Canyonlands Field opened about 1964-65 with runway 15/33, wide. This runway was replaced in 1985 with the current NE/SW runway, 75 feet wide. From 1959 to 1965 the original Frontier Airlines served the previous airfield, Grand County Airport eight miles southeast of Moab, followed by service to Canyonlands from 1965 to 1974. In 1959 Frontier Douglas DC-3s flew direct to Denver with stops in Grand Junction, Montrose, Gunnison, and Pueblo. From the new airport Frontier Convair 580s flew direct to Albuquerque, Denver, El Paso, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Tucson with stops. By late 1970 Frontier 580s flew to Denver via Grand Junction. Service was suspended in 1973 for airport construction but returned for much of 1974 before ending by the end of 1974. Sun Valley Key Commuter Airlines then flew to Grand Junction to connect with Frontier flights to Denver.
Several commuter airlines served Moab mainly with flights to Salt Lake City, Denver, or Grand Junction. These carriers are funded through the federal government Essential Air Service Program, and their service comes up for bid every two years. These airlines included:
Western Air Stages 1973, a Beech Queen Air 80 to Grand Junction.
Sun Valley Key Commuter 1975, Piper Navajos to Salt Lake City and Grand Junction
Transwestern Airlines 1979/1980, Piper Navajo to Salt Lake City and Blanding, Utah.
Alpine Air 1984 through the latter 1990s, Pipers to Salt Lake City. The OAG shows no air service to Moab for several years in the late 1990s until June 7, 2001.
Great Lakes Airlines dba United Express June 7, 2001 to early 2004, Beech 1900Ds to Denver and Phoenix. The Phoenix flight stopped in Page, Arizona. The representation as United Express ended in early 2002 and Great Lakes continued serving Moab under their own identity.
Salmon Air May, 2004 to June, 2006, Piper Navajos to Salt Lake City.
Air Midwest dba America West Express July 2, 2006 to Nov. 3, 2007, Beechcraft 1900Ds to Salt Lake City and Phoenix. The Phoenix flight stopped in Farmington, New Mexico.
Air Midwest dba US Airways Express Nov. 4, 2007 to Jan. 5, 2008, same as above.
Great Lakes Airlines returned on January 6, 2008 operating under their own identity with two daily Beechcraft 1900Ds to Denver International Airport. Daily nonstop flights were later added to Vernal, Utah, Ely, Nevada and Prescott Arizona as an extension of its Denver service. Great Lakes ended service to Moab in January, 2014.
SkyWest Airlines dba Delta ConnectionMarch 2, 2014 to April 2015, Embraer 120s to Salt Lake City. SkyWest prematurely discontinued service due to the retirement of the Embraer Brasilia prop aircraft and there was then no air service at Moab for the next year.
Boutique Air Mar. 30, 2016 to Feb. 28, 2018, Pilatus PC-12s to Denver and Salt Lake City.
SkyWest Airlines returned on May 1, 2018 with Canadair CRJ-200s to Denver after the Moab airport runway was improved to handle regional jets.
Canyonlands Field covers at an elevation of. Its runway, 3/21, is asphalt, with displaced thresholds. In the year ending August 30, 2011 the airport had 10,150 aircraft operations, average 27 per day: 53% general aviation, 33.5% air taxi, 12% airline, and 1.5% military. 14 aircraft were then based at this airport: 86% single-engine and 14% ultralight. The airport will be closed for facility upgrades until May 2018, but the helipad will remain open. With the addition of regional jets in 2018, the terminal building underwent a major expansion.
