Tyler Pounds Regional Airport

Airline service began in the 1930s. Tyler was in Delta Air Lines timetables by 1936 on the Dallas-Atlanta route via Shreveport and other stops. In 1952 Delta Douglas DC-3s flew Fort Worth - Dallas - Tyler - Longview - Shreveport - Monroe - Jackson - Meridian - Selma - Montgomery - Columbus - Atlanta and Atlanta - Columbus - Montgomery - Meridian - Hattiesburg - New Orleans - Baton Rouge - Alexandria - Shreveport - Tyler - Dallas - Fort Worth.[9] Delta had competition to Dallas Love Field: Trans-Texas Airways DC-3s .[10] Delta left Tyler in 1956.

Trans-Texas Airways (TTa) began serving Tyler in the 1940s; its Douglas DC-3s flew between Dallas Love Field, Beaumont/Port Arthur and Houston Hobby Airport. In 1952 TTa flew three DC-3s a day to Beaumont/Port Arthur via Lufkin, Palestine and Nacogdoches with one flight continuing on to Galveston and Houston.[11] Convair 240 prop aircraft and then Convair 600 turboprops later took over. In 1966 TTa Convair 240s and DC-3s flew nonstop to Dallas while Convair 240s flew direct to Houston and New Orleans.[12] By 1968 TTa had begun Convair 600 turboprop flights at Tyler.[13]

Trans-Texas changed its name to Texas International Airlines (TI); in 1970 TI Convair 600s and Beechcraft 99 turboprops flew nonstop to Dallas with direct Convair 600 service to Memphis and New Orleans.[14] Also in 1970, commuter air carrier Air Texas was operating nonstop Beechcraft 99 service between the airport and Austin (AUS), Dallas Love Field (DAL) and Houston Intercontinental Airport (IAH).[15] In 1974 all TI flights at Tyler were being operated with Convair 600 turboprops with three weekday nonstops to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) as well as direct service to Houston and Memphis.[16] In 1975 Texas International had competition to Dallas/Fort Worth as commuter air carrier Metroflight Airlines, a subsidiary of Metro Airlines, was operating seven nonstop de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter flights to DFW while TI had two nonstops with Convair 600s.[17] According to the February 1, 1976 Official Airline Guide, Texas International was operating direct Convair 600s to Tyler from Austin, Houston (IAH), Midland/Odessa, Shreveport and Wichita Falls.[18] This OAG also lists nineteen weekday Metroflight Twin Otter flights being operated into Tyler, including nine nonstops from Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), nine nonstops from Longview and one nonstop from Nacogdoches with this latter flight operating direct service from Houston (IAH) and Lufkin.[19]

By 1978 Texas International had pulled out of Tyler.

In 1979 Metroflight Airlines was operating the only flights to Dallas/Fort Worth, nonstop de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters and Short 330s and direct Twin Otters to Houston Intercontinental Airport via Longview and/or Nacogdoches.[20][21] By 1981 the airline was operating twelve weekday nonstops between Tyler and Dallas/Fort Worth with Short 330s and Twin Otters.[22] Metroflight became an American Eagle carrier operating code sharing flights for American Airlines and in 1985 was continuing to operate Twin Otter service between Tyler and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.[23] In 1985 Air Spirit, a commuter airline, flew Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante turboprops nonstop to Austin as part of a Texarkana - Tyler - Austin route.[24]

In 1989 competition had resumed on the Tyler-Dallas/Fort Worth route: American Eagle Saab 340s and Delta Connection (Atlantic Southeast Airlines) (ASA) Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirantes.[25] The Official Airline Guide lists fourteen weekday flights between Tyler and DFW. By 1991 Delta Connection (ASA) Embraer EMB-120 Brasilias and EMB-110 Bandeirantes were flying to DFW.[26]

In 1995 Continental Express was flying Embraer EMB-120 Brasilias to Houston Intercontinental Airport, three weekday nonstops via a code sharing agreement with Continental Airlines.[27] By 1999 Continental Express had replaced this with smaller Beechcraft 1900Ds, four weekday nonstops.[28]

In the mid 1990s Conquest Airlines, a commuter airline, flew Fairchild Swearingen Metroliners nonstop to both Austin and San Antonio.[29] Dallas Express Airlines, another commuter airline, was flying twin engine Pipers nonstop from Dallas Love Field.[30][31] By 2000 Austin Express, also a commuter airline, had replaced Conquest with nonstop Metroliners to Austin.[32]

Lockheed F-104A Starfighter at the Historic Aviation Memorial Museum

The Historic Aviation Memorial Museum (HAMM), an aviation museum located at the airport, rented and moved into the former Tyler passenger terminal that had been closed since 2002. The museum has a number of military jet fighters on display among other exhibits and also flies and maintains two Russian-manufactured MiG-17F jets which are based at the airport.[33]