Wikipedia

Lewiston–Nez Perce County Airport

Lewiston–Nez Perce County Airport(IATA:LWS[2],ICAO:KLWS,FAALID:LWS) is a public airport in thenorthwestUnited States,innorth-centralIdaho.Owned by the city ofLewistonandNez 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 theSnakeandClearwaterrivers.

Lewiston–Nez Perce County Airport
Terminal in March 2006
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerCity ofLewiston&
Nez Perce County,Idaho,U.S.
ServesLewiston-Clarkston metropolitan area
ElevationAMSL1,442 ft / 440 m
Coordinates46°22′28″N117°00′55″W/ 46.37444°N 117.01528°W/46.37444; -117.01528
Map
LWS is located in Idaho
LWS
LWS
Location inIdaho
LWS is located in the United States
LWS
LWS
Location in theUnited States
Map
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

TheNational Plan of Integrated Airport Systemsfor 2011–2015categorizedit as aprimary commercial serviceairport.Federal Aviation Administrationrecords indicate the airport had 64,379 passenger boardings (enplanements) incalendar year2008, 62,210 in 2009, and 61,737 in 2010.

History

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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]Theair traffic controltower, southeast of the terminal, was commissioned inSeptember 1974.[10]

Zimmerly Air Transport began scheduled service in 1944 at Lewiston,[11][12]flying intrastate routes inCessna Airmasters,and then became Empire Airlines in 1946,[13]and moved toBoeing 247prop aircraft. Two years later it changed to largerDouglas DC-3prop aircraft, and was then acquired bySeattle'sWest Coast Airlinesin 1952.[14][15][16]

Lewiston was served by West Coast'sFairchild F-27turbopropsin the 1960s. West Coast then merged withBonanza Air LinesandPacific Air Linesto formAir Westin1968;the San Francisco–based airline was subsequently acquired byHoward Hughesin April1970,[17][18][19]and was soon renamedHughes Airwest.

Early jet service was flown by Hughes AirwestDouglas DC-9-10sandMcDonnell Douglas DC-9-30sand later byCascade AirwaysBAC One-Elevens,supplemented with turboprop aircraft operated by both airlines. Hughes Airwest merged intoRepublic Airlinesin October1980,[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 toSpokane(GEG) with this flight continuing on direct toSeattle(SEA) as well as nonstop service toBoise(BOI) with this flight operating direct no change of plane service toTwin Falls, ID(TWF),Salt Lake City(SLC) andBurbank, CA(BUR) in theLos Angelesarea.[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 inSpokane,served Lewiston from 1973,[25][26]until it ceased operations in 1986.[27][28]According to theOfficial Airline Guide(OAG), Cascade was operating international service of a sorts into the airport in early 1985 with a direct flight once a week fromCalgaryvia an intermediate stop inSpokane.[29]

The short-livedGem State AirlinesofCoeur d'Aleneserved Lewiston for eleven months, until November 1979.[30][31]Mountain West AirlinesofBoiseserved Lewiston for less than three months before folding in early March 1981.[32][33][34][35]Big Sky AirlinesofBillingsbriefly served Lewiston in 1979.[36]All three commuter air carriers operated turboprop aircraft into the airport.

Adjacent to the west, Bryden Canyon municipalgolf coursewas 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][43]but the city council of Lewiston withdrew its support of the study in October 1974.[44][45]ThePullman–Moscow airportis about 25 miles (40 km) north.

Airline service in 1975

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According to theOfficial Airline Guide(OAG), the only airline serving Lewiston in the spring of 1975 wasHughes Airwestwith four daily jet flights, three operated with theMcDonnell Douglas DC-9-30and one operated with the smallerDouglas DC-9-10,with nonstop service fromBoise(BOI) andSpokane(GEG), one stop service fromSalt Lake City(SLC),Seattle(SEA) andTwin Falls, ID(TWF), and direct no change of plane service from theJohn Wayne Airport(SNA) inOrange County, CAas well as direct fromPhoenix(PHX) andTucson(TUS) inArizona.[46]

Airline service in 1985

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TheOfficial Airline Guidelists two airlines serving Lewiston in early 1985 includingCascade AirwaysoperatingBritish Aircraft CorporationBAC One-Elevenjets andBeechcraft 1900Cturboprops with nonstop service from Boise (BOI),Pasco, WA(PSC),Pullman, WA(PUW), Seattle (SEA), Spokane (GEG)Walla Walla, WA(ALW) andYakima(YKM), andHorizon Airoperating as an independent air carrier with nonstopFairchild Swearingen Metrolinerturboprop service from Boise (BOI) Pasco (PSC), Pullman (PUW), Seattle (SEA) and Spokane (GEG).[47]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.[48]

