Jackson Hole Airport is a public
airportAn airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
located seven miles (11 km) north of the
central business districtA central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
of
JacksonJackson is a town located in the Jackson Hole valley of Teton County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 8,647 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Teton County....
, a town in
Teton CountyTeton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of 2010, the population was 21,294. Its county seat is Jackson. Teton County contains the affluent Jackson Hole skiing area...
,
WyomingWyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is owned by the Jackson Hole Airport Board.
It is the only airport in the United States located inside a
national parkA national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
, in this case
Grand TetonGrand Teton National Park is a United States National Park located in northwestern Wyoming, U.S. The Park consists of approximately and includes the major peaks of the long Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. Only south of Yellowstone...
(The
Provincetown Municipal AirportProvincetown Municipal Airport is a public airport located at the end of Cape Cod, two miles northwest of the central business district of Provincetown, a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. This airport is operated by the Town of Provincetown on land leased from the National...
in Massachusetts is on land leased from the National Park Service, but it is not in a National Park). A large fraction of air travellers headed to
Grand Teton National ParkGrand Teton National Park is a United States National Park located in northwestern Wyoming, U.S. The Park consists of approximately and includes the major peaks of the long Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. Only south of Yellowstone...
or nearby
Yellowstone National ParkYellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...
and western Wyoming go through the airport. The airport at one time had an unusual terminal building resembling a
pioneerAmerican pioneers are any of the people in American history who migrated west to join in settling and developing new areas. The term especially refers to those who were going to settle any territory which had previously not been settled or developed by European or American society, although the...
log cabinA log cabin is a house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house. A distinction should be drawn between the traditional meanings of "log cabin" and "log house." Historically most "Log cabins" were a simple one- or 1½-story structures, somewhat impermanent, and less finished or less...
which blended with the surrounding environment and served to attract visitors. Starting in 2009, a major $30 million terminal expansion project began. The design; however, still blends with the unique surroundings of the national park and Jackson Hole preservation area. The entrance from the outside is a wood walkway that heads to the main terminal building. The airport has 6 gates.
History
The airport was created in the 1930s as the best place to put an airport in Teton County. The airport was declared a national monument in 1943, and merged with Grand Teton National Park in 1950. In 1959, the runway was extended to its current length to better accommodate larger planes, especially the
DC-3The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
. In the 1960s and 1970s, the possibility of extending the runway to 8000 feet (2,438.4 m) to accommodate
jet aircraftA jet aircraft is an aircraft propelled by jet engines. Jet aircraft generally fly much faster than propeller-powered aircraft and at higher altitudes – as high as . At these altitudes, jet engines achieve maximum efficiency over long distances. The engines in propeller-powered aircraft...
was considered. Strong opposition from the
National Park ServiceThe National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
over noise and other environmental effects prevented such an extension. However, development of better
jet engineA jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet to generate thrust by jet propulsion and in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets...
s in the late 1970s made it possible to land jets on the existing runway. Being inside a national park and the Jackson Hole area, the region is very noise sensitive and the airport currently allows only stage III jet aircraft which have newer, quieter engines. The airport is a popular mating ground to the rare
Sage GrouseThe Sage Grouse is the largest grouse in North America, where it is known as the Greater Sage-Grouse. Its range is sagebrush country in the western United States and southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada. A population of smaller birds, known in the U.S. as Gunnison Sage-Grouse, were recently...
.
Facilities and aircraft
Jackson Hole Airport covers an area of 533 acre (215.7 ha), which contains one
runwayAccording to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
designated 1/19 with a 6,300 x 150 ft (1,920 x 46 m)
asphaltAsphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
pavement. For the 12-month period ending December 1, 2009, the airport had 30,865 aircraft operations, an average of 85 per day: 52%
general aviationGeneral aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
, 25%
air taxiAn air taxi is an air charter passenger or cargo aircraft which operates on an on-demand basis.-Regulation:In the United States, air taxi and air charter operations are governed by Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations , unlike the larger scheduled air carriers which are governed by more...
, 22% scheduled commercial and <1% military. There are 52 aircraft based at this airport: 69% single-engine, 6% multi-engine, 21% jet, 3%
gliderGlider aircraft are heavier-than-air craft that are supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against their lifting surfaces, and whose free flight does not depend on an engine. Mostly these types of aircraft are intended for routine operation without engines, though engine failure can...
, and 1% cattle cargo. Jackson Hole Airport is very noise sensitive being in a national park, and has a ban on aircraft with stage-II engines which are older, noisier jet engines. Few aircraft for charter are based at Jackson Hole Airport. New Flight Charters has a Cessna T206 based there and several other charter aircraft nearby for departures from Jackson Hole Airport.
The largest aircraft to operate to the airport on a regular basis is a Boeing 757-200.
American AirlinesAmerican Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
operates this aircraft daily on a seasonal basis to Dallas;
United AirlinesUnited Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
operates it several times daily to Denver during the summer.
Delta Air LinesDelta Air Lines, Inc. is a major airline based in the United States and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline operates an extensive domestic and international network serving all continents except Antarctica. Delta and its subsidiaries operate over 4,000 flights every day...
also provides 757 service of various frequencies to its hubs at Salt Lake City and Atlanta.
Airlines and destinations
Accidents and incidents
On August 17, 1996, a U.S. Air Force
C-130 HerculesThe Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...
aircraft assigned to the
317th Airlift GroupThe 317th Airlift Group is a United States Air Force unit, stationed at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. Assigned to Air Mobility Command Eighteenth Air Force, the 317 AG operates as a tenant unit to the 7th Bomb Wing, Air Combat Command ....
at Dyess AFB, Texas was unable to clear Sheep Mountain, crashing into it and killing all nine aboard. The aircraft was supporting the
United States Secret ServiceThe United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...
as part of a POTUS visit to the area.
On December 20, 2000,
Sandra BullockSandra Annette Bullock is an Academy Award winning American actress and producer who rose to fame in the 1990s after roles in successful films such as Demolition Man, Speed, The Net, A Time to Kill, and While You Were Sleeping. She continued with films such as Miss Congeniality, The Lake House,...
survived the crash of a chartered business jet at Jackson Hole Airport. The aircraft hit a snowbank instead of the runway, shearing off the nose gear and nose cone and damaging the wings.
On June 27, 2005,
John T. WaltonJohn Thomas Walton was a decorated United States war veteran and a son of Walmart founder Sam Walton. He was also the chairman of True North Partners, a venture capital firm...
died when his CGS Hawk Arrow homebuilt aircraft (registered as an "experimental aircraft" under FAA regulations) that he was piloting crashed in Jackson, Wyoming. Walton's plane crashed at 12:20 p.m. local time (1820 GMT) shortly after taking off from Jackson Hole Airport.