Aspen Airport Shut Until June to Fix Runway

The Aspen/Pitkin County Airport shut down to flights Monday for a planned 60-day closure to rehabilitate its deteriorating runway.

The airport is expected to reopen June 7.

Many private planes cleared out of the airport, according to Stay Aspen/Snowmass president Bill Tomcich.

"It's kind of eerie," he said.

Normally, the Aspen airport has about 10 to 12 flights a day during April and May, said Aspen/Pitkin County Airport director Jim Elwood. Those months are the least active time of the year for Aspen.

Most visitors to Aspen in April and May are from Colorado, and most of the people using the airport in that period are locals, Tomcich said.

Passengers will likely use Vail's Eagle County Airport and Grand Junction's Walker Field during the closure, while private pilots will use Eagle County Airport or Garfield County Airport in Rifle. United Airlines has temporarily added flight capacity to Eagle County Airport.

The $12 million construction project has been planned for several years. The airport also plans other improvements during the closure.

Tomcich expects the impact on Aspen to be minimal.

"It may have scared off a couple of groups," he said. "But as we track our occupancies, we really can't see any differences."

When flights resume, the Aspen summer airline flight schedule will see a 20.2 percent increase in capacity compared with last year, Tomcich said.

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