Lewiston–Nez Perce County Airport

Lewiston–Nez Perce County Airport
Terminal in March 2006
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner City of Lewiston &
Nez Perce County
Serves Lewiston-Clarkston metropolitan area
Elevation AMSL 1,442 ft / 440 m
Coordinates 46°22′28″N 117°00′55″W / 46.37444°N 117.01528°W / 46.37444; -117.01528Coordinates: 46°22′28″N 117°00′55″W / 46.37444°N 117.01528°W / 46.37444; -117.01528
Map
LWS
Location of airport in Idaho / western United States
LWS
LWS (USA West)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
8/26 6,511 1,985 Asphalt
12/30 5,002 1,525 Asphalt
Statistics (2015)
Aircraft operations 33,714
Based aircraft 145

Lewiston–Nez Perce County Airport (IATA: LWS[2], ICAO: KLWS, FAA LID: LWS) is in Lewiston, Idaho. Owned by the city and Nez Perce County,[1] it is in an elevated area two miles (3 km) south of downtown.

The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a primary commercial service airport. Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 64,379 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008, 62,210 in 2009 and 61,737 in 2010.

History

Dedicated in 1928,[3] the airport became as a Chamber of Commerce project in 1931,[4] and the original runway was paved in 1942.[5] Jet service arrived in October 1969 after the completion of the 6,500-foot (1,980 m) runway 8/26.[6][7][8][9] The air traffic control tower, southeast of the terminal, was commissioned in September 1974.[10]

Lewiston was served by West Coast Airlines Fairchild F-27s during the 1960s. West Coast merged with Bonanza Air Lines and Pacific Air Lines to form Air West in 1968 with the San Francisco-based airline being renamed Hughes Airwest in 1970.

Early jet service was flown by Hughes Airwest with Douglas DC-9-10s and McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s as well as by Cascade Airways operating BAC One-Elevens, supplemented with turboprop aircraft of both airlines. Hughes Airwest merged into Republic Airlines in October 1980, which cut back flights in Idaho and elsewhere in the western U.S.[11] Republic's final flight to Lewiston was in September 1982,[12][13] and the airline ended its southern Idaho and eastern Washington service shortly after in April 1983.[14] Cascade, based in Spokane, ceased operations in 1986.[15][16]

The short-lived Gem State Airlines of Coeur d'Alene served Lewiston for eleven months, until November 1979.[17][18] Mountain West Airlines of Boise served Lewiston for less than three months before folding in early March 1981.[19][20][21][22] Big Sky Airlines of Billings briefly served Lewiston in 1979.[23] All three commuter air carriers operated turboprop aircraft into the airport.

The municipal golf course adjacent to the west, Bryden Canyon, was designed and built in the early 1970s,[24][25] and opened in March 1975.[26]

In the early 1970s, a regional airport for the Quad Cities (Lewiston–Clarkston, Moscow–Pullman) was explored, but the city council of Lewiston withdrew its support of the study in October 1974.[27]

Facilities and aircraft

Lewiston–Nez Perce County Airport covers an area of 865 acres (3.5 km2) at an elevation of 1,442 feet (440 m) above sea level. It has two runways with asphalt surfaces: 8/26 is 6,511 by 150 feet (1,985 m × 46 m) and 12/30 is 5,002 by 100 feet (1,525 m × 30 m).[1]

For the 12-month period ending January 1, 2012, the airport had 35,425 aircraft operations, an average of 97 per day: 77% general aviation, 13% air taxi, 8% scheduled commercial, and 2% military. At that time there were 145 aircraft based at this airport: 81% single-engine, 10% helicopter, 8% multi-engine, and 1% jet.[1]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

AirlinesDestinations
Delta Connection Salt Lake City

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
Ameriflight Seattle–Boeing
FedEx Express Spokane

Horizon Air had service to Lewiston from March 1983 to August 2018.[28][29][30] SkyWest Airlines initiated service to Lewiston in June 1996 as a Delta Connection air carrier,[31] but only for a year,[32] and then returned with Delta Connection service in January 2005.[33] SkyWest currently flies Canadair CRJ-200 regional jets from the airport.

