Jump to content

Central Wisconsin Airport

Coordinates: 44°46′40″N 089°39′57″W / 44.77778°N 89.66583°W / 44.77778; -89.66583
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Central Wisconsin Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerMarathon and Portage counties
OperatorCentral Wisconsin Joint Airport Board
Serves
LocationMosinee, Wisconsin
OpenedOctober 1969 (1969-10)
Time zoneCST (UTC−06:00)
 • Summer (DST)CDT (UTC−05:00)
Elevation AMSL1,277 ft / 389 m
Coordinates44°46′40″N 089°39′57″W / 44.77778°N 89.66583°W / 44.77778; -89.66583
Websitewww.fly-cwa.org
Maps
FAA airport diagram
FAA airport diagram
CWA is located in Wisconsin
CWA
CWA
Location of airport in Wisconsin
CWA is located in the United States
CWA
CWA
CWA (the United States)
Map
Interactive map of Central Wisconsin Airport
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
8/26 7,723 2,354 Concrete
17/35 6,501 1,982 Concrete
Statistics (12 months ending October 2025 except where noted)
Passenger volume164,290
Departing passengers82,770
Scheduled flights1,778
Cargo (lb.)300k
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 2025–2029, 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

[edit]
Panoramic view of facilities

Central Wisconsin Airport covers an area of 1,852 acres (749 ha) at an elevation of 1,277.2 feet (389.3 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 August 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

[edit]

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. Avelo Airlines briefly served the airport, flying Boeing 737-800 aircraft to Orlando. American Eagle and Delta Connection continue to serve the airport. Starting on May 21, 2026, United Express will serve the airport again,[7] after having previously ended service on January 3, 2022.[8]

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 reduce passenger congestion. The airport gained a geothermal energy system that reduces utility bills, providing all but 20% of its heating and cooling requirements.[9]

Airlines and destinations

[edit]

Passenger

[edit]
Gate area before renovation
AirlinesDestinations
American Eagle Chicago–O'Hare
Delta Connection Minneapolis/St. Paul
United Express Chicago–O'Hare (begins May 21, 2026) [10]

Statistics

[edit]
Carrier shares (November 2024 – October 2025)[2]
Carrier Passengers (arriving and departing)
Endeavor Air
85,210(51.87%)
Envoy
53,470(32.55%)
Air Wisconsin
20,230(12.31%)
Piedmont Airlines
5,380(3.27%)
Busiest domestic routes from CWA (November 2024 – October 2025)[2]
Rank Airport Passengers Carriers
1 Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota 42,850 Delta
2 Chicago (O'Hare), Illinois 39,920 American

Cargo operations

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

Ground transportation

[edit]

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

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c FAA Airport Form 5010 for CWA PDF, effective August 8, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d "RITA BTS Transtats - CWA". www.transtats.bts.gov. Retrieved January 9, 2026.
  3. ^ "NPIAS Report 2025-2029 Appendix A" (PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. October 28, 2024. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  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. ^ Poltrock, Heather (October 24, 2025). "United to return as carrier to CWA in May". WSAW. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
  8. ^ Flury, Jade (November 8, 2021). "United Airlines suspends flights from CWA". WSAW.
  9. ^ "Central Wisconsin Passenger Terminal Upgrade". Airport International. July 30, 2012. Archived from the original on August 2, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  10. ^ https://www.wsaw.com/2025/10/24/united-return-carrier-cwa-may/
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Central Wisconsin Airport.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Central_Wisconsin_Airport&oldid=1332060298"