Lewiston–Nez Perce County Airport

Lewiston–Nez Perce County Airport (IATA: LWS[2], ICAO: KLWS, FAA LID: LWS) is a public airport in the northwest United States, in north central Idaho. Owned by the city of Lewiston and Nez Perce County,[1] it is in an elevated area of the city two miles (3 km) south of downtown, approximately 700 vertical feet (210 m) above the Snake and Clearwater rivers.

Lewiston–Nez Perce County Airport
Terminal in March 2006
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerCity of Lewiston &
Nez Perce County, Idaho, U.S.
ServesLewiston-Clarkston metropolitan area
Elevation AMSL1,442 ft / 440 m
Coordinates46°22′28″N 117°00′55″W
Map
LWS is located in Idaho
LWS
LWS
Location in Idaho
LWS is located in the United States
LWS
LWS
Location in the United States
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
8/26 6,511 1,985 Asphalt
12/30 5,002 1,525 Asphalt
Statistics (2018)
Aircraft operations28,751
Based aircraft145

The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a primary commercial service airport. Federal Aviation Administration records indicate the airport had 64,379 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008, 62,210 in 2009, and 61,737 in 2010.

History

Dedicated in 1928,[3] the airport began as a Chamber of Commerce project in 1931,[4] and the original runway was paved in 1942.[5] Jet service arrived in October 1969 after the completion of the 6,500-foot (1,980 m) runway 8/26.[6][7][8][9] The air traffic control tower, southeast of the terminal, was commissioned in September 1974.[10]

Zimmerly Air Transport began scheduled service in 1944 at Lewiston,[11][12] flying intrastate routes in Cessna Airmasters, and then became Empire Airlines in 1946,[13] and moved to Boeing 247 prop aircraft. Two years later it changed to larger Douglas DC-3 prop aircraft, and was then acquired by Seattle's West Coast Airlines in 1952.[14][15][16]

Lewiston was served by West Coast's Fairchild F-27 turboprops in the 1960s. West Coast then merged with Bonanza Air Lines and Pacific Air Lines to form Air West in 1968; the San Francisco-based airline was subsequently acquired by Howard Hughes in April 1970,[17][18][19] and was soon renamed Hughes Airwest.

Early jet service was flown by Hughes Airwest Douglas DC-9-10s and McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s and later by Cascade Airways BAC One-Elevens, supplemented with turboprop aircraft operated by both airlines. Hughes Airwest merged into Republic Airlines in October 1980,[16] which then subsequently cut back its jet service in Idaho and elsewhere in the western U.S.[20] According to its August 1, 1982 system timetable, Republic was operating just two daily departures from the airport, both with Douglas DC-9-10 jets, with nonstop service to Spokane (GEG) with this flight continuing on direct to Seattle (SEA) as well as nonstop service to Boise (BOI) with this flight operating direct no change of plane service to Twin Falls, ID (TWF), Salt Lake City (SLC) and Burbank, CA (BUR) in the Los Angeles area.[21] Republic's final flight to Lewiston was in September 1982,[22][23] and the airline ended its southern Idaho and eastern Washington service the following April.[24] Cascade, based in Spokane, served Lewiston from 1973,[25][26] until it ceased operations in 1986.[27][28] According to the Official Airline Guide (OAG), Cascade was operating international service of a sorts into the airport in early 1985 with a direct flight once a week from Calgary via an intermediate stop in Spokane.[29]

The short-lived Gem State Airlines of Coeur d'Alene served Lewiston for eleven months, until November 1979.[30][31] Mountain West Airlines of Boise served Lewiston for less than three months before folding in early March 1981.[32][33][34][35] Big Sky Airlines of Billings briefly served Lewiston in 1979.[36] All three commuter air carriers operated turboprop aircraft into the airport.

Adjacent to the west, Bryden Canyon municipal golf course was built in the early 1970s,[37][38] and opened in March 1975.[39] Just west of runway 8/26 is the private Lewiston Country Club, which moved to the site in 1974 with a new 18-hole course.[40][41] Its previous nine-hole course of 1927, nearby to the north and west of Bryden Canyon, was closed and later developed into residential housing.

In the mid-1970s, a regional airport for the Quad Cities (Lewiston–Clarkston, Moscow–Pullman) was explored,[42] but the city council of Lewiston withdrew its support of the study in October 1974.[43][44] The Pullman–Moscow airport is about 25 miles (40 km) north.

