The airport is built on the site of the Pocatello Army Airfield, a World War II training base. Many of the base facilities have been razed, although four large hangars remain; it is also home to the Pocatello office of the National Weather Service. Bounded on the south by Interstate 86, the airport is several miles southeast of American Falls Reservoir.
The airport is home to the Kizuna Garden, built to commemorate the bond between Pocatello and its sister city Iwamizawa, Japan.[4]
Facilities and aircraft
Pocatello Regional Airport covers an area of 3,374 acres (5.3 sq mi; 13.7 km2) at an elevation of 4,452 feet (1,357 m) above sea level. It has two runways with asphalt surfaces: 3/21 is 9,059 by 150 feet (2,761 by 46 m) and 17/35 is 7,150 by 100 feet (2,179 by 30 m).[1]
For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2018, the airport had 27,317 aircraft operations, an average of 75 per day: 70% general aviation, 25% air taxi, 4% scheduled commercial, and 1% military. At that time there were 48 aircraft based at this airport: 35 single-engine, 7 multi-engine, 5 jet, and 1 helicopter.[1]
History
In 1943, the Pocatello Army Airfield was built as a Second Air Force heavy bomber (B-17, B-24) training base. By 1949, the new airfield had become a surplus property and was obtained by the city of Pocatello to build a commercial airport.
while the starting date is unknown, Western Air Lines served Pocatello for a number of years, but discontinued all service by 1980.[5] According to the airline's August 1, 1968 system timetable, Western operated Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprops into Pocatello. In September of 1973, this service was replaced with the new and more efficient Boeing 737-200, which offered nonstop flights to Salt Lake City, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. After discontinuing mainline flights, the airline subsequently served the airport as Western Express which was operated as code share service by SkyWest with commuter turboprop aircraft.[6] Western merged with Delta Air Lines in 1987, and SkyWest continues to operate the code share service as Delta Connection.
Horizon Air served Pocatello until January 7, 2006, originally with service to Salt Lake City in 1983. The airline canceled that service in favor of flights to Boise starting in 1984 operated with de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8 turboprops.[7]
In 2014, a World War II-era mortar was found on the airport grounds while doing routine maintenance work. The mortar was safely removed by law enforcement.[11][12]