airlines were serving Lewiston in the spring of 1995 including Empire Airlines (which was based in Coeur d'Alene, ID at the time and is currently based in Hayden, ID) with this commuter air carrier operating

turboprops on nonstop flights from Boise (BOI) and Coeur d'Alene (COE), and Horizon Air operating

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 ...

service on behalf of

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 ...

with de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8 and Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner turboprops with nonstop flights from Boise (BOI),

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, ...

(PDX), Pullman (PUW) and Seattle (SEA). The OAG lists a combined total of 27 flights every weekday operated by the two airlines into the airport at this time, all flown with propjet aircraft.

Facilities

The airport covers at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

of . It has two

asphalt Asphalt most often refers to: * Bitumen, also known as "liquid asphalt cement" or simply "asphalt", a viscous form of petroleum mainly used as a binder in asphalt concrete * Asphalt concrete, a mixture of bitumen with coarse and fine aggregates, u ...

runways: 8/26 is and 12/30 is . In the year ending January 1, 2012, the airport had 35,425 aircraft operations, average 97 per day: 77%

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 ...

, 13%

air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. History The concept of air taxis existed as early as the 1910s. This concept goes back as early as 1917 with Glenn Curtiss’ prototype, the auto-plane. Furthermor ...

, 8% airline and 2% military. 145 aircraft were then based at the airport: 81% single-engine, 10%

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

, 8% multi-engine, and 1% jet.

Incidents

On September 17, 2021, a

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 ...

owned by

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 ...

tipped over at LWS when deboarding the aircraft. Passengers were deboarding from the back of the plane, but the aircraft lacked a tail-stand for the back of the plane. The additional weight from the passengers caused the plane to tip.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

Horizon Air served Lewiston from March 1983 to August 2018 with scheduled passenger flights initially as an independent air carrier and later via a

agreement on behalf of

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 ...

started service to Lewiston in June 1996 as

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 ...

but only for a year, and then returned with Delta Connection service in January 2005. According to the Flight Aware website, SkyWest currently operates

passenger service from the airport as the

with Embraer 175 regional jets 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 ...

Top destinations

:http://www.transtats.bts.gov/airports.asp?pn=1&Airport=LWS&Airport_Name=Lewiston , ID: Lewiston Nez Perce County&carrier=FACTS

References

External links

*
Aerial image as of July 1996
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:Lewiston - Nez Perce County Airport Airports in Idaho Buildings and structures in Nez Perce County, Idaho Transportation in Nez Perce County, Idaho