Cheyenne Regional Airport

The U.S. Post Office gave Cheyenne's aviation its first boost. With the introduction of airmail routes after World War I, the Cheyenne civic leaders lobbied to establish Cheyenne as a stop. Buck Heffron piloted the first air mail flight to Salt Lake City on September 9, 1920. Heffron flew a DH-4 that could barely get high enough to clear the mountains and had a maximum speed of 100 mph (160 km/h). The pilot was one of the brave aviators who was guided by a few instruments, maps and landmarks.

Cheyenne's airport saw its first paying passengers in the 1920s. The first was Elizabeth Brown, a female barber. She enjoyed a ride with World War I pilot, C.A. McKenzie, in a Curtis Oriole biplane. With the step up to the DC-3 in 1937 passengers enjoyed greater comfort and safety. Soon United DC-3s were flying Cheyenne passengers to both coasts and south to Denver.

The Boeing/United Airlines Terminal Building, Hangar and Fountain, built for what would become United Airlines between 1929 and 1934, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

During World War II the airport was a completion and modification center for B-17s. Captain Ralph S. Johnson was a test pilot for the then United States Army Air Corps, forerunner to the United States Air Force. The tail turret on the B-17 is known as the "Cheyenne" turret because it was invented at Cheyenne. United Airlines maintained its Douglas DC-3s at Cheyenne; in 1946 it had 1400 employees based locally.[3] Until 1961 the airport was the training center for United Airlines stewardesses from across the country.

The airport was visited by Charles Lindbergh, aboard the "Spirit of St. Louis," and Amelia Earhart. Many historic events are chronicled on the walls of the airport restaurant. One of the airport's celebrated visitors in recent times is child aviator Jessica Dubroff, who lost her life when her small plane crashed after takeoff in terrible weather in April, 1996.

Because of its high altitude, aircraft manufacturers test their new jetliners at Cheyenne. The latest tests involved Embraer of Brazil's E-170 and E-190 aircraft as well as Boeing's 737-900 and 787 Dreamliner jets and most recently, the Boeing 737 Max 8.

The airport terminal contains plaques of the inductees into the Wyoming Aviation Hall of Fame. The 2013 inductee is Raymond A. Johnson, who lived primarily in Cheyenne after 1960.[4]

The field covers 1,060 acres (430 ha) and has two runways: 9/27, 9,270 x 150 ft (2,825 x 46 m) concrete and 13/31, 6,690 x 150 ft (2,039 x 46 m) asphalt.[2]

The new terminal will have 3 gates and room for 1 more in the future if needed.

In the year ending September 30, 2015 the airport had 46,436 aircraft operations, average 127 per day: 44% general aviation, 49% military, 6% air taxi and <1% airline. 99 aircraft are based at this airport: 35% single-engine, 38% multi-engine, 4% jet and 22% military.[2]

Destinations map
Cheyenne Dallas/Fort Worth Destinations from Cheyenne Regional Airport

Great Lakes Airlines (operating independently and as a codeshare partner for United Airlines) flew 19-passenger Beechcraft 1900Ds to Cheyenne until March 26, 2018.

American Eagle,[5] flying for American Airlines, started nonstop Embraer ERJ-145s to Dallas/Fort Worth on July 15, 2010 but ended them on April 3, 2012.[6]

Occasional charter flights ("casino or gamblers' flights") go to Laughlin or Wendover, Nevada.

Frontier Airlines and United Airlines use Cheyenne as a diversion airport on occasion for flights to Denver International Airport.

On August 4, 2018, American Airlines announced non-stop service to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, which began on November 4, 2018. These are SkyWest Airlines flights.[7]

On February 4, 2019, American Airlines announced a second daily non-stop service to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, which began in May 2019.[8]

• FedEx Express
• Key Lime Air
• UPS Airlines

Cheyenne ANGB occupies approximately 77 acres of leased land on the Cheyenne Regional Airport. Within this area was once the facilities of the former United Airlines Modification Center and former stewardess training center for UAL. The host wing is the 153d Airlift Wing (153 AW) of the Wyoming Air National Guard, currently flying the C-130H Hercules theater airlift aircraft. The 153 AW is operationally-gained by the Air Mobility Command (AMC), and given its proximity to F. E. Warren AFB, was chosen as the first "Active-Associate" unit in the U.S. Air Force and the Air National Guard. As an Active-Associate unit, from 1 July 2006 until 1 September 2015, the 153 AW incorporated both a traditional Air National Guard C-130 airlift squadron, the 187th Airlift Squadron (187 AS), and a full-time active duty Regular Air Force C-130 airlift squadron, the 30th Airlift Squadron (30 AS). Both squadrons shared the same C-130H aircraft.[24] With the inactivation of the 30AS, the 153 AW is once again a traditional Air National Guard unit.

On April 11, 1996, 7 year old Jessica Dubroff, along with her father and flight instructor, died when her general aviation aircraft crashed after takeoff from Cheyenne Regional in a storm. Dubroff was attempting to be the youngest person to fly across the United States.

• Wyoming World War II Army Airfields

• Airport website
• FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective June 18, 2020
• Resources for this airport:
  • AirNav airport information for KCYS
  • ASN accident history for CYS
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart for KCYS
  • FAA current CYS delay information
• Cheyenne Airfield, 200 East Eighth Avenue, Cheyenne, Laramie, WY at the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER)
• Wyoming Air National Guard Base, Cheyenne Airport, Cheyenne, Laramie, WY at HAER, also , , , at HAER