Top destinations

Busiest routes from LWS
(Jan 2018 - Dec 2018)
Rank City Passengers Carrier
1 Salt Lake City, UT 49,800 Delta
2 Seattle, WA 29,600 Alaska
3 Boise, ID 12,710 Alaska

Source:[34]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 FAA Airport Master Record for LWS (Form 5010 PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. Effective November 15, 2012.
  2. ↑ "IATA Airport Code Search (LWS: Lewiston / Nez Perce County Rgnl)". International Air Transport Association. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Dedicate airport for Lewiston-Clarkston". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. October 21, 1928. p. 1.
  4. ↑ Harrell, Sylvia (March 6, 1983). "Evolution of an airport". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 35G.
  5. ↑ "Lewiston airport nears completion". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). July 1, 1942. p. 3.
  6. ↑ "Jet age reaches Lewiston". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). United Press International. October 27, 1969. p. 5.
  7. ↑ Eline, Ed (October 27, 1969). "Lewiston dedicates runway, joins jet age". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 14.
  8. ↑ "Federal grant for new airport runway marks end of long effort". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). January 17, 1969. p. 16.
  9. ↑ "Runway work start slated by March 1". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). January 30, 1969. p. 12.
  10. ↑ "Air traffic control tower had busy first year". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). October 9, 1975. p. 7A.
  11. ↑ "Republic to drop two Idaho flights". Tri-City Herald. Washington. August 11, 1982. p. A23.
  12. ↑ "Republic Airlines' Flight 25 ends Lewiston service". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). September 8, 1982. p. 1A.
  13. ↑ "Republic: airline packs up, moves out". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). September 11, 1982. p. 2B.
  14. ↑ "Boise workers shocked over Republic's pullout". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). February 3, 1983. p. 1.
  15. ↑ Bartel, Frank (March 7, 1986). "Cascade halts flights to 10 cities in region". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). p. 1.
  16. ↑ "Cascade bankruptcy trustee files suit against Horizon". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. September 20, 1986. p. 12A.
  17. ↑ Harrell, Sylvia (January 30, 1980). "Gem State Airlines? Oh, you mean Golden Gate". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
  18. ↑ "Gem State: Idaho refugee buys California airline". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). January 10, 1980. p. 9C.
  19. ↑ "Boise-based airline may add Lewiston stops". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). October 31, 1980. p. 1B.
  20. ↑ "Lewiston Councils OKs airline's office lease". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). November 26, 1980.
  21. ↑ "New airline offers low get-acquainted rates". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). December 13, 1980. p. 1B.
  22. ↑ "Budget cuts force airline to reorganize". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). March 10, 1981. p. 13.
  23. ↑ "Remember Air Pacific?". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). March 6, 1983. p. 35G.
  24. ↑ "Golf architect retained to design mucicipal course at Lewiston airport". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). February 3, 1971. p. 8.
  25. ↑ "City will lay temporary line to irrigate new golf course". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). May 24, 1973. p. 11.
  26. ↑ Alford, A.L., Jr. (March 5, 1975). "City course opening completes golf boom". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. B1.
  27. ↑ Campbell, Thomas W. (October 22, 1974). "It's official: Lewiston pulls out of airport study". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 12.
  28. ↑ "Horizon to add region stops". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). February 5, 1983. p. 9.
  29. ↑ "Horizon plans three flights to Quad Cities". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). February 5, 1983. p. 5B.
  30. ↑ "Horizon begins operations at Lewiston, Pullman". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). March 16, 1983. p. 3B.
  31. ↑ "SkyWest says it's found friendly skies over L-C Valley". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). August 31, 1996. p. 8A.
  32. ↑ "Corrections". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). December 28, 1998. p. 5A.
  33. ↑ "Delta cuts fares, changes price structure". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). January 5, 2005. p. 7A.
  34. ↑ http://www.transtats.bts.gov/airports.asp?pn=1&Airport=LWS&Airport_Name=Lewiston, ID: Lewiston Nez Perce County&carrier=FACTS
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