In the mid 1950s, a small Chamber of Commerce representing Truckee's business owners was eager to have a modern airport that would bring tourists to the area.
By 1958, the Truckee Tahoe Airport District (TTAD) was formed. The first elected TTAD Board, a group of local businessment, spent their own money and time to obtain federal and state funding to build a runway and terminal building and buy property surrounding the Airport.
They had a vision that air travel would become vital to a thriving community. Nearly 50 years later, not only is Truckee Tahoe Airport a community center, but it serves as a base of law enforcement aircraft in local highway patrol and sheriff's departments, and for the California Department of Forestry's fire spotting patrols after thunderstorms.
It provides air access for Angel Flight, Medevac and Flying Doctors, and is a weather observation station for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Also, non-profits, including the Chamber of Commerce, Boy Scouts, Toastmasters, Snowfest and American Youth Soccer use Airport facilities.
Our local pilots, many of whom are businesspeople and civic leaders, speak to schools and organizations about the joy of flying, volunteer in aerial search and resuce missions, and deliver patients to hospitals or fly doctors to remote villages for specialized care.
Truckee Tahoe Airport is a place where kids are introduced to the world of aviation and possible careers as airline pilots or aviation technicians. Since 1994, members of the local EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) chapter have taught 90 young people from four area high schools about aviation through Project School Flight. A number of these kids, inspired by their experience at the Airport, have continued to pursue aviation coursework at the college level.
Ever week, aspiring pilots, young and old, come to learn to fly. Visitors enjoy aerial tours of Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada. Every day, people have lunch or coffee at Amy's Deli at the Airport terminal, the perfect place to watch everything from antique aircraft to modern jets.
Major Airport improvements have been paid for by federal and California State grants. Since 1991, TTAD has received $8 million in federal grants to maintain and enhance the Airport's infrastructure. The bi-county Truckee Tahoe Airport District covers 560 square miles of Nevada and Placer counties, from Donner Summit east to the Nevada Sate line, and from the Sierra County line in the north to El Dorado County line in the south.
Recent times have seen more business aircraft fly into the Truckee Tahoe Airport. IN the last decade, Truckee/North Lake Tahoe has become a world-class destination, and with that has come growth and prosperity.
Just as the founders of Truckee Tahoe Airport District had dreamed, our local Airport is a vital transportation link for residents, visitors and businesses, and provides critial air access for emergency and government services. Truckee Tahoe Airport is a measure of our community's prosperity and wellbeing, and contineus to be an integral part of its bright future.