# Largest US City Without a Commercial Airport? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 17, 2007, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-us-city-without-a-commercial-airport/396358 "2007-03-17T19:11:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![The\_Spirit\_of\_Radio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e19b73/32.png) [@The\_Spirit\_of\_Radio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Spirit_of_Radio)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2007, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-us-city-without-a-commercial-airport/396358/21 "2007-03-18T17:47:15Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] Didn’t they once plan to move a Boston pro team there? [/QUOTE] Yeah, in the mid-90s they were going to move the New England Patriots there. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2007, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-us-city-without-a-commercial-airport/396358/22 "2007-03-18T18:00:45Z")
[QUOTE=TJVM] There’s a list [here](http://ostpxweb.dot.gov/aviation/domav/ruralair.pdf) (warning: PDF) of rural airports that, as I understand it, serve less than 100,000 passengers per year. It looks like there are some pretty small towns on that list. [/QUOTE] Those may be “commercial” airports, but I can state quite definitively that the vast majority of them on the list (think 99%) don’t have “commercial” flights, a la _scheduled airline flights_. Some on that list don’t even have paved runways. I know. I’ve flown into them. Some aren’t even landable anymore, like the one on Chambers Island, Wisconsin. Yet it appears on the list. Besides, the only thing inhabited semi-regularly on Chambers Island is a monastary. I’d be most interested in seeing a list of all the US airports that have scheduled airline flights. I’ve been unable to turn up such a list with my googling thus far. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2007, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-us-city-without-a-commercial-airport/396358/23 "2007-03-18T20:33:05Z")
[QUOTE=anson2995] But the OP mentioned suburbs, and Covington, KY is essentially a suburb of Cincy. It’s a five minute cab ride from the airport to downtown. [/QUOTE] [nitpick] However, although the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky airport is designated as “CVG” (for Covington), once you take that 5-minute cab ride from Cincinnati, you are still 10 miles from CVG, which is in Hebron, KY.[/nitpick] Having said that, Hebron is still a suburb of Cincinnati. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2007, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-us-city-without-a-commercial-airport/396358/24 "2007-03-18T21:34:21Z")
[QUOTE=bump] Topeka, KS is such a nexus of suckitude, that despite being something like 60 miles from Kansas City, in a different state, having a population over 120,000, and being a state capitol(!), it doesn’t have a commercial airport. [/QUOTE] For about the last year, Allegiant Air has had regularly scheduled flights into and out of Forbes Field in Topeka. But there are only two flights a week, both to Las Vegas. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2007, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-us-city-without-a-commercial-airport/396358/25 "2007-03-19T00:57:40Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] Wayne County Airport is the 10th busiest airport in the country. I can’t imagine that it’s ever closed down except temporarily. I’d need some very strong proof of this claim. [/QUOTE] He may be referring to Detroit’s airport, which is separate from Detroit Metro Airport. Even so, I’ve never heard of Detroit’s airport being closed. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2007, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-us-city-without-a-commercial-airport/396358/26 "2007-03-19T02:26:53Z")
Yes, that list is odd. No real person would consider Outagamie County (ATW) a rural airport. According to [AirNav: KATW - Appleton International Airport](http://www.airnav.com/airport/atw) it gets 136 aircraft operations a day (though only 11% commercial) And the airport I fly out of (Houston County - CHU) isn’t on the list and I know it qualifies for Federal aid there is no commercial operations, other than UPS occasionally landing there when LaCrosse is fogged in. Part 139 certification is required by airports with scheduled service with planes \> 9 seats. [http://www.faa.gov/airports\_airtraffic/airports/airport\_safety/part139\_cert/?p1=affected](http://www.faa.gov/airports_airtraffic/airports/airport_safety/part139_cert/?p1=affected) but I haven’t found a list yet. Brian ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2007, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-us-city-without-a-commercial-airport/396358/27 "2007-03-19T02:27:53Z")
Jefferson City, Mo. (the state capitol) has no commercial service, and hasn’t for decades. Technically that shouldn’t be a problem, because Jefferson City is only 15 minutes from Columbia Regional Airport. But Columbia’s scheduled commercial service is hanging by a thread – if it hasn’t already ended, leaving mid-Missouri travelers to go to St. Louis or Kansas City. The combined population of Columbia and Jefferson City is about 125,000. As long as we’re playing state capitols, how about Huntsville, Ala. and Tallahassee, Fla.? ---
