Aberdeen Regional Airport

The airport is one of two commercial airports in the state of South Dakota with airline service to only one destination, the other being Pierre Regional Airport. Rapid City serves 16 destinations & Sioux Falls serves 15 destinations, while Watertown serves two destinations. Sun Country also did seasonal charter flights to Arizona. These flights were known as gambling flights, and ended in 2021. FedEx Feeder operated by CSA Air flies occasionally to Sioux Falls.

A Sun Country Boeing 737-700 parked at Gate 1 in 2015.

Passenger Service

Map of destinations

Destinations map
Aberdeen Minneapolis/Saint Paul All passenger destinations from Aberdeen Regional Airport (ABR)

Cargo Service

Airlines	Destinations
Alpine Air Express	Sioux Falls
FedEx Feeder operated by CSA Air	Sioux Falls, Fargo
Encore Air Cargo operated by Bemidji Airlines	Sioux Falls

Aberdeen Regional Airport covers an area of 1,284 acres (520 ha) at an elevation of 1,302 feet (397 m) above mean sea level. It has two runways: 13/31 is 6,901 by 100 feet (2,103 x 30 m) with a concrete surface; 17/35 is 5,500 by 100 feet (1,676 x 30 m) with an asphalt surface.[1]

For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2022, the airport had 39,746 aircraft operations, an average of 109 per day: 83% general aviation, 4% scheduled commercial, 13% air taxi and <1% military. At that time there were 66 aircraft based at this airport: 42 single-engine, 16 multi-engine, 7 jet and 1 helicopter.[1]

The passenger terminal is one of four terminals in South Dakota that boasts a moving jet bridge, the other three being Sioux Falls Regional Airport, Rapid City Regional Airport, and Pierre Regional Airport. However, Watertown Regional Airport opened its new terminal in August of 2022 and has a new jet bridge which is expected to be placed in service in September, 2022. The loading bridge allows passengers to board the aircraft from directly inside the terminal and right onto the aircraft without having to walk outside. As of May 2023, Delta Connection is the only commercial airline currently operating out of Aberdeen Regional Airport, providing jet only service on daily flights to Minneapolis/St. Paul on Bombardier CRJ700 aircraft.

In 1923, Aberdeen hosted the first fly-in event in South Dakota. During World War II, the airfield was used by the United States Army Air Forces as a contract glider training airfield owned by Anderson & Brennan Flying Service, beginning on 25 May 1942. The mission of the school was to train glider pilot students in proficiency in operation of gliders in various types of towed and soaring flight, both day and night, and in servicing of gliders in the field. They primarily used C-47 Skytrains and Waco CG-4 Gliders.

From the 1950s to 2002 the airfield was converted into a commercial airport. Airlines such as Northwest, United Express(operated by Great Lakes Airlines), and Republic Airlines were now operated at a small terminal (now a Ground Crew shed) in the middle of the airport. In, 2002 United pulled out of Aberdeen, after terminating Great Lakes contract, with Northwest as the sole airline continuing to operate now with Saab 340 (Operated by Mesaba Airlines), and Bombardier CRJ200 aircraft through the 2000s. A new terminal was built in 2006 south of the hangers, now equipped with a ground based Jetway able to connect to aircraft as large as a Boeing 737. Delta Connection would replace Northwest after the merge, continuing its Minneapolis route. Delta ended its use of Saab 340 aircraft, with the CRJ200 being the main aircraft in use at the airport. A second ramp was built in 2012, mainly in use as a backup gate.

A Northwest DC-9 parked at the old terminal in 1975.

In 2019, a new larger jetway was added to the airport, which was able to support aircraft as big as an Airbus A321. In 2020, the town announced a 20 plan to expand the terminal, extend and widen runway 13/31, due to Delta announcing the retirement of their CRJ-200s. In 2021, Aberdeen renewed their contract with Skywest to continue their air service at Aberdeen after Pierre and Watertown replaced Skywest's United operations with Denver Air Connection. In 2022, the airport had moved runway 17/35 southwest of the airport removing its intersection with 13/31. The airport's main taxiway aligned with 13/31 was also revamped.

A Delta Connection CRJ200 parked at the current terminal and new jetway.

President George W. Bush landed here in the early 2000s to speak at a rally at Northern State University. Reba McEntire made a stop here on July 22, 2013, when the Phenom 100 jet she was traveling in stopped at the airport to refuel. She was on her way to a concert in Edmonton, Alberta.

• List of airports in South Dakota

• South Dakota World War II Army Airfields
• 31st Flying Training Wing (World War II)

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

• Manning, Thomas A. (2005), History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas OCLC 71006954, 29991467
• Shaw, Frederick J. (2004), Locating Air Force Base Sites, History's Legacy, Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC. OCLC 57007862, 1050653629

• Aberdeen Regional Airport at City of Aberdeen website
• "Aberdeen Regional Airport" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-25. (146 KiB) at South Dakota DOT Airport Directory
• The WW II Glider Pilots
• FAA Terminal Procedures for ABR, effective October 5, 2023
• Resources for this airport:
  • FAA airport information for ABR
  • AirNav airport information for ABR
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart for ABR