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Artesia Municipal Airport (IATA: ATS[2], ICAO: KATS, FAA LID: ATS) is a city-owned, public-use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) west of the central business district of Artesia, a city in Eddy County, New Mexico, United States.[1] It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation facility.[3]

Artesia Municipal Airport
USGS 1997 orthophoto
IATA: ATS ICAO: KATS FAA LID: ATS
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	City of Artesia
Serves	Artesia, New Mexico
Elevation AMSL	3,541 ft / 1,079 m
Coordinates	32°51′09″N 104°28′04″W
Map
ATS Location of airport in New Mexico
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 3/21 6,301 1,921 Asphalt 12/30 5,390 1,643 Asphalt
Statistics (2011)
Aircraft operations 11,550 Based aircraft 27
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

History

During 1943 and 1944 the airfield was used by the United States Army Air Forces as a contract glider training airfield. Big Spring Flying Service provided instruction. The mission of the school was to train glider pilot students in proficiency in operation of gliders in various types of towed and soaring flight, both day and night, and in servicing of gliders in the field. The facility used primarily C-47 Skytrains and Waco CG-4 unpowered gliders.

The facility was deactivated on September 8, 1944, with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program. It was declared surplus and turned over to the Army Corps of Engineers on September 30, 1945. It was eventually discharged to the War Assets Administration (WAA) and returned to being a civil airport.[4][5][6]

The airport saw scheduled airline service in 1963/1964 from Bison Airlines and again in 1975 through 1978 from Roswell Airlines which provided flights to Albuquerque and El Paso. Roswell Airlines changed to New Mexico Air before the company ceased operations.[7]

Facilities and aircraft

Artesia Municipal Airport covers an area of 1,440 acres (583 ha) at an elevation of 3,541 feet (1,079 m) above mean sea level. It has two runways with asphalt surfaces: 3/21 is 6,301 by 150 feet (1,921 x 46 m) and 12/30 is 5,390 by 150 feet (1,643 x 46 m).[1]

For the 12-month period ending April 6, 2011, the airport had 11,550 general aviation aircraft operations, an average of 31 per day. At that time there were 27 aircraft based at this airport: 74% single-engine, 19% multi-engine, and 7% jet.[1]

See also

• New Mexico World War II Army Airfields
• 36th Flying Training Wing (World War II)

References

External links

• The WW II Glider Pilots
• FAA Terminal Procedures for ATS, effective July 14, 2022
• Resources for this airport:
  • FAA airport information for ATS
  • AirNav airport information for KATS
  • ASN accident history for ATS
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart, Terminal Procedures

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