The New Branson Airport

Here's what you need to know about flights to Branson!

Location: on 922 scenic acres just south of Branson, about a 10-minute drive to the center of town (see below for specific driving directions to the Branson Airport)

Opening day: Monday, May 11, 2009

Airlines: AirTran and Frontier and ExpressJet Charters

Daily Non-Stop Service To & From (Roundtrip flights):

• Atlanta, Georgia (Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport) with AirTran (two flights per day; a third flight begins September 16, 2010). Every AirTran Airways jet is equipped with FREE XM Satellite Radio and Wi-Fi.
• Orlando,  Florida (Orlando International Airport) with AirTran (nonstop flights every Saturday). Every AirTran Airways jet is equipped with FREE XM Satellite Radio and Wi-Fi.
• Denver, Colorado (Denver International Airport) with Frontier - with connections to 50+ destinations (flights begin April 20, 2010) Effective May 12, 2010, there are five flights per week.
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin (General Mitchell International Airport) with Frontier - with connections to Minneapolis, MN. Additional connections include Green Bay, WI; Grand Rapids MI; Flint, MI; Boston, MA; New York LaGuardia; Philadelphia, PA; Columbus, OH; and Omaha, NE. (flights begin July 1, 2010)
• Austin, Texas (Austin-Bergstrom International Airport) with ExpressJet 5 days a week, flights begin May 17, 2010. Every flight seats 50 travelers with each aircraft configured with no middle seats, assigning every customer a seat on the aisle or window. The planes also feature comfortable memory foam cushioned leather seats with more than 100 channels of free XM Satellite Radio.
• Houston, Texas (William P. Hobby Airport) with ExpressJet 5 days a week, flights begin May 17, 2010. Every flight seats 50 travelers with each aircraft configured with no middle seats, assigning every customer a seat on the aisle or window. The planes also feature comfortable memory foam cushioned leather seats with more than 100 channels of free XM Satellite Radio.
• Des Moines, Iowa (Des Moines International Airport) with ExpressJet 5 days a week, flights begin May 17, 2010. Every flight seats 50 travelers with each aircraft configured with no middle seats, assigning every customer a seat on the aisle or window. The planes also feature comfortable memory foam cushioned leather seats with more than 100 channels of free XM Satellite Radio.
• Shreveport, Louisiana (Shreveport Regional Airport) with Expressjet 3 times a week, flights begin May 17, 2010. Every flight seats 50 travelers with each aircraft configured with no middle seats, assigning every customer a seat on the aisle or window. The planes also feature comfortable memory foam cushioned leather seats with more than 100 channels of free XM Satellite Radio.
• Nashville, Tennessee (Nashville International Airport) with ExpressJet 3 times a week - Monday, Wednesday & Saturday - flights begin May 17, 2010. Every flight seats 50 travelers with each aircraft configured with no middle seats, assigning every customer a seat on the aisle or window. The planes also feature comfortable memory foam cushioned leather seats with more than 100 channels of free XM Satellite Radio.
• Gulfport/Biloxi, Mississippi (Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport) with ExpressJet 3 times a week - Monday, Wednesday & Saturday - flights begin May 17, 2010. Every flight seats 50 travelers with each aircraft configured with no middle seats, assigning every customer a seat on the aisle or window. The planes also feature comfortable memory foam cushioned leather seats with more than 100 channels of free XM Satellite Radio.
• Chicago, Illinois (Chicago Midway International Airport - MDW) with ExpressJet 4 times a week - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Saturday - flights begin September 10, 2010. Every flight seats 50 travelers with each aircraft configured with no middle seats, assigning every customer a seat on the aisle or window. The planes also feature comfortable memory foam cushioned leather seats with more than 100 channels of free XM Satellite Radio.
• Indianapolis, Indiana (Indianapolis International Airport - IND) with ExpressJet 4 times a week - Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday - flights begin September 10, 2010. Every flight seats 50 travelers with each aircraft configured with no middle seats, assigning every customer a seat on the aisle or window. The planes also feature comfortable memory foam cushioned leather seats with more than 100 channels of free XM Satellite Radio.