Airline service in 1995

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According to theOfficial Airline Guide,two airlines were serving Lewiston in the spring of 1995 includingEmpire Airlines(which was based inCoeur d'Alene, IDat the time and is currently based inHayden, ID) with this commuter air carrier operatingFairchild Swearingen Metrolinerturboprops on nonstop flights from Boise (BOI) and Coeur d'Alene (COE), andHorizon Airoperatingcode sharingservice on behalf ofAlaska Airlineswithde Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8and Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner turboprops with nonstop flights from Boise (BOI),Portland, OR(PDX), Pullman (PUW) and Seattle (SEA).[49]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

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The airport covers 865 acres (3.5 km2) at anelevationof 1,442 feet (440 m). It has twoasphaltrunways: 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]

Incidents

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On September 17, 2021, aBoeing 737-800owned byUnited Airlinestipped over at LWS when deboarding the aircraft. The reason of the incident was when a football game happened earlier in the week. When you are de boarding, they go from front to back, so, that means that when they were deboarding, the plane had weight on the back of the aircraft, leaving it only on the main gears and the part of thefuselagefrom the tail area. The 737 did not have the tail-stand open on the back of the aircraft.

Airlines and destinations

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Passenger

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AirlinesDestinations
Delta ConnectionSalt Lake City,Seattle/Tacoma[50]
United ExpressDenver

Cargo

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AirlinesDestinations
AmeriflightSeattle–Boeing
FedEx ExpressSpokane
Western Air ExpressBoise

Horizon Airserved Lewiston from March 1983 to August 2018 with scheduled passenger flights initially as an independent air carrier and later via acode sharingagreement on behalf ofAlaska Airlines.[51][52][53]SkyWest Airlinesstarted service to Lewiston in June 1996 asDelta Connection[54]but only for a year,[55]and then returned with Delta Connection service in January 2005.[56]

According to the Flight Aware website, SkyWest currently operatescode sharingpassenger service from the airport both as theDelta ConnectionwithEmbraer 175regional jets on behalf ofDelta Air Linesand also asUnited ExpresswithCanadair CRJ-200regional jets on behalf ofUnited Airlines.[57]

Top destinations

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Busiest routes from LWS
(May 2023 - April 2024)
Rank City Passengers Carrier
1 Salt Lake City, UT 18,000 Delta Connection
2 Denver, CO 14,000 United Express
3 Seattle, WA 11,000 Delta Connection
Source:[58]

