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Lake Tahoe Airport

Coordinates:38°53′38″N119°59′43″W/ 38.89389°N 119.99528°W/38.89389; -119.99528
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This article is about the public airport near South Lake Tahoe. For other airports in the Lake Tahoe area, seeTahoe Airport (disambiguation).
Lake Tahoe Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
Owner/OperatorCity of South Lake Tahoe
LocationSouth Lake Tahoe, California
ElevationAMSL6,269 ft / 1,911 m
Coordinates38°53′38″N119°59′43″W/ 38.89389°N 119.99528°W/38.89389; -119.99528
Websitecityofslt.us/182/Airport
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
18/36 8,541 2,603 Asphalt

Lake Tahoe Airport(IATA:TVL,ICAO:KTVL,FAALID:TVL) is a public airport three miles southwest ofSouth Lake Tahoe,inEl Dorado County, California.It covers 348 acres (141 ha) and has one runway; it is sometimes calledTahoe Valley Airport.Although the airport had almost forty years of airline service, since 2000, it has served only general aviation.

History[edit]

The airport in theSierra Nevadamountains just south ofLake Tahoeopened in 1959 with a 5900-ft runway. Beginning in 1962 it had a few airline flights: the first were onFutura Airlines,[1]anintrastate airline,and on Paradise Airlines, both flyingLockheed L-049 Constellations.In 1963, Paradise was operating three daily flights between Lake Tahoe and Oakland and San Jose in the Bay Area with some flights occasionally being operated withDouglas DC-3aircraft instead of the Constellation.[2]Paradise then ceased operations aftera fatal accidentin the mountains near Lake Tahoe.

Pacific Air Linesarrived in 1964 withFairchild F-27turboprops. That summer, Lake Tahoe was a stop on an F-27 "milk run"service: Pacific flight 771 operated Reno-Lake Tahoe-Sacramento-San Francisco-San Jose-Fresno-Bakersfield-Los Angeles-San Diego. In 1966, Pacific started the first jet service to Lake Tahoe,Boeing 727-100sflying Los Angeles (LAX)-San Jose-Lake Tahoe. A 1966 Pacific Air Lines route map depicted nonstop 727 service to San Francisco (SFO) and Reno.[3]This 727 service lasted less than a year, and Lake Tahoe did not see scheduled jets again until 1983; scheduled airline jet flights were banned by the local government after Pacific ended its 727 flights.[4]Pacific Air Lines and successors Air West andHughes Airwestcontinued operating F-27 flights until 1973.

Holiday Airlinesserved Lake Tahoe withLockheed L-188 Electrasin the 1960s and early 1970s, followed byPacific Southwest Airlines(PSA) andAir California(laterAirCal) Electras starting in 1975. Sierra Pacific Airlines, a commuter air carrier, served the airport in the mid-1960s with flights to San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland and Monterey.[5]Commuter air carrier Skymark Airlines, a predecessor ofGolden West Airlines(which later served the airport as well), flewde Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Ottersin the late 1960s nonstop to Sacramento and Fresno and direct to Oakland, San Jose and Monterey.[6]Golden Pacific Airlines (1969-1973),a commuter air carrier, was operating nonstop to Lake Tahoe from San Francisco, Sacramento and Reno in 1969 withBeechcraft 99turboprops.[7]Valley Airlines, another commuter airline, was also serving the airport in 1969 with nonstop flights to Reno, San Francisco, San Jose and Stockton.[8]

PSA dropped Lake Tahoe in 1979, as did Air California a few months later. The replacements wereAspen AirwaysandCal Sierra Airlines,both flyingConvair 580s,andAir Pacific (United States)and successorGolden Gate Airlinesas well asGolden West Airlineswith all three airlines operatingde Havilland Canada DHC-7 Dash 7s.Pacific Coast Airlines (formerly Apollo Airways) served the airport withHandley Page JetstreamswhileGulf Air Transport,McCulloch International Airlinesand Nomads Travel Club nonscheduled gambling charters all used Electras. Other turboprop operators were Royal American Airways with theVickers Viscount,[9]Sierra Expressway with theBAe Jetstream 31[10]and Alpha Air operating asTrans World ExpressforTWAwith theBeechcraft 1900C.[11]

According to theOfficial Airline Guide,six regional and commuter airlines were serving Lake Tahoe in spring 1981 including Air Sierra, Aspen Airways, Cal Sierra Airlines, Golden Gate Airlines, Golden West Airlines and Great Sierra Airlines with a combined total of up to 24 flights a day.[12]The April 1, 1981OAGedition lists nonstop flights from Burbank, Fresno, Los Angeles, Oakland, Orange County, Reno, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose and Truckee, CA.

