Central Wisconsin Airport

Airport located in Mosinee, Wisconsin

  • IATA: CWA
  • ICAO: KCWA
  • FAA LID: CWA
SummaryAirport typePublicOwnerMarathon and Portage CountiesOperatorCentral Wisconsin Joint Airport BoardServes
  • Stevens Point, Wisconsin
  • Wausau, Wisconsin
LocationMosinee, WisconsinTime zoneCST (UTC−06:00) • Summer (DST)CDT (UTC−05:00)Elevation AMSL1,277 ft / 389 mCoordinates44°46′40″N 089°39′57″W / 44.77778°N 89.66583°W / 44.77778; -89.66583Websitewww.fly-cwa.orgMapsFAA airport diagram
FAA airport diagramMapRunways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
8/26 7,723 2,354 Concrete
17/35 6,501 1,982 Concrete
Statistics (12 months ending February 2024 except where noted)
Passenger volume168,000
Departing passengers85,270
Scheduled flights1,870
Cargo (lb.)357k
Aircraft operations (2022)13,592
Based aircraft (2024)27
Source: Federal Aviation Administration,[1] BTS[2]

Central Wisconsin Airport (IATA: CWA, ICAO: KCWA, FAA LID: CWA), referred to as "C-Way", is a public airport located 3 nautical miles (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) southeast of the central business district of Mosinee, in Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States. It is owned by Marathon County and Portage County.[1] 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 non-hub primary commercial service facility.[3] It is the fifth busiest of eight commercial airports in Wisconsin in terms of passengers served.[2]

The airport serves a large swath of Central and North Central Wisconsin including cities such as Marshfield, Stevens Point, Wausau and Wisconsin Rapids, as well as several tourism communities. It is 10 miles (16 km) south-southeast of Granite Peak Ski Area, located in Rib Mountain State Park.

Facilities and aircraft

Panoramic view of facilities

Central Wisconsin Airport covers an area of 1,852 acres (749 ha) at an elevation of 1,277 feet (389 m) above mean sea level. It contains two concrete paved runways: 8/26 measuring 7,723 x 150 ft (2,354 x 46 m) and 17/35 measuring 6,501 x 150 ft (1,982 x 46 m).[1] For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2022, the airport had 13,592 operations, an average of 37 aircraft operations per day: 56% scheduled commercial / air taxi, 43% general aviation and almost 1% military. In May 2024, there were 27 aircraft based at this airport: 17 single-engine, 3 multi-engine, 5 jet, 1 helicopter and 1 glider aircraft. [4]

CWA has T-hangars for lease, or an individual or corporation can construct their own hangar.[5]

The airport is home to a maintenance base for Endeavor Air which operates on behalf of Delta Air Lines as Delta Connection.

History

Central Wisconsin Airport opened in 1969 as a centralized commercial airport between Wausau and Stevens Point which each had their own commercial airfields prior to that time. North Central Airlines served the new airport with flights to Chicago, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis/St. Paul, some flights making stops at other cities within Wisconsin. North Central previously served Wausau and Stevens Point individually and was able to upgrade their service from prop aircraft to Douglas DC-9 jets with the opening of CWA.[6] North Central merged with Southern Airways to become Republic Airlines in 1979 which was then merged into Northwest Airlines in 1986. Northwest merged into Delta Air Lines in 2010 which continues to serve CWA by way of feeder carriers operating as Delta Connection. After airline deregulation was passed in 1978, several other carriers including Skyway Airlines, operating on behalf of Midwest Express, have served CWA. American Airlines and United Airlines also began new service to Chicago by way of their feeder carriers operating as American Eagle and United Express. American Eagle and Delta Connection continue to serve the airport.

In 1997, the terminal was modernized with five new gates, and the highway access was reconstructed.

On September 1, 2012, the airport began a $10 million modernization program, moving the security checkpoints and enlarging the ticket counters to lower passenger congestion. The airport gained a geothermal energy system that reduces utility bills, providing all but 20% of its heating and cooling requirements.[7]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Gate area before renovation
AirlinesDestinations
American Eagle Chicago–O'Hare
Avelo Airlines Seasonal: Orlando[8]
Delta Connection Minneapolis/St. Paul
Destinations map
class=notpageimage|
All passenger destinations from Central Wisconsin Airport (CWA)
Red = Year-round destination
Green = Seasonal destination
Blue = Future destination
Purple = Route ending

Statistics

Carrier shares (March 2023 – February 2024)[2]
Carrier Passengers (arriving and departing)
Endeavor Air
85,260(50.51%)
Air Wisconsin
55,370(32.80%)
Envoy Air
15,110(8.95%)
Avelo Airlines
11,880(7.04%)
Busiest domestic routes from CWA (March 2023 – February 2024)[2]
Rank Airport Passengers Carriers
1 Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota 43,170 Delta
2 Chicago (O'Hare), Illinois 35,980 American
3 Orlando, Florida 6,120 Avelo

Cargo operations

AirlinesDestinations
FedEx Feeder Madison, Milwaukee
Freight Runners Express Milwaukee, Oshkosh, Rhinelander
PACC Air Rhinelander

Ground transportation

As of 2023, there is no public transit service to the airport. Metro Ride serves the Wausau area, however, no service is provided to the airport.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c FAA Airport Form 5010 for CWA PDF, effective May 16, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d "RITA BTS Transtats - CWA". www.transtats.bts.gov. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  3. ^ "NPIAS Report 2023-2027 Appendix A" (PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. October 6, 2022. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  4. ^ "AirNav: KCWA - Central Wisconsin Airport".
  5. ^ http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/air/docs/rates-document07.pdf[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ "Central Wisconsin Airport | About CWA".
  7. ^ "Central Wisconsin Passenger Terminal Upgrade". Airport International. July 30, 2012. Archived from the original on August 2, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  8. ^ "Hello, Avelo! Avelo Airlines Announces Exclusive Nonstop Service to Orlando from Central Wisconsin Airport / Wausau". PRNewswire. July 19, 2023. Retrieved July 19, 2023.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Central Wisconsin Airport.
  • Central Wisconsin Airport, official site
  • "Central Wisconsin Airport" (PDF). page from the Wisconsin DOT Airport Directory
  • FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective May 16, 2024
  • Resources for this airport:
    • AirNav airport information for KCWA
    • ASN accident history for CWA
    • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
    • NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days
    • SkyVector aeronautical chart for KCWA
    • FAA current CWA delay information
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