Airline service in 1975

According to the Official Airline Guide (OAG), the only airline serving Lewiston in the spring of 1975 was Hughes Airwest with four daily jet flights, three operated with the McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 and one operated with the smaller Douglas DC-9-10, with nonstop service from Boise (BOI) and Spokane (GEG), one stop service from Salt Lake City (SLC), Seattle (SEA) and Twin Falls, ID (TWF), and direct no change of plane service from the John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County, CA as well as direct from Phoenix (PHX) and Tucson (TUS) in Arizona.[45]

Airline service in 1985

The Official Airline Guide lists two airlines serving Lewiston in early 1985 including Cascade Airways operating British Aircraft Corporation BAC One-Eleven jets and Beechcraft 1900C turboprops with nonstop service from Boise (BOI), Pasco, WA (PSC), Pullman, WA (PUW), Seattle (SEA), Spokane (GEG) Walla Walla, WA (ALW) and Yakima (YKM), and Horizon Air operating as an independent air carrier with nonstop Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner turboprop service from Boise (BOI) Pasco (PSC), Pullman (PUW), Seattle (SEA) and Spokane (GEG).[46] The OAG lists a combined total of 20 flights every weekday operated by the two airlines into the airport at this time primarily flown with small commuter propjet aircraft. In addition, the OAG lists only one Cascade Airways BAC One-Eleven jet flight a day into the airport at this time which was a direct one stop service from Seattle via an intermediate stop in Pasco.[47]

Airline service in 1995

According to the Official Airline Guide, two airlines were serving Lewiston in the spring of 1995 including Empire Airlines (which was based in Coeur d'Alene, ID at the time and is currently based in Hayden, ID) with this commuter air carrier operating Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner turboprops on nonstop flights from Boise (BOI) and Coeur d'Alene (COE), and Horizon Air operating code sharing service on behalf of Alaska Airlines with de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8 and Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner turboprops with nonstop flights from Boise (BOI), Portland, OR (PDX), Pullman (PUW) and Seattle (SEA).[48] The OAG lists a combined total of 27 flights every weekday operated by the two airlines into the airport at this time, all flown with propjet aircraft.

Facilities

The airport covers 865 acres (3.5 km2) at an elevation of 1,442 feet (440 m). It has two asphalt runways: 8/26 is 6,511 by 150 feet (1,985 m × 46 m) and 12/30 is 5,002 by 100 feet (1,525 m × 30 m).[1]

In the year ending January 1, 2012, the airport had 35,425 aircraft operations, average 97 per day: 77% general aviation, 13% air taxi, 8% airline and 2% military. 145 aircraft were then based at the airport: 81% single-engine, 10% helicopter, 8% multi-engine, and 1% jet.[1]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger
AirlinesDestinations
Delta Connection Salt Lake City, Seattle/Tacoma[49]
United ExpressDenver

Cargo
AirlinesDestinations
Ameriflight Seattle–Boeing
FedEx Express Spokane
Western Air Express Boise

Horizon Air served Lewiston from March 1983 to August 2018 with scheduled passenger flights initially as an independent air carrier and later via a code sharing agreement on behalf of Alaska Airlines.[50][51][52] SkyWest Airlines started service to Lewiston in June 1996 as Delta Connection[53] but only for a year,[54] and then returned with Delta Connection service in January 2005.[55]

According to the Flight Aware website, SkyWest currently operates code sharing passenger service from the airport both as the Delta Connection with Embraer 175 regional jets on behalf of Delta Air Lines and also as United Express with Canadair CRJ-200 regional jets on behalf of United Airlines.[56]

Top destinations
Busiest routes from LWS
(November 2021 - October 2022)
Rank City Passengers Carrier
1 Salt Lake City, UT 29,000 Delta Connection
2 Denver, CO 13,000 United Express
Source:[57]

