Rock Springs-Sweetwater County Airport plays a critical role in fostering business and economic growth in Southwest Wyoming with over $31 million in annual economic output.
The airport handled more than 1.2 million pounds of cargo, 16,600 aircraft operations, and 50,000 travelers in 2016 and is poised for growth in 2017.
With an airport in their backyard, Sweetwater County companies are able to access the global marketplace. Hundreds of companies have major operations here, and they rely on quality air transportation services to transport their goods and products to the marketplace.
The airport provides one-stop connections to over 170 worldwide destinations on its twice-daily United service to Denver International Airport. This jet service, initiated in February 2015, has provided a major improvement to the reliability of air service to the community with over 98 percent of scheduled flights being completed.
Recently, the airport board commissioned a market and pricing study that demonstrated that there is indeed a solid market in Southwest Wyoming for air transportation services. With more than 1,000 passengers either arriving or departing our market area daily, the airport recognized the opportunity. With this new data in hand, the airport approached SkyWest Airlines regarding two major issues that caused a significant amount of those customers to choose other airports: airfares and flight schedule.
With this data in hand, SkyWest made some immediate changes to better support our service. Starting in November, round-trip air fares to Denver were reduced to as low as $198.
Additionally, air fares for flights beyond Denver were also reduced by as much as a couple hundred dollars. With free parking, a short drive, and easy to and through access, the airport can now compete with the larger airports in the region on price and convenience.
Along with the air service improvements, the airport is a few months away from breaking ground on its new general aviation terminal and hangar facility.
This $5.5 million project will provide a facility that will serve as the gateway to the community for tens of thousands of visitors to Sweetwater County each year. Included in those visitors are the leadership teams and personnel for nearly every major employer in Sweetwater County from the trona patch to the hospitals.
This project, much like most projects at the airport, includes very little to no local funding.
All told, the airport has secured over $11 million in grants over the last 12 months from the Federal Aviation Administration, Wyoming Business Council, and the Wyoming Department of Transportation for much needed capital improvements to its runways, facilities, and equipment. The airport is fortunate to have secured this funding with less than $200,000 (1.8 percent) in local funds.
As the airport looks to the future, the Federal Aviation Administration and Wyoming Department of Transportation have approved its six-year $14.2 million Capital Improvement Plan through 2022. This plan calls for under $1 million in local funding with the remainder coming from various federal and state grants. This plan will position the airport for decades of stability and success.
The Rock Springs-Sweetwater County Airport is focused on building a stronger future for the economic prosperity of Sweetwater County and Southwest Wyoming while becoming a more integral part of the community. The airport’s existing economic impact is sure to grow over the next several years as more improvements to its facilities, services, amenities, and operations are completed.
The community is invited to learn more about the Rock Springs-Sweetwater County Airport, by visiting http://www.rockspringsairport.com and following them on Facebook.
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