Owensboro–Daviess County Regional Airport

Owensboro–Daviess County Airport
File:Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport Logo.jpg
IATA: OWB – ICAO: KOWB – FAA LID: OWB
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Owensboro City & Daviess County
Serves	Owensboro, Kentucky
Elevation AMSL	407 ft / 124 m
Coordinates
Website	www.owb.net
Map
OWB Location of airport in Kentucky
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 18/36 8,000 2,438 Concrete 5/23 5,000 1,524 Asphalt/Concrete
Statistics (2014)
Aircraft operations 16,034 Based aircraft 47
Source: Federal Aviation Administration

Owensboro–Daviess County Airport (IATA: OWB, ICAO: KOWB, FAA LID: OWB) is a public use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) southwest of the central business district of Owensboro, a city in Daviess County, Kentucky, United States. The airport is owned by both the city and county. It is mostly used for general aviation and is served by two commercial airlines. Scheduled passenger service is subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.

As per the Federal Aviation Administration, this airport had 16,193 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2010, 17,296 in 2011, and 30,795 in 2012. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2013–2017 categorized it as a primary commercial service airport.

Facilities and aircraft

Owensboro–Daviess County Airport covers an area of 826 acres (334 ha) at an elevation of 407 feet (124 m) above mean sea level. It has two runways: 18/36 is 8,000 by 150 feet (2,438 x 46 m) with a concrete surface and 5/23 is 5,000 by 100 feet (1,524 x 30 m) with an asphalt/concrete surface.

For the 12-month period ending March 31, 2014, the airport had 16,034 aircraft operations, an average of 44 per day: 74% general aviation, 15% air taxi, 10% military, and 1% scheduled commercial. At that time 47 aircraft were based at this airport: 81% single-engine, 2% multi-engine, 15% jet, and 2% ultralight.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines offer scheduled passenger service:

Airlines	Destinations
Allegiant Air	Orlando/Sanford
Cape Air	St. Louis

History

RegionsAir operating as AmericanConnection provided flights to St. Louis until it ceased operations in March 2007. The next EAS contract was awarded to Big Sky Airlines, operating as Delta Connection, with service to Cincinnati scheduled to begin in June 2007. Big Sky began service in November 2007 and abruptly ended operations in January 2008. Great Lakes Aviation was awarded a contract but ultimately cancelled. Owensboro was without scheduled air service from January 7, 2008, until August 31, 2009 when Pacific Wings operating as KentuckySkies was awarded the Essential Air Service contract offering flights to Nashville. On June 30, 2011 Pacific Wings notified the USDOT of their intent to end service at OWB, saying that they were "unable to procure counter or gate space at Nashville International Airport on reasonable terms," and on October 20, 2011 American Airlines code-share partner Cape Air was selected to operate flights to their hub at Lambert–St. Louis International Airport with service beginning on December 5, 2011.

On February 19, 2009, Allegiant Air began service from Owensboro to Orlando Sanford International Airport, and did operate flights to Las Vegas as well. The airline ended flights to Las Vegas on August 13, 2012.

Statistics

Carrier shares: December 2013 – November 2014

Carrier	Passengers (arriving and departing)
Allegiant	34,840(82.25%)
Cape Air	7,520(17.75%)

Top domestic destinations: December 2013 – November 2014

Rank	City	Airport name & IATA code	Passengers
1	Sanford, FL	Orlando Sanford International (SFB)	18,000
2	St. Louis, MO	Lambert–St. Louis International (STL)	4,000

Passenger boardings (enplanements) by year, as per the FAA

Year	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Enplanements	3,611	4,680	838	103	10,720	16,193	17,296	30,795
Change	+26.7%	+29.6%	-82.1%	-87.7%	+10307.8%	+51.1%	+6.8%	+78.1%

Other sources

• Essential Air Service documents (Docket OST-2000-7855) from the U.S. Department of Transportation:
  • Order 2005-6-14 (June 15, 2005): reselecting RegionsAir, Inc. d/b/a American Connection, formerly known as Corporate Airlines, to provide subsidized essential air service (EAS) at each of the above communities (Burlington, IA; Cape Girardeau, MO; Ft. Leonard Wood, MO; Jackson, TN; Marion/Herrin, IL; Owensboro, KY; Kirksville, MO) for a new two-year period from June 1, 2005, through May 31, 2007, for a combined annual subsidy of $7,306,249. Also by this order, the Department is terminating the show-cause proceeding tentatively terminating subsidy at Kirksville, Missouri, as RegionsAir's selected proposal is below the $200-per-passenger cap.
  • Order 2007-3-5 (March 9, 2007): selecting Big Sky Transportation Co., d/b/a Big Sky Airlines, and Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. to provide subsidized essential air service (EAS) at the above communities (Burlington, IA; Cape Girardeau, MO; Fort Leonard Wood, MO; Jackson, TN; Marion/Herrin, IL, Owensboro, KY) for the two-year period from June 1, 2007, through May 31, 2009, using 19-seat Beech 1900D turboprop aircraft as follows: Big Sky at Cape Girardeau, Jackson, and Owensboro for a combined annual subsidy of $3,247,440; and Great Lakes at Burlington, Fort Leonard Wood, and Marion/Herrin for a combined annual subsidy of $2,590,461.
  • Order 2008-2-1 (February 1, 2008): selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. to provide subsidized essential air service at Cape Girardeau, Missouri and Jackson, Tennessee and Owensboro, Kentucky for the two-year period beginning when the carrier starts full EAS at all three communities.
  • Order 2009-6-17 (June 22, 2009): selecting Pacific Wings, LLC to provide essential air service (EAS) at Owensboro, Kentucky, and Jackson, Tennessee, at a combined annual subsidy rate of $2,294,401 ($1,068,773 for Owensboro and $1,225,628 for Jackson), for a two-year period beginning when Pacific Wings inaugurates service.
  • Order 2011-10-14 (October 20, 2011): tentatively selecting Hyannis Air Service, Inc. d/b/a Cape Air to provide subsidized essential air service (EAS) at Owensboro, Kentucky, for a four-year period. The four-year period will begin when Cape Air inaugurates full EAS and will run through the end of the 48th month thereafter. This tentative selection of Cape Air will provide Owensboro with 18 nonstop round trips per week to Lambert–St. Louis International Airport using 9-passenger Cessna 402 aircraft at an annual subsidy rate of $1,529,913.
  • Order 2011-11-5 (November 3, 2011): making final the tentative findings in Order 2011-10-14.

External links

• Aerial image as of February 1997 from USGS The National Map
• FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective March 20, 2025
• FAA Terminal Procedures for OWB, effective March 20, 2025
• Resources for this airport:
  • FAA airport information for OWB
  • AirNav airport information for KOWB
  • ASN accident history for OWB
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart, Terminal Procedures

• FAA Airport Master Record for OWB (Form 5010 PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. Effective April 5, 2012.