Business View Magazine | May 2019

127 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE MAY 2019 THE DEL R IO INTERNAT IONAL A I RPORT AT A GLANCE DEL RIO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WHAT: A commercial and general aviation airport WHERE: Del Rio, Texas WEBSITE: www.cityofdelrio.com/412/International-Airport than any other airport in the country. Laughlin AFB, originally named Laughlin Army Air Field, was commissioned in 1943 to train B-26 pilots and aircrews during World War II. “When the war was over, they turned those fields back to the municipalities and counties,” says Juan Carlos Onofre, Airport Manager at Del Rio. “This one, in particular, was returned to Val Verde County in 1945. Since then, it was owned and operated by the county, but back in the 1960s, the county turned it over to the city, and now, it’s run by the city.” Del Rio was served in the late 1940s and early 1950s by Trans-Texas Airways, which flew Douglas DC-3s to El Paso, Houston, San Antonio, and other Texas cities. Other commuter airlines at Del Rio included Lone Star Airlines, Texas National Airlines, Alamo Commuter Airlines, Amistad Airlines, and Wise Airlines. From June 7, 2012, until April 2013, ExpressJet, operating as United Express, served Del Rio International Airport for United Airlines with Embraer ERJ-145s flying nonstop to Houston Intercontinental Airport. For several months in 2017, Texas Sky Airlines, operated by Contour Aviation, scheduled a daily flight between Del Rio and Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport, using a British Aerospace Jetstream twin-turboprop. Since November 2018, American Airlines/ American Eagle has provided two departures and two arrivals a day from Del Rio to Dallas/Ft. Worth, using the 44-seat Embraer ERJ 140 jet.