See also

References
  1. FAA Airport Form 5010 for LWS PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective November 15, 2012.
  2. "IATA Airport Code Search (LWS: Lewiston / Nez Perce County Rgnl)". International Air Transport Association. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  3. "Dedicate airport for Lewiston-Clarkston". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). October 21, 1928. p. 1. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  4. Harrell, Sylvia (March 6, 1983). "Evolution of an airport". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 35G. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  5. "Lewiston airport nears completion". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). July 1, 1942. p. 3. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  6. "Jet age reaches Lewiston". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). United Press International. October 27, 1969. p. 5. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  7. Eline, Ed (October 27, 1969). "Lewiston dedicates runway, joins jet age". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 14. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  8. "Federal grant for new airport runway marks end of long effort". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). January 17, 1969. p. 16. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  9. "Runway work start slated by March 1". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). January 30, 1969. p. 12. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  10. "Air traffic control tower had busy first year". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). October 9, 1975. p. 7A.
  11. "Zimmerly start regular service to Boise Monday". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). June 9, 1944. p. 12.
  12. "Zimmerly Air Transport". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). (advertisement). June 20, 1944. p. 2.
  13. "Airlines use second plane". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). May 21, 1946. p. 12.
  14. Riddle, Arthur S. (September 28, 1952). "Empire notes 6th birthday with first of merger flights". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1.
  15. "EAL changes flight time". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). November 2, 1951. p. 7.
  16. "Herman is in, the Big Yellow Banana is out". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). September 30, 1980. p. 1B.
  17. "Air West purchase almost completed". Ellensburg Daily Record. (Washington). UPI. April 2, 1970. p. 8.
  18. "Hughes completes dealings for airline". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. April 3, 1970. p. 3A.
  19. "Air West taken over by Hughes". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. April 4, 1970. p. 2.
  20. "Republic to drop two Idaho flights". Tri-City Herald. Washington. August 11, 1982. p. A23.
  21. Aug. 1, 1982 Republic Airlines system timetable, Lewiston/Clarkston (LWS) flight schedules
  22. "Republic Airlines' Flight 25 ends Lewiston service". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). September 8, 1982. p. 1A.
  23. "Republic: airline packs up, moves out". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). September 11, 1982. p. 2B. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  24. "Boise workers shocked over Republic's pullout". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). February 3, 1983. p. 1. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  25. Harrell, Sylvia (April 5, 1973). "Cascade Airways plans flights into Lewiston". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 20. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  26. "Cascade Airways begins making Lewiston stops". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). April 30, 1973. p. 10. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  27. Bartel, Frank (March 7, 1986). "Cascade halts flights to 10 cities in region". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). p. 1. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  28. "Cascade bankruptcy trustee files suit against Horizon". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. September 20, 1986. p. 12A. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  29. Feb. 15, 1985 Official Airline Guide (OAG), North American edition, Lewiston (LWS) flight schedules & OAG Flight Itineraries section, Cascade Airways flight 693 flight routing
  30. Harrell, Sylvia (January 30, 1980). "Gem State Airlines? Oh, you mean Golden Gate". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  31. "Gem State: Idaho refugee buys California airline". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). January 10, 1980. p. 9C. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  32. "Boise-based airline may add Lewiston stops". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). October 31, 1980. p. 1B. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  33. "Lewiston Councils OKs airline's office lease". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). November 26, 1980. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  34. "New airline offers low get-acquainted rates". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). December 13, 1980. p. 1B. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  35. "Budget cuts force airline to reorganize". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). March 10, 1981. p. 13. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  36. "Remember Air Pacific?". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). March 6, 1983. p. 35G. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  37. "Golf architect retained to design municipal course at Lewiston airport". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). February 3, 1971. p. 8. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  38. "City will lay temporary line to irrigate new golf course". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). May 24, 1973. p. 11. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  39. Alford, A.L., Jr. (March 5, 1975). "City course opening completes golf boom". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. B1. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  40. Alford, A.L., Jr. (October 4, 1974). "Lewiston club has new course". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 13.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  41. "Vet golfers help open Lewiston's new course". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). October 7, 1974. p. 11.
  42. "Regional airport study cost trimmed slightly to $185,000". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). August 17, 1974. p. 16.
  43. Campbell, Thomas W. (October 22, 1974). "It's official: Lewiston pulls out of airport study". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 12. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  44. Roche, Kevin (August 7, 1975). "Palouse charges on with Phase 1 of airport study". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 16A.
  45. April 15, 1975 Official Airline Guide (OAG), North American edition, Lewiston (LWS) flight schedules & April 15, 1975 OAG Flight Itineraries section, Hughes Airwest (RW) flight numbers 702, 720, 824 and 878
  46. Feb. 15, 1985 Official Airline Guide (OAG), North American edition, Lewiston (LWS) flight schedules
  47. Feb. 15, 1985 Official Airline Guide (OAG), North American edition, Flight Itineraries section, SEA-PSC-LWS flight routing for Cascade Airways (CZ) flight # 441
  48. April 2, 1995 Official Airline Guide (OAG), North American edition, Lewiston (LWS) flight schedules
  49. https://www.bigcountrynewsconnection.com/idaho/lewiston-airport-to-offer-flights-to-seattle-beginning-october-9/article_f026cb4e-387e-11ee-a99b-872e4d75277d.html
  50. "Horizon to add region stops". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). February 5, 1983. p. 9. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  51. "Horizon plans three flights to Quad Cities". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). February 5, 1983. p. 5B. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  52. "Horizon begins operations at Lewiston, Pullman". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). March 16, 1983. p. 3B. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  53. "SkyWest says it's found friendly skies over L-C Valley". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). August 31, 1996. p. 8A. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  54. "Corrections". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). December 28, 1998. p. 5A. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  55. "Delta cuts fares, changes price structure". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). January 5, 2005. p. 7A. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  56. https://flightaware.com/live/airport/KLWS
  57. http://www.transtats.bts.gov/airports.asp?pn=1&Airport=LWS&Airport_Name=Lewiston Archived 2015-02-15 at the Wayback Machine, ID: Lewiston Nez Perce County&carrier=FACTS
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