Rental Car Service: Enterprise Rent-A-Car, with a service counter inside the airport terminal and a rental return facility integrated with check-in services.

Food concessions & catering services provided by: Famous Dave's BBQ (concessions, catering & full-service restaurant)

Taxi, Limousine and Shuttle Ground Transportation Service: provided by Branson Gray Line, which includes service by Branson Yellow Cab, Branson Checker Cab, Branson City Cab, and Town Car and Shuttle services to local hotels.

Directions to the Branson Airport:

• From Highway 65 North, turn right/east approximately 4 miles north of the Highway 86 intersection into the Communities at Branson Creek and follow Branson Creek Boulevard about 5 1/2 miles to the Branson Airport.
• From Highway 65 South, turn left/east approximately 1 mile south of the Hollister exchange into the Communities at Branson Creek and follow Branson Creek Boulevard about 5 1/2 miles to the Branson Airport.

Website: The Branson Airport

Random bits of interesting information on The Branson Airport:

• Airports are typically funded by Federal $$ - The Branson Airport is not...it is privately financed by bonds and private equity
• Situated on 922 acres, it required the movement of 12 million cubic yards of dirt to complete the construction process (for comparison...an American Football field is 120 yards long) Enough rock and dirt was moved around to fill the Louisiana Superdome twice. Remember...this area is the Ozark Mountains, and they needed some flat space!
• Why use this airport? Its target is leisure travelers looking for low-fare flights, who also enjoy traveling to Branson - a very affordable place to go. But who wouldn't love low-fare flights? So, business or leisure travelers are good-to-go with the Branson Airport.
• Flights to Milwaukee, Wisconsin (General Mitchell International Airport) with AirTran were cancelled on July 7, 2009 due to lack of demand. Flights can still be made to Milwaukee, but the plane stops in Atlanta, GA.
• Every departing flight gets a See ya later, come back soon wave from all available staff at the airport. Click here to watch the Branson Wave at the new Branson Airport.
• FREE Wi-Fi on every flight with AirTran (for free wi-fi spots - on the ground - in Branson, click here)
• Good news: The Branson Airport is required to have an Aviation Security Exercise every three years.The purpose is to review the Branson Airport's Aviation Security Contingency Plan to make sure that all stakeholders would know how to respond were there to be a terrorist or security threat at the Branson Airport. The exercise brings several stakeholders together including the Taney County Sheriff's Department, Department of Homeland Security, FBI and local emergency responders.
• In 2009, The Branson Airport offered Special Holiday Season non-stop service to & from (Roundtrip flight) Shreveport, Louisiana (Shreveport Regional Airport) & Rockford, Illinois (Chicago Rockford International Airport) with ExpressJet Charters (three flights per week). Every flight seated 50 travelers with each aircraft configured with no middle seats, assigning every customer a seat on the aisle or window. The planes also featured comfortable memory foam cushioned leather seats with more than 100 channels of free XM Satellite Radio. Non-stop flights started at $59-Louisiana & $89-Illinois (one way). Service operated Monday, Wednesday & Saturday from November 7 through December 14, 2009.
• The following flights through Sun Country Airlines were offered when the airport opened in May of 2009, and they may return in the Spring of 2010: 1) Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas (Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport DFW) with Sun Country Airlines; and 2) Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota (Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport) with Sun Country Airlines. Connections from Minneapolis/St. Paul include New York City, Orlando, Cancun, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Phoenix, San Diego & Las Vegas
• CANCELLED in April 2010: Terre Haute, Indiana (Terre Haute International Airport) with ExpressJet 3 times a week, flights begin May 17, 2010. Every flight seats 50 travelers with each aircraft configured with no middle seats, assigning every customer a seat on the aisle or window. The planes also feature comfortable memory foam cushioned leather seats with more than 100 channels of free XM Satellite Radio.
• Frontier’s Branson service is flown by the Embraer 170/190 aircraft. You get to enjoy comfortable leather seating in a two-by-two configuration. In addition, all of the E190 aircraft have several rows of STRETCH seating which provides an additional five inches of comfortable leg room. The company’s Embraer fleet will also be outfitted with in-flight internet service by the end of 2010.