The airport is built on the site of thePocatello Army Airfield, aWorld 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 theNational Weather Service. Bounded on the south byInterstate 86, the airport is several miles southeast ofAmerican Falls Reservoir.
Pocatello Regional Airport covers an area of 3,374 acres (5.3 sq mi; 13.7 km2) at anelevation of 4,452 feet (1,357 m) abovesea level. It has tworunways withasphalt 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, 5jet, and 1helicopter.[1]
In 1943, thePocatello Army Airfield was built as aSecond 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 operatedLockheed L-188 Electra turboprops into Pocatello. In September of 1973, this service was replaced with the new and more efficientBoeing 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 ascode share service bySkyWest with commuter turboprop aircraft.[6] Western merged withDelta Air Lines in 1987, and SkyWest continues to operate the code share service asDelta 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 withde 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]
In 2024,NASA retired theirDouglas DC-8 from the fleet, before retiring, NASA flew across the United States and landed in Pocatello, and is still currently restored there. This Douglas DC-8 was one of about 3 total aircraft that were still flying at the time. The DC-8 was donated to the airport for education use forIdaho State University. The aircraft sits next to the taxiway andgeneral aviation parking area of the airport.
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
