Colorado Springs Airport

City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (IATA: COS, ICAO: KCOS, FAA LID: COS), known as Colorado Springs Airport, is a city-owned public civil-military airport 6 miles (9.7 km) southeast of downtown Colorado Springs, in El Paso County, Colorado, United States.[2] It is the second busiest commercial service airport in the state after Denver International Airport. Peterson Space Force Base, which is located on the north side of runway 13/31, is a tenant of the airport.

City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
Owner/OperatorCity of Colorado Springs
ServesColorado Springs, Colorado
Elevation AMSL6,187 ft / 1,886 m
Coordinates38°48′21″N 104°42′03″W
WebsiteColorado Springs Airport
Maps

FAA airport diagram
COS
Location of airport in Colorado
COS
COS (the United States)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
17L/35R 13,501 4,115 Concrete
17R/35L 11,022 3,360 Asphalt
13/31 8,269 2,520 Asphalt
Statistics (2019)
Total passengers1,671,757
Aircraft operations135,431
Sources: Colorado Springs Airport[1]

History
Busy morning ramp

In 1927 the airport opened on 640 acres (260 ha) 7 miles (11 km) east of the city, with two gravel runways. For the first ten years several small airlines operated a mail route from Cheyenne, Wyoming to Pueblo, Colorado with stops at Denver and Colorado Springs. These airlines only occasionally carried passengers. In 1937, Continental Airlines began service between Denver and El Paso, Texas with stops at Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Las Vegas, New Mexico, Santa Fe, and Albuquerque. The first municipal terminal was built in 1942 in an art deco style. Soon after the terminal was built the field was taken over by the military in the months preceding World War II. After the war, the city regained control.

In 1966 a new terminal was built on the west side of the runways, just east of Powers Boulevard. This terminal expanded by the 1980s, with a six gate addition. By 1991 the airport had three 150-foot (46 m) wide runways, one 13,501 feet (4,115 m) long, making it the longest runway in Colorado until 16R/34L, a 16,000-foot (4,900 m) runway, opened at Denver International Airport in September 2003. In 1991 the city approved a new terminal, two miles east of the former terminal, in the south-center part of the airport. The 280,000-square-foot (26,000 m2) terminal opened on October 22, 1994 with 12 gates; it was designed by the Van Sant Group and cost $140 million. In the 1990s a second, five-gate concourse was added on the east side of the main terminal.

In 1996, the 1941 passenger terminal, two hangars, and a caretaker residence — by that time all located on Peterson Air Force Base — were inscribed on the National Register of Historic Places. They form the campus of the Peterson Air and Space Museum.[3][4]

From the 1980s to the present day, the airport has tried to expand service. The largest number of passengers was nearly 5 million in 1996 when now-defunct Western Pacific Airlines had a hub at COS (Western Pacific moved the hub to Denver International Airport in late 1996). Their timetable for 15 June shows 33 daily departures to 20 airports between the west coast and Newark and Washington Dulles. Frontier Airlines added and dropped various routes from Colorado Springs throughout the 2010s.[5] Southwest Airlines announced in October 2020 that they would begin serving the airport in 2021.[6] Southwest conducted their first flights from Denver International Airport to Colorado Springs and back on March 11, 2021.[7]

In May 2021, the airport began a pavement rehabilitation project, closing runway 17R/35L for remodeling. The upgrades include new asphalt, lighting, and navigation equipment.[8] The airport announced in November 2021 that the main concourse (gates 1–12) will undergo a $10–$20 million renovation and will be completed in 3 to 5 years.[9] The concourse was completed in 1994 and has not been renovated since then. The design has become outdated, prompting airport officials to renovate.

In March 2022, the Colorado Springs Airport released a plan to expand the airport, with plans to double the number of gates from 12 to 24, relocate the control tower, and consolidate other airport services.[10]

Facilities

The airport covers 7,200 acres (2,900 ha) and has three paved runways: 17L/35R, 13,501 ft × 150 ft (4,115 m × 46 m) long, 17R/35L, 11,022 ft × 150 ft (3,360 m × 46 m) and 13/31, 8,269 ft × 150 ft (2,520 m × 46 m).[2]

Location and access

The airport is located on the east side of Colorado Springs, accessible by Milton E. Proby Parkway via Powers Boulevard/SH 21. Milton E. Proby Parkway loops through the airport running north to the terminal, with exits to long and short term parking and rental car return, and eventually a split into an upper departures drop-off area and lower arrivals pick-up area east of the terminal. The road reconjoins on the west side of the terminal and runs south, joined by access roads, parking lot exits, and rental car exits. There is also an exit to return to the terminal via the northbound airport entrance.

Milton E. Proby Parkway also provides access to other airport facilities and tenants, including a Northrop Grumman building and an Amazon distribution center via Peak Innovation Parkway.

Powers Boulevard/SH 21, a primary expressway in El Paso County, runs east of the airport and provides easy access to general and private aviation hangers, maintenance facilities (including the SkyWest hangar), and FBOs (Cutter Aviation and jetCenter). The expressway also provides North-South access to the Colorado Springs and Falcon (via Highway 24) region.

