The Colorado Springs Airport saw significant economic growth between 2018 and 2023, generating billions of dollars in business revenues and growing more than 50% those five years, according to a state study released Wednesday.
Colorado Springs Airport generated $5.2 billion in total business revenue in 2023, the 2025 Colorado Aviation Economic Impact Study conducted by the Colorado Department of Transportation's aeronautics division found.
Based on economic activity in 2023 that measures employment, payroll, value added and total business revenue, the 2025 report highlights a roughly 53% increase from the $3.4 billion the agency most recently reported in 2020, based on 2018 business revenue.
Of that $5.2 billion, passenger services, food and beverage purchases and retail spending at the municipal airport generated $4.3 billion, according to the 2025 study — a 48% increase from $2.9 billion generated in 2018. Airport travelers spent another $876.9 million across Colorado Springs once they landed in 2023, on items like lodging, recreation and other services, a 64% rise from the $535.6 million visitors spent outside the airport in 2018.
In that five-year period the total number of full- and part-time airport employees increased by 39%, from 25,093 up to 34,829. Total payroll grew by 78%, from $1.5 billion to $2.7 billion; and the airport contributed $3.7 billion to Colorado's gross state product in 2023, a 54% increase from $2.4 billion in 2018.
Statewide, Colorado's 66 public airports — including Colorado Springs Airport — generated $68.9 billion in total business revenues in 2023, adding $40.3 billion to the Gross State Product, the study found.
The 2025 study "underscores (Colorado Springs Airport's) crucial role in supporting the local economy, job creation and regional business expansion," Alex Kovacs, the acting director of Colorado Springs Airport, said in a Wednesday news release. "This report demonstrates the airport's continued strength and its substantial impact on the local economy through commercial air travel, commercial cargo, general aviation, military operations and economic development in the region."
Spokeswoman Aidan Ryan said Colorado Springs Airport's economic growth is largely attributed to its expansion of commercial and general aviation and services; corporate and business activity; military activities; aerospace manufacturing; and air cargo.
Among some specifics:
• Southwest Airlines began flying out of the municipal airport in March 2021, boosting airport traffic. Several airlines also expanded their route offerings from Colorado Springs in 2023.
• The Colorado Springs Airport's multi-year, $36 million ElevateCOS modernization project also broke ground in September 2023 to upgrade the 31-year-old concourse. That project is ongoing and airport officials expect it to be completed in May 2026.
• Business park growth and development "is a significant driver on its own," Ryan said, but revenues generated through ground leases, land sales and other indirect sources have also bolstered the airport's economic growth. The airport's 1,600-acre Peak Innovation Park, a business park, has in recent years added a nearly 4-million-square-foot Amazon fulfillment center as well as the presence of defense contractor Northrop Grumman and research nonprofit Aerospace Corp.
• Colorado Springs-based military operations also have a direct impact on Colorado Springs Airport, Ryan said. This includes the unveiling of U.S. Space Force Operation Command at Peterson Space Force Base in 2020. The airport's total impact includes those impacts generated by Space Base Delta 1 installations (Peterson and Schriever Space Force bases and the Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station), Ryan said.
Your Privacy Choices