Jet service resumed in 1983 withAirCalMcDonnell Douglas MD-80sfollowed byBoeing 737-300s.AirCal flew nonstop to Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Jose, CA and direct to Burbank and Orange County. In 1987, a daily AirCal 737-300 flight was scheduled direct toChicago O'Hare Airportvia San Francisco and Orange County.American Airlinesacquired AirCal in 1987 and continued to serve Lake Tahoe with the former AirCal 737-300s but soon switched its service to regional partnerAmerican Eaglewhich operatedSaab 340sandFairchild Swearingen Metrolinersto the airport in the 1990s. American was the only major airline to serve Lake Tahoe. In late 1989, American and code sharing affiliate American Eagle were the only airlines at Lake Tahoe, American withBoeing 737-200sand American Eagle withMetro IIIs.[13]At one point,Reno AirflewMcDonnell Douglas MD-80sandMD-87snonstop to Los Angeles; other jets includedBAC One-ElevensandConvair 990son nonscheduled casino charters. The four engine Convair 990 jet operated byDenver Ports of Callairlines could land at the airport but could not depart from Lake Tahoe with a full load of passengers, so departing passengers were bused to the Reno airport and boarded the 990 there.[4]

ATahoe AirBoeing 737-200at Lake Tahoe Airport in 1999.

In 1999,Casino Express Airlinesoperating asTahoe Airstarted low fareBoeing 737-200service nonstop to San Jose and Los Angeles (LAX).Allegiant AirflewMcDonnell Douglas DC-9nonstops to Burbank, Fresno, Las Vegas and Long Beach in 1999–2000.[14]Tahoe Air ceased operations later in 1999 while Allegiant ended all service in 2000 and later became a low fare air carrier that is still in business. Lake Tahoe has not had scheduled passenger flights since, and the area is now served byReno-Tahoe International AirportandSacramento International Airport.

Due to budget cuts in 2001, the FAA ceased funding on-site weather observers who had also served as the airport's air traffic controllers. Unable to find replacement funding, the South Lake Tahoe city council voted to close the airport's Air Traffic Control Tower on October 1, 2004.[15][16]Despite the tower's closure, the airport continues to serve general aviation traffic usingself-announce proceduresfor uncontrolled airports.

Beginning in 2006, the airport's former commercial airline terminal building was renovated and converted into a new city hall and administrative services office for the City of South Lake Tahoe. Relocating to airport land allowed the city to counter rising lease costs at its old location in theAl Tahoeneighborhood.[17]Renovations were completed and the new city hall opened in 2007.[18]

Facilities[edit]

Fixed-base operatorservices (e.g. fuel and ground support) are provided by Mountain West Aviation.

Attached to the former airline terminal building, the Flight Deck Sports Bar & Grill provides a public restaurant overlooking the airport's runway.

References[edit]

  1. ^"Futura Airlines 1962 Timetable".Airline Timetable Images.Retrieved19 September2023.
  2. ^https:// timetableimages /i-or/par6310a.jpg
  3. ^"Pacific Air Lines advertisement".DepartedFlights.1966.Retrieved19 September2023.
  4. ^ab"Lake Tahoe Airport".Departed Wings.Retrieved19 September2023.
  5. ^"Sierra Pacific Airlines timetable".Airline Timetable Images.6 August 1966.Retrieved19 September2023.
  6. ^"Skymark Airlines timetable".Airline Timetable Images.18 November 1968.Retrieved19 September2023.
  7. ^"Golden Pacific Airlines Flight Schedule".Airline Timetable Images.1 September 1969.Retrieved19 September2023.
  8. ^"Valley Airlines June 1 1969 Route Map".DepartedFlights.Retrieved19 September2023.
  9. ^"Royal American Airways system timetable".Airline Timetable Images.November 1982.Retrieved19 September2023.
  10. ^http:// thefreelibrary /Sierra+Expressway+Airlines+station+manager.a017769456[dead link]
  11. ^"Trans World Express Route Maps May 1, 1994".DepartedFlights.Retrieved19 September2023.
  12. ^"Flights to Lake Tahoe Effective April 1, 1981".DepartedFlights.Retrieved19 September2023.
  13. ^"Flights to Lake Tahoe Effective December 15, 1989".DepartedFlights.Retrieved19 September2023.
  14. ^"1999-2000 Allegiant schedules".Airline Timetable Images.Retrieved19 September2023.
  15. ^Stern, Robert (19 Dec 2001)."FAA threatens to pull air traffic control tower funding".Tahoe Daily Tribune.Retrieved22 June2020.
  16. ^Wood, Susan (21 September 2004)."Airport tower axed by 3-2 vote".Tahoe Daily Tribune.Retrieved22 June2020.
  17. ^Ronan, Pat (28 September 2005)."Airport will make a great City Hall".Tahoe Daily Tribune.Retrieved22 June2020.
  18. ^"History of Lake Tahoe's Airports"(PDF).City of South Lake Tahoe.Retrieved22 June2020.

External links[edit]

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