Rapid City Regional Airport is a public use airport, nine miles southeast of Rapid City, in Pennington County, South Dakota, United States.
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.
It is the closest commercial airport to Mount Rushmore (located approximately away by driving distance) and is the main gateway airport to the Black Hills and Western South Dakota.
Facilities The airport covers at an elevation of . It has two runways: 14/32 is concrete and 5/23 is asphalt. A near-parallel grass runway (13/31, ) exists approximately 2,400 feet from Runway 14/32; this runway, however, belongs to Dan's Airport , a small private airport.
2021 Total Commercial Passengers: 690,740
Terminal The current terminal building opened in 1988; a $20.5 million expansion and renovation designed by TSP Architecture was completed in 2012. 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.
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.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Cargo
Destinations map
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. 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). United returned seasonal service from San Francisco for the 2024 Sturgis Rally, using the Embraer E175. Delta announced the return of the Atlanta route in December 2024, which began on May 24, 2025.
Statistics
Carrier shares + Carrier shares (June 2025 – May 2026)RankCarrierPassengers% of market1 SkyWest 283,000 31.41%2 United 228,000 25.34%3 Envoy 172,000 19.14%4 Endeavor 103,000 11.42%5 Allegiant 96,790 10.75% Other 17,450 1.94%
Top destinations + Busiest domestic routes from RAP(June 2025 – May 2026) Rank City Passengers Carriers1 Denver, Colorado 192,020 United2 Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota 77,330 Delta, Sun Country3 Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas 64,650 American4 Chicago–O’Hare, Illinois 54,340 American, United5 Phoenix/Mesa, Arizona 30,060 Allegiant6 Las Vegas, Nevada 14,090 Allegiant7 Charlotte, North Carolina 9,640 American8 Orlando/Sanford, Florida 4,460 Allegiant9 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.
See also List of airports in South Dakota
References
External links
Official airport website page from the South Dakota DOT Airport Directory