Pullman/Moscow Regional Airport (PUW)

Pullman Moscow Regional Airport (IATA: PUW, ICAO: KPUW, FAA LID: PUW) is a public airport in the northwest United States, located in Whitman County, Washington, two miles (3 km) east of Pullman and four miles (6 km) west of Moscow, Idaho. The airport is accessed via spurs from State Route 270, and has a single 7,101-foot (2,164 m) runway, headed northeast/southwest (5/23), which entered service in October 2019. The former runway (6/24) was 6,730 feet (2,051 m) and aligned with Moscow Mountain (4,983 feet (1,519 m)) twelve miles (20 km) to the northeast, the highest summit in the area. The rural airport in the Palouse region is the primary air link for its two land-grant universities, Washington State University in Pullman and the University of Idaho in Moscow. Both universities use the airport for jet charters from Alaska Airlines, Frontier Airlines, and Allegiant Air for their intercollegiate athletic teams. Aviation at the site began in the 1920s as a grass strip, which was later improved by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA); the runway was first paved in 1946. Horizon Air (marketed and sold as Alaska Airlines) is the sole commercial airline serving the airport, flying Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft. It began limited service to Pullman Moscow 39 years ago in December 1981 with Fairchild F-27 aircraft (Friday & Sunday), and daily service (along with Lewiston) in March 1983, on F-27 and Metroliner aircraft. Horizon Air offers 4-5 daily scheduled flights to Seattle/Tacoma. Historically, flight schedules have sometimes included a stop in Lewiston, but currently all scheduled flights at PUW are nonstop to/from Seattle. Prior to Horizon, Cascade Airways (1969 1986) was the main carrier at the airport, starting Palouse service in late 1971. United Express operated at Pullman Moscow for over two years, from May 1988 to September 1990. Seattle air traffic control, 250 miles (400 km) west, manages commercial traffic for the airport. The nearest major airport is Spokane International, ninety miles (145 km) north. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017 2021 categorized the airport as a non-hub primary commercial service facility.