Cortez Municipal Airport ( IATA : CEZ , ICAO : KCEZ , FAA LID : CEZ ) (Montezuma County Airport) is three miles southwest of Cortez , in Montezuma County , Colorado , United States. It has passenger service from one airline: Key Lime Air DBA Denver Air Connection .
9-406: Its first scheduled passenger airline flights were operated by Monarch Airlines (1946-1950) with Douglas DC-3s in 1949. By 1977, Monarch successor Frontier Airlines (1950-1986) was operating Convair 580 turboprop service direct to Albuquerque and Denver as well as nonstop to nearby Farmington . Frontier had ceased serving Cortez by 1982. Following cessation of service by Frontier, Cortez
18-670: A stop in Durango also flown with Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner aircraft. In 1989, Mesa Airlines was the only air carrier serving Cortez with nonstop flights from Denver and direct flights from Albuquerque via a stop in Farmington both operated with Beechcraft commuter turboprops. By 1995, Mesa Airlines was operating code sharing flights as United Express on behalf of United Airlines with nonstop service from Denver and Farmington flown with Beechcraft 1900D and Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia commuter propjets. In 2000, Great Lakes Airlines
27-537: Is 7,205 by 100 feet (2,196 x 30 m) asphalt. In 2019 the airport had 9,834 aircraft operations, average 27 per day: 86% general aviation , 13% air taxi , and <1% military. 26 aircraft were then based at the airport: 85% single-engine, 1% multi-engine, and <1% helicopter . The airport is an uncontrolled airport and has no control tower. Denver Air Connection currently operates Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner turboprop aircraft on its flights serving Cortez. Monarch Airlines (1946-1950) Monarch Air Lines
36-533: The airline was sharing several functions with Challenger Airlines , such as maintenance and sales at Denver. Monarch bought a controlling interest in Challenger in December 1949. Monarch merged with Arizona Airways and Challenger Airlines on June 1, 1950, to form Frontier Airlines . Monarch's President, Hal S. Darr, became President of the new airline. Ray Wilson became V.P. Operations and Maintenance of
45-441: The new company and Monarch's Treasurer, C.A. Myhre, became Executive Vice President and later President of Frontier. Monarch operated five Douglas DC-3 aircraft at the time of the merger: NC64421, NC64422, NC64423, NC64424, and NC66610. They became Frontier "Sunliners" named Arizona, New Mexico, Royal Gorge, Mesa Verde and Utah . Monarch was serving the following destinations on a daily basis with Douglas DC-3 aircraft during
54-566: Was an American local service airline based in Denver , Colorado , that began its scheduled air service on November 27, 1946, with a flight from Denver to Durango, Colorado , using a Douglas DC-3 . It was formed by F.W. Bonfils of The Denver Post family and Ray M. Wilson, who operated a Denver flying school. Other services started to Albuquerque , Salt Lake City and Grand Junction . Monarch pioneered all-weather operations in its service area by installing its own navigational system. By 1948,
63-586: Was on a training flight originating at Laughlin AFB , Texas; the U-2 aircraft engine flamed out at 70,000 feet MSL. Maj. Hua established best glide and was able to navigate through a valley to a lighted airport that wasn't on his map; nor did he know of its existence beforehand. The airport was the only one in the area with a runway that was lighted overnight. Cortez Municipal Airport covers 622 acres (252 ha ) at an elevation of 5,918 feet (1,804 m). Its one runway , 3/21,
72-520: Was operating code sharing service as United Express on behalf of United Airlines with nonstop Beechcraft 1900D flights to Denver. Great Lakes Airlines then operated nonstop Beechcraft 1900D service primarily to Denver as an independent air carrier from 2001 through 2016. A USAF Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance aircraft made an emergency nighttime forced landing at the Cortez Municipal Airport on August 3, 1959. Major Hsi-Chun Mike Hua
81-512: Was served by several commuter air carriers over the years. During the mid-1980s, two airlines were serving the airport: Pioneer Airlines operating code sharing flights as Continental Express on behalf of Continental Airlines with direct service from Denver via a stop in Grand Junction flown with Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner commuter propjets, and Trans-Colorado Airlines operating independently with direct service from Denver via
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