**Author:** ![Neptunian\_Slug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce7236/32.png) [@Neptunian\_Slug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neptunian_Slug)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2007, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-us-city-without-a-commercial-airport/396358/28 "2007-03-19T02:40:55Z")
[QUOTE=kunilou] Jefferson City, Mo. (the state capitol) has no commercial service, and hasn’t for decades. Technically that shouldn’t be a problem, because Jefferson City is only 15 minutes from Columbia Regional Airport. But Columbia’s scheduled commercial service is hanging by a thread – if it hasn’t already ended, leaving mid-Missouri travelers to go to St. Louis or Kansas City. The combined population of Columbia and Jefferson City is about 125,000. As long as we’re playing state capitols, how about Huntsville, Ala. and Tallahassee, Fla.? [/QUOTE] Montgomery Alabama has an airport that is served by commercial airlines I believe. ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2007, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-us-city-without-a-commercial-airport/396358/29 "2007-03-19T03:36:47Z")
[QUOTE=kunilou] As long as we’re playing state capitols, how about Huntsville, Ala. and Tallahassee, Fla.? [/QUOTE] Huntsville’s not Alabama’s state capital (and,as **Neptunian Slug** says, [Montgomery has an airport](http://www.montgomeryairport.org/) [MGM]). Both MGM and [Tallahassee Regional Airport](http://www.talgov.com/airport/commercial.cfm) (TLH) have scheduled flights by Continental, Delta, Northwest, and US Airways. ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2007, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-us-city-without-a-commercial-airport/396358/30 "2007-03-19T04:34:57Z")
[QUOTE=bump] Topeka, KS is such a nexus of suckitude, that despite being something like 60 miles from Kansas City, in a different state, having a population over 120,000, and being a state **capitol** (!), it doesn’t have a commercial airport. [/QUOTE] > [@gazpacho](#): > > Really? I had always heard that Santa Fe New Mexico was the only state **capitol** without major airline service. > [@HeyHomie](#): > > IMHO, it’s pretty sad when a city of 111,000 people, and a state **capitol** no less, has no regularly-scheduled passenger air service. > [@kunilou](#): > > As long as we’re playing state **capitols** , how about Huntsville, Ala. and Tallahassee, Fla.? You know, I would be awfully impressed to see a state capitol with an airport in it. Anything more than a helipad would require some pretty creative architecture. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2007, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-us-city-without-a-commercial-airport/396358/31 "2007-03-19T12:38:10Z")
> [@](#): > > The city of Worcester, MA with a population of 173,000 is a city in its own right even though it is less than 50 miles from Boston. It has an airport for scheduled passenger operations but it has shut-down in that capacity for a number of years because the greater Boston area has at least 4 passenger airports already. I came in to mentioon Worcester, but Shagnasty beat me to it. To my mind, though, “because the greater Boston Area has at least 4 passenger airports already” misses the point, and is misleading. Boston has Logan, which is inconveniently located and overburdened. It’s over on the ocean, has few access roads, and is a pain for people coming from the West of the city.For years people have proposed using Hanscom Field out near Lincoln, but the locals have opposed this vociferously. Im sure it has nothing to do with the fact gthat Lincoln, Concord, and Lexington are wealthy communities trhat don’t want planes landing over their houses. The other airports that have taken up the slack aren’t even in the same state – T.F. Green airport is outside Providence, Rhode Island, and Manchester Airport is in New Hampshire. For people living in the Wstern Suburbs of Boston , Worcester would actually be closer. Worcester Airport also has surprisingly new facilities. Worcester could definitely use the income that’s now going out iof state. What’s keeping it from being used, I’ve been told (and have a hard time believing) is thatthere is inadequate access road there, and they can’t persuade people to move or sell, or use eminent domain. I find this incredibly hard to believe. Worcester is the second largest city in the state, and it’s hit hard economic times. Certainly something is keeping this state-of-the-art airport from being used, but I doubt if it’s because there are other airports in nearby states. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2007, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-us-city-without-a-commercial-airport/396358/32 "2007-03-19T14:50:04Z")
[QUOTE=kunilou] As long as we’re playing state capitols … [/QUOTE] Juneau, AK has commercial airline service? Lessee here … Hmmm … Wikipedia says Alaska Airlines serves Juneau, but no other carriers. I wonder is people can fly into Juneau directly from the Lower 48, or does everything get “hubbed” through Anchorage or something? ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2007, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-us-city-without-a-commercial-airport/396358/33 "2007-03-19T15:33:10Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] What’s keeping it from being used, I’ve been told (and have a hard time believing) is thatthere is inadequate access road there, and they can’t persuade people to move or sell, or use eminent domain. I find this incredibly hard to believe. Worcester is the second largest city in the state, and it’s hit hard economic times. Certainly something is keeping this state-of-the-art airport from being used, but I doubt if it’s because there are other airports in nearby states. [/QUOTE] If you look at a [map](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=worcester+airport,+worcester+ma&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=51.310143,72.773438&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=13&ll=42.261557,-71.832218&spn=0.09452,0.198441&om=1&iwloc=addr) of the area, you can certainly see the poor road access. In addition, the current road configuration around the perimeter would only allow them to lengthen one runway (Runway 33/15) The other runway (11/29) isn’t very long either, and appears to be about 5500 ft or so… not very friendly to large aircraft. I used to work in the Worcester area, and had a client out near the airport. Coming from U.Mass Medical Center, it took about 20 minutes to get to the airport. It was only 7 miles. I’m sure they have issues with neighbors as well. