Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport is a public-use airport located in Broomfield, Colorado, United States. The airport is owned and operated by Jefferson County and is situated midway between Denver and Boulder on U.S. Highway 36. It is located sixteen miles northwest of the central business district of Denver, and is the closest airport to downtown Denver. The airport covers and has three runways. Formerly known as Jefferson County Airport or Jeffco Airport, the airport was renamed Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport on October 10, 2006 although it is sometimes referred to as Rocky Mountain Regional Airport, e.g. 2007-2012 county planning documents. This airport is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a reliever airport. It is home to a large general aviation population including a fair amount of corporate traffic and several flight schools. The airport's proximity to the nearby Interlocken business district contributes to its business traveler clientele. It has a control tower on 118.6 and 121.7 that is open from 0600 to 2200 local time. ATIS/AWOS broadcasts on 126.25. There are three runways - 12/30 Left and Right and 3/21. The runway numbers were changed in November 2014 to reflect a change in magnetic variation. One fixed-base operator offers fuel and other services. Two restaurants, E's Just Good Eats and Blue Sky Bistro, are on the field, along with a pilot's lounge in the Signature FBO and a passenger terminal lobby. The Hilltop Inn, a bed & breakfast, and its companion restaurant, The Burns Pub & Restaurant, is located on the property. operations at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport On February 7, 2012 the Federal Aviation Administration dedicated a new $23.7 million, state-of-the-art airport traffic control tower, located south of the airport runways. The new facility includes a 124-foot-tall control tower topped by a 525-square-foot tower cab with four air traffic controller positions and one supervisor position. A 6,000 square-foot, single-story base building houses administrative offices, training rooms, and equipment rooms.
Facilities and aircraft
Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport covers an area of 1,700 acres at an elevation of 5,673 feet above mean sea level. It has three asphalt paved runways: 12L/30R is 9,000 by 100 feet ; 12R/30L is 7,002 by 75 feet ; 3/21 is 3,600 by 75 feet. The airport's three runways, previously 11L/29R, 11R/29L, and 2/20, were renumbered in November 2014 in order to align them with magnetic directions. At the same time, the primary runway underwent an $8.83 million renovation. For the 12-month period ending September 30, 2018, the airport had 175,759 aircraft operations, an average of 482 per day: 92% general aviation, 4% air taxi, 3% military and <1% air carrier. At that time there were 360 aircraft based at this airport: 70% single-engine, 17% multi-engine, 9% jet, and 4% helicopter. Currently, two Fixed Based Operators s operate at the airport: Signature Flight Support and Sheltair. The United States Forest Service also maintains its Jefferson County Tanker Base at the airport, and on July 13, 2016, Pilatus Aircraftbroke ground on a new 188,000 sq. ft. North American completion center for the new PC-24 business jet. The facility became fully operational in June 2018.
In the summer of 2018, Pilatus Aircraft officially launched operations out of their newly constructed hangar located on the southwest corner of the airfield. In the spring of 2018, the airport signed a lease agreement with a second FBO, SheltAir, to act as their "gateway to the west". SheltAir commenced operations in February 2019 with a temporary modular building located at the East Ramp area. Construction for the permanent building and hangar is expected to commence Spring 2019. There exists a vacant tract of airport-owned land just southwest of the runways. Currently, the airport is in the planning stages to develop this area, known as "The Verve", for various aviation and non-aviation related uses.
