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Zanesville Municipal Airport is a city-owned general aviation field lying about six miles east of downtown Zanesville, in Muskingum County, Ohio. It offers two hard-surfaced runways, an ILS approach, and a mix of light piston and jet traffic supported by a resident fixed-base operator, making it a useful and historically rich stop for VFR pilots crossing central Ohio.
Zanesville Municipal Airport is a public, city-owned aerodrome serving Zanesville, Ohio, and the surrounding Muskingum County area. It is classed as a general aviation facility with no scheduled airline service, though it handles a steady stream of private, charter and business traffic, including jet aircraft based on the field. For a visiting VFR pilot it offers two paved runways, an ILS approach, and a long and fairly eventful history stretching back to the Second World War.
The airport lies roughly six miles east of downtown Zanesville, in Muskingum County, Ohio, on a 534-acre site near Interstate 70. Radio traffic is worked through Indianapolis Center and Cleveland Radio for enroute and flight-following purposes, indicating the field sits within the surrounding en-route airspace structure typical of a non-towered general aviation airport rather than beneath dedicated approach control.
The airport has two paved runway pairs. Runway 16/34 is 4,993 feet long with a hard surface and is lit. Runway 04/22 is 4,973 feet long, also hard-surfaced and lit, with an ILS approach serving runway 22.
Weather is available on the field ASOS at 111.4 MHz. Enroute traffic is handled by Indianapolis Center on 124.45 MHz, with Cleveland Radio available on 122.2 MHz. Local traffic advisories and airport operations use the CTAF/UNICOM frequency of 123 MHz. An ILS approach is published for runway 22.
Plans to substantially enlarge Zanesville's existing airport were first announced in October 1941, and a federal grant of $868,000 to fund improvements was authorised the following year. A roughly 600-acre site 5.5 miles east of the city was chosen in December 1942, and by April 1943 agreement had been reached with all but one of the 61 landowners affected. Construction began in May 1943 under N. E. Daugherty Construction. The first aircraft to land, a C-47 carrying five wounded soldiers, arrived in mid-September 1944, though further flights were briefly halted for lack of radio equipment. The airport formally opened on 23 May 1945 once radio communications became operational; within a year, 430 medical flights had used the field despite it still having only minimal facilities. Scheduled airline service began on 1 November 1947 with two TWA flights, prompting a fundraising drive for a permanent terminal, which was dedicated on 18 September 1949. TWA's service ended and Lake Central Airlines took over in April 1953; by early 1954 the field had gained two twelve-aircraft T-hangars, a fixed-base operator (Southeastern Ohio Air Service), and the headquarters of the Ohio Air National Guard's 268th Communications Squadron. A TVOR beacon was anticipated by late 1956. Passenger numbers proved a recurring difficulty, leading to a Civil Aeronautics Board hearing in 1960, after which Lake Central pledged more flights. Lobbying by local leaders in 1962 secured a full Interstate 70 interchange near the airport. The last scheduled airline flight took place in January 1970, when Allegheny Airlines, having absorbed Lake Central, withdrew service. Improvements continued through the 1970s and 1980s, including a VASI, new taxiway and runway lighting, a new beacon by 1976, and REILs installed alongside a further VASI in 1984, the same year Federal Express began using the field. The airport has also been the scene of several notable incidents, including an emergency landing by a Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter in 1954, a Cessna 210 emergency landing following a mid-air collision in 1981, and a runway excursion involving a Viking SF-2A Cygnet in 2016.
Zanesville Municipal Airport remains a city-owned general aviation airport with no scheduled airline service. As of the most recent figures, 25 aircraft were based at the field, comprising 14 single-engine and 5 multi-engine aircraft along with 6 jets, and the airport recorded over 33,000 operations in the year to June 2020. Fixed-base operator services, including fuel and charter support, are provided on the field by Zanesville Aviation. The city announced plans to update the airport's master plan in June 2019.