Terminal and gate information

Colorado Springs Airport has one terminal with two concourses. However, only one, the larger concourse housing gates 1–12, has ever been put to commercial use; the second concourse (called the Western Pacific Airlines concourse) contains gates 14–18 (there is no gate 13) and is now mainly used for meetings. Access between the concourses requires leaving the secure area, walking through the main terminal and down a long hallway. There is no public access to these gates. With the announcement of the addition of 12 gates onto the existing terminal, the airport plans to demolish gates 14–18, as they are nearing the end of their useful life.[11]

Shuttles and buses

The airport is serviced by Colorado Springs' public transportation system, Mountain Metropolitan Transit. Service from private transportation, such as Groome Transportation, is also available.[12]

Rental vehicles

Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, and National Car Rental provide on-airport car rentals. The rental car check in counters are located on the lower level outside of the secured area, across from baggage claim.[13]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger
AirlinesDestinationsRefs
American Airlines Dallas/Fort Worth [14]
American Eagle Dallas/Fort Worth [14]
Delta Air Lines Atlanta (begins August 8, 2022)[15] [16]
Delta Connection Salt Lake City [16]
Frontier Airlines Las Vegas, Phoenix–Sky Harbor
Seasonal: Orlando		 [17]
Southwest Airlines Chicago–Midway, Dallas–Love, Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix–Sky Harbor
Seasonal: Houston–Hobby, San Antonio[18] 		[19]
United Airlines Chicago–O'Hare, Denver [20]
United Express Chicago–O'Hare, Denver, Houston–Intercontinental, Los Angeles [20]

Cargo
AirlinesDestinationsRefs
FedEx Express Memphis, Grand Junction, San Bernardino, Ontario

Statistics

Annual traffic
Annual passenger traffic at COS airport. See source Wikidata query.

Top destinations
Busiest domestic routes from COS
(January 2021 – December 2021)[21]
Rank City Passengers Carriers
1 Denver, Colorado 235,920 Southwest, United
2 Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas 125,330 American
3 Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Arizona 105,650 Frontier, Southwest
4 Las Vegas, Nevada 98,220 Frontier, Southwest
5 Dallas–Love, Texas 71,300 Southwest
6 Chicago, Illinois (O'Hare) 60,260 American, United
7 Chicago, Illinois (Midway) 47,130 Southwest
8 Salt Lake City, Utah 43,560 Delta
9 Houston–Intercontinental, Texas 38,230 United
10 Los Angeles, California 10,650 United

Airline market share
Largest airlines at COS (January 2021 – December 2021)[22]
Rank Airline Passengers Share
1 Southwest Airlines 665,000 35.46%
2 SkyWest Airlines 398,000 21.21%
3 American Airlines 352,000 18.76%
4 United Airlines 234,000 12.46%
5 Frontier Airlines 182,000 9.76%
6 Other (includes Delta Airlines) 44,910 2.40%

Accidents and incidents
  • On March 3, 1991, United Airlines Flight 585, a Boeing 737-291 flying from Peoria, Illinois, to Colorado Springs via Denver, crashed on final approach to Colorado Springs Runway 35 after a rudder malfunction caused the aircraft to roll over and dive, killing all 25 on board.
  • On December 21, 1997, a Beechcraft King Air operated by Aviation Charter flying in from Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport impacted terrain at Colorado Springs Airport in fog during a missed instrument landing system (ILS) approach. Both passengers on board were Northwest Airlines mechanics being flown in to repair a Northwest Airlines aircraft at COS. The pilot and one passenger were killed; the other passenger sustained serious injuries.[23]
  • On April 16, 2018, a fire broke out on the airport's roof. There were no casualties, but the event resulted in the airport being closed for a single day.[24]

See also

References
  1. Colorado Springs Airport, official website
  2. FAA Airport Form 5010 for COS PDF, effective December 30, 2021.
  3. Mehls, Steven F. (March 1, 1996), National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Original Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (PDF), retrieved February 21, 2018.
  4. National Park Service (November 22, 1996), Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 11/11/96 through 11/15/96, archived from the original on May 26, 2017, retrieved February 21, 2018.
  5. "Frontier cancels seasonal flights out of the Colorado Springs Airport". January 8, 2020.
  6. "Southwest Airlines Announces Initial Flight Schedules For Chicago O'Hare And Colorado Springs".
  7. Villanueva, Mia (2021-03-11). "Southwest Airlines touches down at the Colorado Springs Airport". KRDO. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  8. "Airfield Construction Projects". Colorado Springs. 2015-10-09. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  9. wayneh@gazette.com, Wayne Heilman. "Colorado Springs Airport planning major terminal renovation". Colorado Springs Gazette. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
  10. wayneh@gazette.com, Wayne Heilman. "Terminal addition, new control tower planned for Colorado Springs Airport". Colorado Springs Gazette. Retrieved 2022-03-26.
  11. wayneh@gazette.com, Wayne Heilman. "Terminal addition, new control tower planned for Colorado Springs Airport". Colorado Springs Gazette. Retrieved 2022-03-26.
  12. "Ground Transportation". Colorado Springs. 2015-10-13. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
  13. "Rental Cars". Colorado Springs. 2018-05-21. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
  14. "Flight schedules and notifications". Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  15. "Delta Air Lines to launch new nonstop service in southern Colorado". 15 March 2022.
  16. "FLIGHT SCHEDULES". Archived from the original on June 21, 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  17. "Frontier". Archived from the original on September 12, 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2017. "Frontier Airlines Now Offers Service to Orlando from COS". Archived from the original on September 23, 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  18. https://wieck-swa-production.s3.amazonaws.com/NovemberBaseScheduleExtension.pdf
  19. "Check Flight Schedules". Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  20. "Timetable". Archived from the original on January 28, 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  21. "RITA BTS Transtats - COS". www.transtats.bts.gov. December 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. "Colorado Springs, CO: Colorado Springs Airport (COS)". Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Retrieved 26 March 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  23. Accident description for N100BE at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on October 20, 2020.
  24. "Colorado Springs Airport cancels commercial flights after rooftop fire". Denver Post. April 17, 2018.
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