One of Wyoming's least-used airports has been struggling to attract sufficient airline business in what it sees as a glut in the industry. Yet Cheyenne Regional Airport is pushing ahead with a brand new terminal and upgrade plan that will improve the facilities, if the budget can be kept under control.
Aviation first reached Cheyenne in 1911, and its airport was an important manufacturing base for B-17 bombers during World War II. However, today Cheyenne Regional is the eighth-busiest in the state, with regular airline service by only one carrier.
Great Lakes Airways provides daily links to Denver, where passengers can reach onward worldwide connections. But passenger figures on the route have slumped, and the airport also lost its American Eagle connection to Dallas in 2012. Commercial traffic dropped by almost 80 percent between 2013 and 2015.
The present-day terminal building is a local landmark, a blue structure with an unusual roof, built in the 1960s off East Eighth Street. Airport officials feel it is no longer of use and has become outdated and unsuited for operations, with no room to expand on the site.
The economic impact of Cheyenne Regional Airport grew from $68.6 million in 1988 to $242.7 million in 2010.
The plan is to build a new terminal, with more windows and space, on Aviation Parkway alongside the airport's administration buildings. In addition, a new parking lot and associated aircraft parking apron will be built at the same time.
It is hoped construction will commence in September, taking around a year to complete. However, the projected budget for the work is already being exceeded, with planners and airport officials working hard to adjust the scope and details to better suit the funding available.
According to Wyoming News, the work will cost around $15.5 million, which will come from the Federal Aviation Administration, Wyoming's Aeronautics Board, its Business Council and the city's sixth-penny sales tax. The plan is to actually reduce this cost to around $10-11 million by the time the work goes to tender.
It may be argued that an airport with such low passenger throughput does not warrant an extravagant upgrade when passenger figures are falling. The master plan does, after all, have its origins in a feasibility study carried out in 2007-2008 at a time when the airport was busier and the economic slump had not yet taken its toll on air service.
However, the economic impact of Cheyenne Regional Airport grew from $68.6 million in 1988 to $242.7 million in 2010 and has the potential to rise further if any of the constant discussions being held with airlines pays off with additional routes. Even without, the airport has seen consistent growth in general aviation and argues that the temporary facilities being used for passengers in the existing terminal need to be replaced as a matter of urgency.
An open house will be held for local residents on June 16 at the airport, following a chance for neighbors to discuss the construction with the airport’s deputy director of aviation on June 14.
