Rapid City Regional Airport

Rapid City Regional Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerCity of Rapid City
OperatorRapid City Regional Airport Board
ServesRapid City, South Dakota
Elevation AMSL3,203 ft / 976 m
Coordinates44°02′43″N 103°03′26″W / 44.04528°N 103.05722°W / 44.04528; -103.05722
Websitewww.rapairport.com/
Map
Interactive map of Rapid City Regional Airport
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
14/32 8,701 2,652 Concrete
5/23 3,601 1,098 Asphalt
Statistics (2023)
Aircraft operations44,743
Based aircraft124
Total passengers702,581
Source: Rapid City Regional Airport,[1] Federal Aviation Administration[2][3]

Rapid City Regional Airport (IATA: RAP, ICAO: KRAP, FAA LID: RAP) is a public use airport, nine miles southeast of Rapid City, in Pennington County, South Dakota, United States.[2]

It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2023–2027, in which it is categorized as a small-hub primary commercial service facility.[4]

It is the closest commercial airport to Mount Rushmore (located approximately 31.7 miles (51.0 km) away by driving distance) and is the main gateway airport to the Black Hills.

Facilities

The airport covers 1,655 acres (6.70 km2) at an elevation of 3,203 feet (976 m). It has two runways: 14/32 is 8,701 by 150 feet (2,652 by 46 m) concrete and 5/23 is 3,601 by 75 feet (1,098 by 23 m) asphalt.[2][5] A near-parallel grass runway (13/31, 2,400 by 100 feet (732 by 30 m)) exists approximately 2,400 feet from Runway 14/32; this runway, however, belongs to Dan's Airport (FAA LID: 4SD4), a small private airport.[6]

2021 Total Commercial Passengers: 690,740[7]

Terminal

The current terminal building opened in 1988; a $20.5 million expansion and renovation designed by TSP Architecture was completed in 2012.[8][9] It includes 12,000 square feet of new floor space, the addition of three jet bridges and one boarding gate, an expanded security area with room for up to three lanes and body scanners, a new rental car wing, additional seating in the concourse, larger restrooms before and after security, modernized phone and data systems, new flight information boards, improved food service and shopping areas in the concourse, a rooftop patio, and energy-efficient windows and building exterior repair.[9]

The Rapid City area has had a municipal airport since 1924. The first airport was situated near the railroad tracks along East North Street and was later dedicated as Halley Field Airport in 1929. In 1937, the Rapid City Municipal Airport was established at the current location of Ellsworth Air Force Base, before being relocated to its present site in 1950. The airport was renamed Rapid City Regional Airport in 1980, and a new terminal was opened in November 1988. The original 1950 terminal was demolished in 2016.[10]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

AirlinesDestinations
Allegiant Air Las Vegas,[11] Orlando/Sanford,[12] Phoenix/Mesa[11]
American Airlines Seasonal: Charlotte[13]
American Eagle Dallas/Fort Worth[13]
Seasonal: Charlotte,[13] Chicago–O'Hare,[13] Phoenix–Sky Harbor (begins June 4, 2026)[13]
Delta Air Lines Seasonal: Atlanta[14]
Delta Connection Minneapolis/St. Paul[15]
Sun Country Airlines Seasonal: Minneapolis/St. Paul[16]
United Airlines Denver[17]
Seasonal: Chicago–O'Hare[18]
United Express Denver[17]
Seasonal: Chicago–O'Hare[18]

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
Alpine Air ExpressSioux Falls[19]
FedEx Feeder
operated by Empire Airlines		Sioux Falls[20]
Destinations map
All passenger destinations from Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP)
Red = Year-round destination
Green = Seasonal destination
Blue = Future destination

Historical airline service

Since 2020, several destinations have been cut from the airport's schedule and have not returned. Most of these routes were seasonal flights offered during the summer, with Allegiant Air offering flights from select cities for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in August 2021. [21] The terminated destinations included Appleton, Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, Knoxville, Nashville, Peoria, Pittsburgh, and Punta Gorda (operated by Allegiant), New York-LaGuardia and Phoenix-Sky Harbor (operated by American Eagle), Atlanta and Detroit (operated by Delta Air Lines), Salt Lake City (operated by Delta Connection), and Houston, Newark, Los Angeles, and San Francisco (operated by United Express).[22][23][24][25][26] United returned seasonal service from San Francisco for the 2024 Sturgis Rally, using the Embraer E175.[27] Delta announced the return of the Atlanta route in December 2024, which began on May 24, 2025.[28]

