Chippewa Valley Regional Airport
Chippewa Valley Regional Airport is a public use airport in Chippewa County, Wisconsin, United States. The airport is owned by Eau Claire county and is located three nautical miles north of the central business district of the city of Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
It is the largest airport in the 30-county northern Wisconsin area and serves primarily the Chippewa Valley region, operating on a budget approved by a commission equally representing the interests of Chippewa, Dunn and Eau Claire counties.
The airport is mainly used for general aviation and business travel; the Eau Claire-based Menards corporation uses CVRA to base their fleet of aircraft to serve their stores throughout the Midwest. It is occasionally used as an alternative landing site for flights bound for Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. As of April 2010, only one commercial airline, United Airlines, provides service for CVRA to Chicago O'Hare International.
It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2019–2023, in which it is categorized as a non-hub primary commercial service facility. It is the eighth busiest of eight commercial airports in Wisconsin in terms of passengers served.
History
In 1923, of land in Putnam Heights were purchased to build an airport. In 1929, Eau Claire Airways was started at the airport, offering training and scheduled taxi service to destinations in Wisconsin and Minnesota.In 1939, work on a new airport started north of Eau Claire. In 1940, Eau Claire County Airport started operations at its current site. Eau Claire Municipal Airport opened in 1945, while Chippewa Valley Regional Airport was officially opened in 1947 with the arrival of a Northwest Airlines DC-3. At this time, Eau Claire had three airports. Upgrades at Chippewa Valley Regional Airport were made in further decades, with a terminal addition in 1981. Another terminal remodeling and expansion was completed in 2009.
A new $3.9 million control tower was built in 2005. In November 2006, the tower opened, thus making it safer for pilots. Passenger loading used to be from the tarmac until a jetbridge was installed in Spring 2011.
In 2015, the Airport Commission Room was renamed the Duax Commission Room after long-time airport supporter and former airport commissioner David Duax.
Facilities and aircraft
Chippewa Valley Regional Airport covers an area of at an elevation of 913 feet above mean sea level. It has two runways: 4/22 is 8,101 by 150 feet with a concrete surface and 14/32 is 5,000 by 100 feet with an asphalt/concrete surface.For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2017, the airport had 20,155 aircraft operations, an average of 55 per day: 86% general aviation, 12% air taxi, 2% military and less than 1% scheduled commercial. In July 2020, there were 88 aircraft based at this airport: 60 single-engine, 10 multi-engine, 15 jet, 2 helicopter and 1 military.
Airline and destination
Passenger
The consolidated flight from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport to Hancock's Houghton County Memorial Airport stops in Eau Claire| Destination map |
Throughout the years, numerous airlines have served Eau Claire including North Central Airlines, Republic Airlines, Lakeland Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Mesaba Airlines, Skyway Airlines, Air Wisconsin, American Central Airlines, Great Lakes Aviation, Big Sky Airlines and Charter Airlines. Allegiant Airlines and Sun Country Airlines often run charter service to popular destinations.
Statistics
| Rank | Airport | Passengers | Airline |
| 1 | Chicago O'Hare International | 22,980 | United |