Departure
99%
vs 95% ▲ 4
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
The Eastern Iowa Airport (KCID) is a Class C airport serving Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, sitting in southern Cedar Rapids just west of Interstate 380. It combines scheduled airline and cargo traffic with general aviation operations across two hard-surfaced runway pairs, one of which is equipped with an ILS.
The Eastern Iowa Airport, also known as Cedar Rapids Airport, is a public airport owned by the City of Cedar Rapids and operated by the Cedar Rapids Airport Commission. It lies in southern Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and serves the wider Cedar Rapids and Iowa City corridor with a mix of scheduled airline flights, cargo operations and general aviation traffic, making it a useful destination for simulator pilots wanting a busy Midwestern Class C field with instrument approach practice on offer.
KCID sits within Class C airspace, reflecting its status as a regional airline hub with a control tower. The airport is located on Wright Brothers Boulevard in southern Cedar Rapids, Iowa, approximately two miles west of Interstate 380, and serves both Cedar Rapids and nearby Iowa City.
The airport has two physical runways. Runway 09/27 is 8,572 ft (09) and 8,154 ft (27) long, hard-surfaced, lit, and equipped with an ILS. Runway 13/31 is 6,166 ft (31) and 6,165 ft (13) long, hard-surfaced and lit, but without an instrument landing system. Field elevation is 856 ft.
Air traffic control is provided from the tower, with the tower/CTAF frequency on 118.7 MHz. Approach and departure control is split by direction, with 119.7 MHz used for arrivals/departures between 091 and 269 degrees and 134.05 MHz for the remainder of the compass (270 to 090 degrees). ATIS is broadcast on 124.15 MHz, ground control operates on 121.6 MHz, clearance delivery is available, and UNICOM is on 122.95 MHz. A remote radio outlet, RDO 122.55 MHz, is associated with Fort Dodge. Runway 09/27 is served by an ILS for instrument approaches.
The airport lies close to Interstate 380, which runs roughly two miles to the east and provides a useful linear landmark for pilots inbound from the north or south. The built-up area of southern Cedar Rapids lies immediately north of the field.
The forerunner to Cedar Rapids' airport infrastructure was Hunter Field, a private airfield established by Dan Hunter in the 1920s on Bowling Street SW, used for charter flying, pilot training and airmail, though it was unusable in poor weather. Cedar Rapids Municipal Airport was built with military funding and completed in 1944, though it was not formally dedicated until April 27, 1947. The Cedar Rapids Parks Department ran the airport until a dedicated Airport Commission was formed in 1945; Donald Hines, who had championed the airport's construction, led the commission until his retirement in 1973. Scheduled passenger service began with United Airlines flying east-west routes in 1947, followed by Ozark Air Lines operating north-south services from 1957. The current terminal, designed by Brown, Healey, Bock Architects and Planners, was dedicated in 1986. The airport was renamed The Eastern Iowa Airport in 1997 to better reflect its role as a regional facility. On August 30, 1970, a US Navy Blue Angels F-4J Phantom flown by Lt. Ernie Christensen made a belly landing at the airport after an engine stuck in afterburner during a display. Runway 9/27 underwent reconstruction in 2010, closing from June 3 to September 23, with a temporary parallel runway in use during the works, while Runway 13/31 was also closed for four weeks from July 3, 2010, to rebuild the runway intersection.
The Eastern Iowa Airport today handles scheduled airline services alongside substantial cargo traffic and general aviation movements, sharing its runways with all three types of operation. Passenger numbers have grown steadily, exceeding one million annually since 2008 and reaching over 1.6 million more recently, with airlines including Delta, United, American, Allegiant and Frontier operating a mix of mainline and regional jet equipment to destinations across the United States.