Statistics

Carrier shares

Carrier shares
(October 2024 – September 2025)[29]
Rank Carrier Passengers % of market
1 SkyWest 289,000 32.26%
2 United 188,000 21.04%
3 Envoy 170,000 19.04%
4 Allegiant 120,000 13.38%
5 Endeavor 107,000 11.93%
Other 21,000 2.35%

Top destinations

Busiest domestic routes from RAP
(October 2024 – September 2025)[29]
Rank City Passengers Carriers
1 Denver, Colorado 179,870 United
2 Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota 76,490 Delta, Sun Country
3 Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas 67,070 American
4 Chicago–O’Hare, Illinois 51,760 American, United
5 Phoenix/Mesa, Arizona 30,630 Allegiant
6 Las Vegas, Nevada 15,000 Allegiant
7 Orlando/Sanford, Florida 12,010 Allegiant
8 Charlotte, North Carolina 9,220 American
9 Los Angeles, California 2,360 Allegiant
10 Atlanta, Georgia 1,840 Delta

Ground transportation

As of 2022, there is no public transit to Rapid City Regional Airport. The nearest Rapid City Rapid Ride bus stop is located over six miles away. Lyft, Wridz and Uber are rideshare transportation options. Taxis are available from Rapid Cab. Six car rental counters are available in the terminal.[30]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Airport Breaks Passenger Numbers 3rd Year In A Row" (PDF). Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c FAA Airport Form 5010 for RAP PDF, effective November 4, 2021.
  3. ^ "Air Traffic Activity System (ATADS)". aspm.faa.gov. Retrieved 2025-02-16.
  4. ^ "List of NPIAS Airports" (PDF). FAA.gov. Federal Aviation Administration. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  5. ^ "RAP airport data from skyvector.com". skyvector.com. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  6. ^ "Dan's Airport". Airnav.com. July 16, 2020. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  7. ^ "2021 Passenger Numbers ✈️ Rapid City Regional Airport". 2022-01-17. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
  8. ^ Aust, Scott. "$20.5M airport project looks to land on time". Rapid City Journal. Retrieved 2013-04-14.
  9. ^ a b Rusch, Emilie (April 18, 2012). "$20.5M Airport Project Looks to Land On Time". Rapid City Journal. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  10. ^ "Business, Tourism, City Officials Praise Regional Airport's Year of Success". City of Rapid City. September 4, 2019.
  11. ^ a b Savic, Bryan (8 July 2025). "Allegiant Air celebrates 20-year partnership with Rapid City Regional Airport". KOTA TV. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  12. ^ "ALLEGIANT ANNOUNCES TWELVE NEW ROUTES WITH ONE-WAY FARES AS LOW AS $49*". PRNewsWire. November 16, 2023. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  13. ^ a b c d e Chibe, Tamara (19 December 2025). "American Airlines adds nonstop service between Rapid City and Phoenix starting June 2026". Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  14. ^ Raby, Dan (26 December 2024). "Delta adding 2 new weekend flights from Atlanta for summer 2025". FOX 5 Atlanta. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  15. ^ "Plane lands safely after engine issue on descent to Rapid City from MSP". Bring Me The News. 11 May 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  16. ^ Henderson, Kayla (20 June 2023). "A new affordable airline has landed in the Black Hills". Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  17. ^ a b Reeves, Melissa (6 November 2025). "FAA schedule cuts prompt flight cancellations at Denver International Airport". KUSA. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  18. ^ a b "FAA flight reductions will impact Rapid City airport". Rapid City NewsCenter1. 6 November 2025. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  19. ^ "Map".
  20. ^ "Routes & Hubs".
  21. ^ "Allegiant announces new flights from Rapid City". 9 February 2021.
  22. ^ "Rapid City Airport Sets All Time Record". 18 August 2021.
  23. ^ "Rapid City Regional Airport Adds Direct Flights to Los Angeles, San Francisco".
  24. ^ "Rapid City Regional Airport is breaking records". 15 January 2020.
  25. ^ "United to Add New Flights Between U.S. Hubs, Eight Destinations | Travel Agent Central". 8 January 2018.
  26. ^ "Delta Air Lines to suspend Rapid City-Salt Lake City route Nov. 2". 15 October 2021.
  27. ^ "Rapid City Regional Airport sets a new record". 17 July 2024.
  28. ^ "Bangor, Maine, and Rapid City, South Dakota: Delta Adds New Routes from Atlanta in 2025". 27 December 2024.
  29. ^ a b "RITA BTS Transtats - RAP". www.transtats.bts.gov. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  30. ^ "Transportation ✈️ Rapid City Regional Airport". 9 November 2021.
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