Rapid City Regional Airport

Rapid City Regional Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerCity of Rapid City
OperatorRapid City Regional Airport Board
ServesRapid City, South Dakota
Elevation AMSL3,203 ft / 976 m
Coordinates44°02′43″N 103°03′26″W / 44.04528°N 103.05722°W / 44.04528; -103.05722
Websitewww.rapairport.com/
Map
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
14/32 8,701 2,652 Concrete
5/23 3,601 1,098 Asphalt
Statistics (2023)
Aircraft operations44,743
Based aircraft124
Total passengers702,581
Source: Rapid City Regional Airport,[1] Federal Aviation Administration[2][3]

Rapid City Regional Airport (IATA: RAP, ICAO: KRAP, FAA LID: RAP) is a public use airport, nine miles southeast of Rapid City, in Pennington County, South Dakota, United States.[2]

It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2023–2027, in which it is categorized as a small-hub primary commercial service facility.[4]

It is the closest commercial airport to Mount Rushmore (located approximately 31.7 miles (51.0 km) away by driving distance) and is the main gateway airport to the Black Hills.

Facilities

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The airport covers 1,655 acres (6.70 km2) at an elevation of 3,203 feet (976 m). It has two runways: 14/32 is 8,701 by 150 feet (2,652 by 46 m) concrete and 5/23 is 3,601 by 75 feet (1,098 by 23 m) asphalt.[2][5] A near-parallel grass runway (13/31, 2,400 by 100 feet (732 by 30 m)) exists approximately 2,400 feet from Runway 14/32; this runway, however, belongs to Dan's Airport (FAA LID: 4SD4), a small private airport.[6]

A FedEx ATR-42-600 at the cargo ramp at Rapid City.

2021 Total Commercial Passengers: 690,740[7]

Terminal

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The current terminal building opened in 1988; a $20.5 million expansion and renovation designed by TSP Architecture was completed in 2012.[8][9] It includes 12,000 square feet of new floor space, the addition of three jet bridges and one boarding gate, an expanded security area with room for up to three lanes and body scanners, a new rental car wing, additional seating in the concourse, larger restrooms before and after security, modernized phone and data systems, new flight information boards, improved food service and shopping areas in the concourse, a rooftop patio, and energy-efficient windows and building exterior repair.[9]

The Rapid City area has had a municipal airport since 1924. The first airport was situated near the railroad tracks along East North Street and was later dedicated as Halley Field Airport in 1929. In 1937, the Rapid City Municipal Airport was established at the current location of Ellsworth Air Force Base, before being relocated to its present site in 1950. The airport was renamed Rapid City Regional Airport in 1980, and a new terminal was opened in November 1988. The original 1950 terminal was demolished in 2016.[10]

Airlines and destinations

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AirlinesDestinations
Allegiant Air Las Vegas, Los Angeles,[11] Orlando/Sanford,[12] Phoenix/Mesa
American Airlines Seasonal: Charlotte
American Eagle Dallas/Fort Worth
Seasonal: Charlotte, Chicago–O'Hare
Delta Air Lines Seasonal: Minneapolis/St. Paul
Delta Connection Minneapolis/St. Paul
Sun Country Airlines Seasonal: Minneapolis/St. Paul
United Airlines Denver
Seasonal: Chicago–O'Hare
United Express Denver
Seasonal: Chicago–O'Hare
Destinations map
class=notpageimage|
All passenger destinations from Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP)
Red = Year-round destination
Green = Seasonal destination
Blue = Future destination

Historical airline service

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Since 2020, several commercial routes have been cut from the airport's schedule and have not returned. Most of these routes were seasonal flights offered during the summer, with Allegiant Air offering flights from select cities for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in August 2021. [13] The terminated destinations included Appleton, Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, Knoxville, Nashville, Peoria, Pittsburgh, and Punta Gorda (operated by Allegiant), New York-LaGuardia and Phoenix-Sky Harbor (operated by American Airlines), Atlanta and Detroit (operated by Delta Air Lines), Salt Lake City (operated by Delta Connection), and Houston, Newark, Los Angeles, and San Francisco (operated by United Express).[14][15][16][17][18] United returned seasonal service from San Francisco for the 2024 Sturgis Rally, using the Embraer E175.[19]