See also

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References

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  1. ^abcdFAA Airport Form 5010 for LWSPDF.Federal Aviation Administration. Effective November 15, 2012.
  2. ^"IATA Airport Code Search (LWS: Lewiston / Nez Perce County Rgnl)".International Air Transport Association.Archivedfrom the original on December 26, 2018.RetrievedJuly 17,2013.
  3. ^"Dedicate airport for Lewiston-Clarkston".Lewiston Morning Tribune.(Idaho). October 21, 1928. p. 1.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2015.RetrievedSeptember 14,2015.
  4. ^Harrell, Sylvia (March 6, 1983)."Evolution of an airport".Lewiston Morning Tribune.(Idaho). p. 35G.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2015.RetrievedNovember 22,2015.
  5. ^"Lewiston airport nears completion".Spokane Daily Chronicle.(Washington). July 1, 1942. p. 3.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2015.RetrievedNovember 22,2015.
  6. ^"Jet age reaches Lewiston".Spokane Daily Chronicle.(Washington). United Press International. October 27, 1969. p. 5.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2015.RetrievedNovember 22,2015.
  7. ^Eline, Ed (October 27, 1969)."Lewiston dedicates runway, joins jet age".Lewiston Morning Tribune.(Idaho). p. 14.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2015.RetrievedNovember 22,2015.
  8. ^"Federal grant for new airport runway marks end of long effort".Lewiston Morning Tribune.(Idaho). January 17, 1969. p. 16.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2015.RetrievedNovember 22,2015.
  9. ^"Runway work start slated by March 1".Lewiston Morning Tribune.(Idaho). January 30, 1969. p. 12.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2015.RetrievedNovember 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. ^ab"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.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2015.RetrievedNovember 22,2015.
  24. ^"Boise workers shocked over Republic's pullout".Spokane Daily Chronicle.(Washington). February 3, 1983. p. 1.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2015.RetrievedNovember 22,2015.
  25. ^Harrell, Sylvia (April 5, 1973)."Cascade Airways plans flights into Lewiston".Lewiston Morning Tribune.(Idaho). p. 20.Archivedfrom the original on November 1, 2020.RetrievedJune 2,2020.
  26. ^"Cascade Airways begins making Lewiston stops".Lewiston Morning Tribune.(Idaho). April 30, 1973. p. 10.Archivedfrom the original on November 1, 2020.RetrievedJune 2,2020.
  27. ^Bartel, Frank (March 7, 1986)."Cascade halts flights to 10 cities in region".Spokane Chronicle.(Washington). p. 1.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2015.RetrievedNovember 22,2015.
  28. ^"Cascade bankruptcy trustee files suit against Horizon".Lewiston Morning Tribune.(Idaho). Associated Press. September 20, 1986. p. 12A.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2015.RetrievedNovember 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.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2015.RetrievedNovember 22,2015.
  31. ^"Gem State: Idaho refugee buys California airline".Lewiston Morning Tribune.(Idaho). January 10, 1980. p. 9C.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2015.RetrievedNovember 22,2015.
  32. ^"Boise-based airline may add Lewiston stops".Lewiston Morning Tribune.(Idaho). October 31, 1980. p. 1B.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2015.RetrievedNovember 22,2015.
  33. ^"Lewiston Councils OKs airline's office lease".Spokane Daily Chronicle.(Washington). November 26, 1980.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2015.RetrievedNovember 22,2015.
  34. ^"New airline offers low get-acquainted rates".Lewiston Morning Tribune.(Idaho). December 13, 1980. p. 1B.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2015.RetrievedNovember 22,2015.
  35. ^"Budget cuts force airline to reorganize".Spokane Daily Chronicle.(Washington). March 10, 1981. p. 13.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2015.RetrievedNovember 22,2015.
  36. ^"Remember Air Pacific?".Lewiston Morning Tribune.(Idaho). March 6, 1983. p. 35G.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2015.RetrievedNovember 22,2015.
  37. ^"Golf architect retained to design municipal course at Lewiston airport".Lewiston Morning Tribune.(Idaho). February 3, 1971. p. 8.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2015.RetrievedNovember 22,2015.
  38. ^"City will lay temporary line to irrigate new golf course".Lewiston Morning Tribune.(Idaho). May 24, 1973. p. 11.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2015.RetrievedNovember 22,2015.
  39. ^Alford, A.L. Jr. (March 5, 1975)."City course opening completes golf boom".Lewiston Morning Tribune.(Idaho). p. B1.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2015.RetrievedNovember 22,2015.
  40. ^Alford, A.L. Jr. (October 4, 1974)."Lewiston club has new course".Lewiston Morning Tribune.(Idaho). p. 13.
  41. ^"Vet golfers help open Lewiston's new course".Lewiston Morning Tribune.(Idaho). October 7, 1974. p. 11.
  42. ^"Regional airport plan sparks Moscow debate".Lewiston Morning Tribune.(Idaho). May 29, 1974. p. 13.
  43. ^"Regional airport study cost trimmed slightly to $185,000".Lewiston Morning Tribune.(Idaho). August 17, 1974. p. 16.
  44. ^Campbell, Thomas W. (October 22, 1974)."It's official: Lewiston pulls out of airport study".Lewiston Morning Tribune.(Idaho). p. 12.Archivedfrom the original on November 1, 2020.RetrievedJune 20,2018.
  45. ^Roche, Kevin (August 7, 1975)."Palouse charges on with Phase 1 of airport study".Lewiston Morning Tribune.(Idaho). p. 16A.
  46. ^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
  47. ^Feb. 15, 1985 Official Airline Guide (OAG), North American edition, Lewiston (LWS) flight schedules
  48. ^Feb. 15, 1985 Official Airline Guide (OAG), North American edition, Flight Itineraries section, SEA-PSC-LWS flight routing for Cascade Airways (CZ) flight # 441
  49. ^April 2, 1995 Official Airline Guide (OAG), North American edition, Lewiston (LWS) flight schedules
  50. ^"Lewiston Airport to Offer Flights to Seattle Beginning October 9".11 August 2023.
  51. ^"Horizon to add region stops".Spokesman-Review.(Spokane, Washington). February 5, 1983. p. 9.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2015.RetrievedNovember 22,2015.
  52. ^"Horizon plans three flights to Quad Cities".Lewiston Morning Tribune.(Idaho). February 5, 1983. p. 5B.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2015.RetrievedNovember 22,2015.
  53. ^"Horizon begins operations at Lewiston, Pullman".Lewiston Morning Tribune.(Idaho). March 16, 1983. p. 3B.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2015.RetrievedNovember 22,2015.
  54. ^"SkyWest says it's found friendly skies over L-C Valley".Lewiston Morning Tribune.(Idaho). August 31, 1996. p. 8A.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2015.RetrievedNovember 22,2015.
  55. ^"Corrections".Lewiston Morning Tribune.(Idaho). December 28, 1998. p. 5A.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2015.RetrievedNovember 22,2015.
  56. ^"Delta cuts fares, changes price structure".Lewiston Morning Tribune.(Idaho). January 5, 2005. p. 7A.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2015.RetrievedNovember 22,2015.
  57. ^"LWS Lewiston/Nez Perce County Airport (LWS/KLWS)".
  58. ^http://www.transtats.bts.gov/airports.asp?pn=1&Airport=LWS&Airport_Name=LewistonArchived2015-02-15 at theWayback Machine,ID: Lewiston Nez Perce County&carrier=FACTS
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