Will Modesto Airport bring back commercial flights? Why they stopped, and future plans

The Modesto Airport used to have flights to San Francisco and Los Angeles. Why did they stop?

Claudia Avalos, a Modesto Bee reader, worked customer service at the airport when SkyWest affiliate United Express operated flights to San Francisco International Airport. She wants to know if the city is considering bringing back commercial flights.

“That was the most fun job I’ve ever had in my life,” Avalos said. “I think it would bring really good business here in Modesto. We need it.”

We reached out to the city and the airport manager to answer Avalos’ question. Here’s why commercial flights stopped, they said, and whether there’s a plan to bring them back:

What goes on at the Modesto Airport?

The approximately 470-acre airport has two runways and is on the border of Modesto and Ceres along the Tuolumne River.

Modesto’s is a “general aviation airport,” said Gabe DaSilva, manager of what’s formally named the Modesto City-County Airport.

It stores over 100 privately owned small aircraft, including corporate jets, twin- and single-engine aircraft, helicopters and ultralights. Law enforcement and medical responders are among the airport tenants.

The airport offers corporate charter service through a company, an on-site flight school and testing center, three aircraft maintenance facilities and two rental car agencies, DaSilva said.

While some residents might not think the airport is open, because there are no commercial flights, DaSilva said it remains very active. “Believe it or not, the airport’s actually pretty busy with what we do have going on,” he said.

Will commercial flights return to Modesto?

In the early 2000s, the Modesto Airport was running three flights a day to LAX through a minimum revenue guarantee grant, DaSilva said. When the grant ran out, the service ended.

SkyWest’s commuter flights to SFO ended when the company pulled out in 2016.

“There was a national pilot shortage,” DaSilva said. “There were a lot of issues with fog and delays due to the weather over there, so we were getting a lot of cancellations.”

Also in 2016, the city of Modesto and the airport did a study to identify where the Modesto community was interested in traveling. The study found that Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas and Guadalajara, Mexico, were areas of interest.

“Depending on when we were ready to make that change, we would have to reevaluate if those needs are still applicable,” city spokeswoman Diana Ruiz-Del Re said.

Aside from that, airport officials are evaluating the size of the runway and what size aircraft it can accommodate. The airport currently can accommodate regional jets with passenger occupancies of roughly 50 to 100, DaSilva said.

He said there may be a feasibility study performed to look at a possible extension someday so the airport can accommodate bigger aircraft.

When it comes to determining whether the airport will operate commercial flights again, DaSilva said at the end of the day, it comes down to the cost and community need.

“The airport is always keeping an eye on the market,” DaSilva said. “We’re always reevaluating those opportunities.”

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