Eagle County Regional Airport

The original runway was built in the 1930s to function as an emergency landing strip for a Denver-to-Los Angeles air route. On Sept. 14, 1947, the airport was dedicated and provided general aviation services for many years, experiencing tremendous growth. For example, in 1989, there were only 277 commercial passengers and by 2015, there were 320,111. In 1996, a $9 million, 36,000-square-foot passenger terminal was unveiled, which allowed the facility to accommodate a 73% increase in passengers during that season. The demands on the new terminal called for an additional 30,000-square-foot expansion, constructed in 2001, in order to accommodate the KEGE’s growing popularity.
On November of 2003, a $2.2 million air traffic control tower opened, replacing a temporary tower that once stood there. In 2006, an instrument landing system was commissioned and a year later, a BI-6 radar system was installed, which allowed aircraft to land in lower visibility conditions.
Then in 2009, the airport completed a $40 million runway extension, increasing its length to 9,000 feet. In 2014, the airport completed a master plan update, a 20-year plan outlining the needs of current and future airport users. Afterwords, a snow removal equipment building was constructed. providing additional storage for KEGE’s snow removal equipment. In 2019, the terminal expansion project was finished, expanding the gate area and additional amenities, such as jet bridges, private nursing area, and a touchless restroom experience. American, Delta, and United are the three major airlines that are currently serving the airport.
 

Eagle County Regional Airport sits just four miles from Eagle and 37 miles from Vail, south of Interstate 70 just off Highway 6. 

● In 2013, a study commissioned by the Colorado Department of Transportation Aeronautics Division found that the total quantifiable impact on the local economy from the airport that year was $635,900,000. In addition, the Eagle County Regional Airport created 6,294 jobs, paying out $217,500,000 in wages. 

● The High Altitude Army National Guard (ARNG) Aviation Training Site is located by the airport. The unique training areas surrounding the Eagle County Regional Airport offers a variety of landing areas such as pinnacles, ridge lines, bowls, and confined areas. The predictable wind patterns in this area make for an ideal learning environment for all experience levels of rotary wing aviators. 

● The airport is popular with private aircraft operators and has one of the top-rated fixed-base operators in the country, the Vail Valley Jet Center.