Gunnison–Crested Butte Regional Airport is a county-owned, public airport one mile southwest of Gunnison, in Gunnison County, Colorado, United States. Also known as Gunnison County Airport, it serves the valley and nearby Crested Butte, Colorado, with airline and general aviation flights.
This airport is in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which called it a primary commercial service airport (more than 10,000 enplanements per year). Federal Aviation Administration records say it had 36,035 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008, 42,130 in 2009 and 37,316 in 2010.
Passengers at Gunnison are mainly vacationers coming to the area for year-round outdoor activities, such as skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, mountain biking, fishing, rafting, hiking and camping. The terminal is one large building with two jetbridge gates, two ground-level gates, and a variety of rental car or shuttle bus companies. One baggage claim area in the lower lobby level houses a single carousel and a dedicated ski/oversize baggage slide. The airport sees limited regional jet service during the summer months from Denver on United Express; however, seasonal service flown with mainline jetliners is operated during the winter months from other cities such as Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston.
It is at at an elevation of 7680 feet or 2341 meters above mean sea level. U.S. 50 runs along the northwest side of the airport. Its close location is due in part to redevelopment of land formerly occupied by the Denver & Rio Grande narrow gauge railroad and rail yards, abandoned in 1953. Currecanti Recreation Area and Blue Mesa Reservoir is located nine miles West of Gunnison. Also nearby is the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Taylor Reservoir, and Roaring Judy fish hatchery. Numerous ghost towns and scenic drives are located throughout the region as well.
In the months after the September 11 attacks, Gunnison–Crested Butte Regional Airport was one of several airports to have a temporary presence of the National Guard.
Historical airline service
Monarch Airlines (1946-1950) was serving Gunnison by the late 1940s. Monarch was then merged with two other airlines to form the original Frontier Airlines (1950-1986) which in 1950 was operating Douglas DC-3 service on a round trip routing of Denver - Pueblo, CO - Canon City, CO/Florence, CO - Gunnison, CO - Montrose, CO - Grand Junction, CO several times a day. By 1967, Frontier was operating nonstop service to Denver and Montrose as well as direct one stop service to Grand Junction with Convair 580 turboprops. Two airlines were serving Gunnison in 1979: Frontier with nonstop service from Denver and Montrose, and Aspen Airways with nonstop service from Denver and Durango, CO with both air carriers operating Convair 580 turboprops. By 1981, Trans-Colorado Airlines was operating nonstop flights from Denver with Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner commuter propjets while Frontier was continuing to operate Convair 580 service nonstop from Denver and Montrose.