Departure
97%
vs 95% ▲ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Destin Executive Airport (KDTS) is a general aviation field on the Emerald Coast of northwest Florida, sitting close to Eglin Air Force Base and used both by local training and business traffic and by a handful of scheduled air-taxi services. Its single asphalt runway, control tower and busy general aviation apron make it a useful and interesting reliever airfield for the sim pilot exploring the Destin area.
Destin Executive Airport, also known historically as Coleman Kelly Field, is a public-use general aviation airport owned and operated by Okaloosa County, Florida. It lies close to the town of Destin and, despite its modest single-runway layout, handles a significant volume of general aviation traffic together with some scheduled air-taxi operations, making it a lively and approachable destination for VFR flying in the region.
The airport sits in Okaloosa County, roughly one to two nautical miles east of the central business district of Destin, Florida. Because of its proximity to Eglin Air Force Base and the high level of military flying in the area, all flights to or from Destin Executive Airport must comply with special air traffic rules and obtain ATC clearance before entering the Eglin/Valparaiso terminal area.
The field has a single physical runway, 14/32, 4,994 feet long with a hard (asphalt) surface, and it is lit for night operations.
Published frequencies for the airport are: Air/Departure 132.1 MHz (Eglin Approach/Departure), ASOS 133.925 MHz, Clearance Delivery 121.6 MHz (Eglin Clearance Delivery), and UNICOM 123.075 MHz. There is no ILS approach at the field.
Pilots must obtain ATC clearance before entering the Eglin/Valparaiso terminal area given the airport's closeness to Eglin Air Force Base and the associated military traffic. A control tower was built at the airport and became operational in 2017, adding a local air traffic control presence to the field.
The first landing at what became Destin Executive Airport took place on 13 October 1961, when Lucius Burch of Memphis, Tennessee, flew in with two passengers for a weekend of fishing, having previously had to land at Crestview due to the lack of a local field. The strip was being surfaced with clay at the time at the request of the Okaloosa Airport and Industrial Authority. Later that same year, on 8 December 1961, Frank D. Duckett of Shalimar, Florida, announced the area's first air charter service, noting that the original 2,000-foot runway was being hard-surfaced, lights installed, and fuel and maintenance services made available, with a Tri-Pacer offered for hire. A control tower was constructed and opened at the airport in 2017, and was named the 2018 General Aviation Airport Project of the Year. In 2018 the field was visited by the Wings of Freedom flying memorial, with a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, a Consolidated B-24 Liberator and a TF-51D Mustang on display and offering flights. In January 2025 the airport hosted Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for a talk. The same year brought two significant administrative disputes: a racketeering lawsuit filed by the Okaloosa County Airports Director and a local businessman alleging an attempt to seize control of the airport through extortion and interference with business relations, and an FAA finding that Okaloosa County had violated grant rules by allowing a single fixed-base operator to gain a controlling stake in the airport's other FBO, consolidating control of on-field services.
Destin Executive Airport is a busy general aviation field with a fixed-base operator supplying both 100LL and jet fuel, along with general aircraft maintenance, hangarage, and courtesy and rental cars. Pilot amenities include a conference room, crew lounge, snooze rooms, showers, vending machines and pilot supplies. The airport has also served as a base for scheduled air-taxi operators, including Southern Airways Express, which has used it as a hub, reflecting its role alongside its general aviation traffic. As of a 2025 FAA review, airport services at the field were found to be consolidated under a single operator following a lease and business restructuring.