Statistics

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Carrier shares

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Carrier shares
(April 2022 - March 2023)[20]
Rank Carrier Passengers % of market
1 SkyWest 282,000 42.00%
2 United 127,000 18.94%
3 Allegiant 80,320 11.96%
4 Mesa 76,340 11.36%
5 Envoy 61,920 9.22%
6 Other 43,810 6.52%

Top destinations

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Busiest domestic routes from RAP
(April 2022 - March 2023)[20]
Rank City Passengers Carriers
1 Denver, Colorado 106,000 United
2 Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota 65,000 Delta
3 Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas 52,000 American
4 Chicago–O’Hare, Illinois 40,000 American, United
5 Phoenix/Mesa, Arizona 24,000 Allegiant
6 Charlotte, North Carolina 18,000 American
7 Las Vegas, Nevada 16,000 Allegiant
8 Salt Lake City, Utah 7,000 Delta
9 Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Arizona 6,000 American

Ground transportation

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As of 2022, there is no public transit to Rapid City Regional Airport. The nearest Rapid City Rapid Ride bus stop is located over six miles away. Lyft, Wridz and Uber are rideshare transportation options. Taxis are available from Rapid Cab. Six car rental counters are available in the terminal.[21]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Airport Breaks Passenger Numbers 3rd Year In A Row" (PDF). Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c FAA Airport Form 5010 for RAP PDF, effective November 4, 2021.
  3. ^ https://aspm.faa.gov/opsnet/sys/Airport.asp [bare URL]
  4. ^ "List of NPIAS Airports" (PDF). FAA.gov. Federal Aviation Administration. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  5. ^ "RAP airport data from skyvector.com". skyvector.com. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  6. ^ "Dan's Airport". Airnav.com. July 16, 2020. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  7. ^ "2021 Passenger Numbers ✈️ Rapid City Regional Airport". 2022-01-17. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
  8. ^ Aust, Scott. "$20.5M airport project looks to land on time". Rapid City Journal. Retrieved 2013-04-14.
  9. ^ a b Rusch, Emilie (April 18, 2012). "$20.5M Airport Project Looks to Land On Time". Rapid City Journal. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  10. ^ "Business, Tourism, City Officials Praise Regional Airport's Year of Success". City of Rapid City. September 4, 2019.
  11. ^ https://ir.allegiantair.com/news/news-details/2024/Allegiant-Announces-Ten-New-Routes-with-One-Way-Fares-as-Low-as-45/default.aspx [bare URL]
  12. ^ "ALLEGIANT ANNOUNCES TWELVE NEW ROUTES WITH ONE-WAY FARES AS LOW AS $49*". PRNewsWire. November 16, 2023. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  13. ^ "Allegiant announces new flights from Rapid City". 9 February 2021.
  14. ^ "Rapid City Airport Sets All Time Record". 18 August 2021.
  15. ^ https://www.rcgov.org/rapid-city-news-room/rapid-city-regional-airport-adds-direct-flights-to-los-angeles-san-francisco-5927.html [bare URL]
  16. ^ "Rapid City Regional Airport is breaking records". 15 January 2020.
  17. ^ https://www.travelagentcentral.com/transportation/united-to-add-new-flights-between-u-s-hubs-eight-destinations [bare URL]
  18. ^ "Delta Air Lines to suspend Rapid City-Salt Lake City route Nov. 2". 15 October 2021.
  19. ^ "Rapid City Regional Airport sets a new record". 17 July 2024.
  20. ^ a b "RITA BTS Transtats - RAP". www.transtats.bts.gov. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  21. ^ "Transportation ✈️ Rapid City Regional Airport". 9 November 2021.
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