Eagle County’s airport is focused on non-winter service following a record-setting 2024

It’s been a good year so far at the Eagle County Regional Airport. Except for Frontier Airlines leaving, which came as a surprise to airport officials.

During a Monday presentation to the Eagle County Board of Commissioners, Eagle County Aviation Director David Reid said Frontier, which in October of 2024 announced its entry to the Eagle County Market, pulled out of the market without telling airport officials, or even airline marketing people.

Reid said the airline’s marketing team was already working on a summer campaign when word came down that the airline was canceling service to Eagle County.

But, Reid said, he expects to continue the relationship with the low-cost carrier in hopes of bringing in more flights in the future.

Even with that news, Reid said the airport still has a goal of improving its passenger numbers by 10% over last year’s record.

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Reid said this year’s focus will be on building non-winter service, noting that United Airlines in June will restart service into Eagle County from Houston and Chicago.

Deputy Aviation Director Josh Miller said there’s good news on other fronts. Delta Airlines in early April announced it will begin service to Eagle from JFK airport in New York City in December. And, Miller said, while details aren’t yet available, Delta may be on the brink of announcing service from yet another market in the next 30 to 60 days.

Still, Reid noted, he expects the coming winter’s route map to mirror the one from the season just past. The previous winter made Eagle County the third-busiest airport in the state, behind only Denver and Colorado Springs.

That business at the airport was also reflected on the ground, with car rental and restaurant revenue both up by more than 11% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2024.

Beyond immediate business, airport officials have put out to bid a new taxiway on the north side of the airport. That taxiway, when complete, will allow more development on that side of the airport. While paving is unlikely this year, much of the earthwork will begin.

Miller told the commissioners that the bidding will be open to multiple schedules, which will allow local contractors to bid on the job. That will create opportunities for local firms to participate in the project, he said.

“It will be interesting to see what development ideas we get” from that project, Reid said, citing the potential for a possible Federal Express or similar facility on that side of the airport. Reid added there’s also demand for private hangar space.

And, Reid added, an evaluation of potential noise and environmental impacts has shown no significant impacts are anticipated for the Eagle or Gypsum communities from the project.

While that project is going ahead, there’s less certainty about the potential for an international terminal at the airport.

While the design is complete, the price has ballooned from an initial estimate of about $5 million to perhaps $22 million.

“We’ve been looking at private partners to get this done,” Reid said, but added that airport officials won’t rush into a deal just to get a deal done.