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-us-city-without-a-commercial-airport/396358/34 "2024-03-30T23:31:43Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Topeka, KS is such a nexus of suckitude, that despite being something like 60 miles from Kansas City, in a different state, having a population over 120,000, and being a state capitol(!), it doesn’t have a commercial airport It’s 17 years later. Does Topeka now have a commercial airport? As for the thread topic, I believe there have been a few fairly populous cities that have lost commercial airline service over the last decade or so. Klamath Falls, Oregon, has nearly 70,000 people in its metro area but lost its airline connection a few years ago, requiring residents to take two hours or more on a two-lane road across the Cascades to Medford. (However, maybe an airline has moved in since then.) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2024, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-us-city-without-a-commercial-airport/396358/35 "2024-03-30T23:53:16Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > It’s 17 years later. Does Topeka now have a commercial airport? Doesn’t look like it, at least not today. Wikipedia says that [Topeka Regional Airport](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topeka_Regional_Airport) was served by Allegiant in 2006-7, then by United Express for a few months in 2014. There’s been no commercial service at that airport since then, though it also looks like KU uses the airport for their sports teams’ charter flights, as do other schools flying in to play against KU. The nearest commercial airport, according to [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topeka%2C_Kansas#Infrastructure), is Manhattan Regional Airport, about an hour’s drive west of Topeka. It looks like Manhattan has [two flights per day to DFW](http://flymhk.com/92/Airline-Info). ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2024, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-us-city-without-a-commercial-airport/396358/36 "2024-03-31T00:33:27Z")
Going back to the OP, Springfield, IL is now being served by Allegiant, American, and (coming soon) Breeze airlines. Bridgeport and Stamford are the two largest cities in Connecticut, and neither of them have scheduled air service. I know Stamford is close enough to NYC to count as a suburb, but how about Bridgeport? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2024, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-us-city-without-a-commercial-airport/396358/37 "2024-03-31T00:39:32Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Bridgeport and Stamford are the two largest cities in Connecticut, and neither of them have scheduled air service. I know Stamford is close enough to NYC to count as a suburb, but how about Bridgeport? Bridgeport is about 20 miles from New Haven, which is now the East Coast hub of a newer low-cost carrier, Avelo. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2024, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-us-city-without-a-commercial-airport/396358/38 "2024-03-31T00:44:58Z")
I was surprised no one mentioned Wilmington, Delaware. But upon checking their airport’s Wikipedia page, they do have airline service on Avelo Airlines now, and at the time this this thread was last active they had flights on one of Delta’s regional affiliates. But there were periods in between when Wilmington’s airport had no scheduled service, making Delaware the only _state_ in the US with no scheduled airline service. But like other people stated, it’s probably more useful to talk about cities more than x miles from an airport with scheduled service, as Wilmington is only ~30 miles from Philadelphia, and I’m sure most of it’s residents use PHL for their air travel needs. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2024, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-us-city-without-a-commercial-airport/396358/39 "2024-03-31T00:54:04Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > But like other people stated, it’s probably more useful to talk about cities more than x miles from an airport with scheduled service, as Wilmington is only ~30 miles from Philadelphia, and I’m sure most of it’s residents use PHL for their air travel needs. Exactly so. If one, for example, looks at the list of the biggest cities in Illinois, numbers 2, 3, 4, and 6 (Aurora, Joliet, Naperville, and Elgin) all have populations of at least 114,000 people, and none have commercial air service…but they are all in the Chicago metropolitan area, and all are within 40 miles of either O’Hare or Midway. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2024, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-us-city-without-a-commercial-airport/396358/40 "2024-03-31T01:09:17Z")
This thread is so old (how old is it?) that I counted at least 5 defunct airlines mentioned including US Airways andNorthwest [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-us-city-without-a-commercial-airport/396358.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/largest-us-city-without-a-commercial-airport/396358.md?page=3)