In 2027, Aspen's Airport Moves 67 Miles Down the Road
October 22, 2026
October 22, 2026
"No airport, no problem," Aspen City Council member John Doyle said at a joint city and county meeting this summer, as Aspen Public Radio reported. The line works as a slogan. The groundwork behind it tells a more practical story. With the runway closing about five and a half months from now, the region's most important decisions have been about Interstate 70, rental cars and a bus fare, and very little has been decided about airplanes.
For most of 2027, the trip home to Aspen will begin at Eagle County Regional Airport, Rifle or Denver, and the hard part of that trip will be the drive.
Aspen/Pitkin County Airport closes at 11 p.m. on Sunday, April 4, 2027, and reopens at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 19, 2027, according to the airport's announcement covered by The Aspen Times. That is roughly seven and a half months. Some coverage has called it a six-month closure, but the official window is longer, and it includes all of summer and most of fall.
During that time the existing runway will be completely rebuilt to current Federal Aviation Administration standards. Work on a new commercial terminal and Fixed Base Operator facility also starts in April 2027. The new terminal is expected in 2029, so when the runway reopens in late 2027, commercial flights will go back to the existing terminal. No commercial or general aviation flights will operate during the closure, and the terminal itself will be closed. The airport says the schedule depends on weather and could change.
That last point matters for anyone booking flights around late November. Leave some room around the Nov. 19 reopening date when you make holiday plans.
The airlines responded first, and Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE) gets most of the added flights. The Aspen Times reported in August that EGE's peak-summer schedule will grow from 46 weekly flights in summer 2026 to 112 in summer 2027, more than double.
| Airline | Summer 2026 weekly EGE flights | Summer 2027 weekly EGE flights | Announced 2027 routes |
|---|---|---|---|
| American | 21, from one hub | 49, from three hubs | 4 daily Dallas/Fort Worth, 2 daily Los Angeles, 1 daily Chicago O'Hare, starting May 27, 2027 |
| United | 25 | 63 | 6 daily Denver, up from 3; weekend-only Houston and Chicago O'Hare service becomes daily, plus daily Los Angeles |
| Delta | No added EGE service announced as of Oct. 8, 2026 | ā | ā |
American's new service starts May 27, almost eight weeks after the runway closes. From April through Memorial Day, Eagle will be running closer to its usual schedule. Delta is ASE's third major airline partner, and Airport Director Diane Jackson told commissioners this month that it has not yet announced any additional Eagle service. If you usually fly Delta through Salt Lake City or Atlanta, you will likely be choosing between a connection in Denver and a longer drive.
Every one of those added flights lands about 67 miles from Snowmass. Getting from Eagle to Aspen is the problem the rest of the planning is trying to solve.
The airport's own travel guide measures distances to the Brush Creek Park & Ride, about six miles from Aspen. By that measure, Eagle is roughly a 1 hour 35 minute drive along I-70 West and Highway 82 through Glenwood Springs. In a normal year, Glenwood Canyon would have been under construction in 2027.
On Thursday, Oct. 15, the Colorado Transportation Commission voted unanimously to move the I-70 Glenwood Canyon Phase 8 project from 2027 to 2028, as The Aspen Times reported. According to CDOT's release, the $101.16 million project covers 16.5 miles between mileposts 115.5 and 132.0. The commission also approved an extra $5 million to cover inflation and cost increases caused by the delay.
CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew said deferring the work "prevents compounding disruptions along this vital highway while the regional airport is under construction."
Both Pitkin and Eagle county commissioners supported the delay. Eagle County Board of County Commissioners Chair Tom Boyd wrote that the counties expect "increased traffic between Eagle County Regional Airport and the Roaring Fork Valley" during the closure. The state chose to absorb $5 million in added costs rather than run canyon construction alongside the closure, which shows where officials expect the strain to be.
The second route still exists. Drivers coming from Denver International, about 200 miles and 3 hours 45 minutes away, can take I-70 West to Glenwood or go through Leadville and over Independence Pass. The airport recommends checking COtrip.org before leaving, because summer is a busy season for roadwork statewide.
If the road is the constraint, the number of cars on it is the thing local agencies can try to control. A working group of Pitkin and Eagle county representatives and community stakeholders has split the job into two parts. The Roaring Fork Transportation Authority and Aspen One lead transportation, and the Aspen Chamber Resort Association leads marketing.
According to The Aspen Times' Oct. 8 report, RFTA recently started a request-for-qualifications process for shuttle service from both Eagle and Denver. The group wants to keep the fare around $50, specifically to discourage a surge of rental cars in and out of the valley. The fare would be subsidized, because organizers said a private operator would already be running the service if it could make money on its own. The subsidy is currently estimated at $600,000. Half would come from the Elected Official Transportation Committee and half from partners, and ACRA, RFTA and Aspen One have each tentatively offered money.
The presentation said Eagle shuttle service could start as early as this ski season. That would let the route run during a winter when ASE is still open, before it carries the full load in summer. For now it is still a proposal. No operator has been chosen and no start date has been announced.
Today, Eagle's ground options are rental cars and private car services, and the airport expects more rental capacity. Denver and Grand Junction both connect to the valley by public transit through Bustang and RFTA.
Once the drive matters as much as the flight, a few options look better than they normally would. Here is how the airport's travel page compares them, with times to the Brush Creek Park & Ride:
Rifle is a minute or two closer than Eagle, which puts it on the list for anyone who flies private or charters. The airport's runway reconstruction FAQ lists Montrose as another commercial option and directs helicopter operators to check parking at Glenwood Springs or Rifle. It also notes that helicopters are generally prohibited from landing elsewhere on public or private land in Pitkin County. Anyone counting on a helicopter for the last leg should check that rule first.
Event organizers have mostly made the same decision as the transportation planners and kept their events in Aspen. ACRA's Eliza Voss told Aspen Public Radio that the Aspen Security Forum is the only major recurring event not coming back in 2027. The forum has an audience of senior officials who depend on direct air access, and it plans to return in 2028. The Food & Wine Classic will stay in Aspen next summer. Aspen One and ACRA have said publicly that businesses, lodging, restaurants and venues will stay open and that on-mountain events will go ahead as planned.
Local businesses expect fewer visitors, though. In May, The Aspen Times reported ACRA survey and listening-session results from 165 businesses and employers. Eighty-two expected a significant drop in visitors, 14 planned partial shutdowns, and 10 expected to close for the whole closure. Thirty-seven said staffing was their biggest planning challenge, and the Aspen/Pitkin County Housing Authority agreed to consider more flexible work-hour requirements for employee housing. The survey did not identify which businesses or sectors are planning to close.
Visitor surveys point the other way. In ACRA's survey, two-thirds of tourists said the closure would not change their plans to visit the Roaring Fork Valley. Voss said part of the appeal is that people expect the town to be less busy. Summer 2027 may bring the usual festivals, a few dark storefronts, and guests who all came in on the same highway.
The airport posts updates at aspenairport.com/modernization, and readers can subscribe to its Frequent Flyer Updates email list for project news. County officials have said November is an important month for the terminal's design phase, so expect more news before the end of the year.
If you own in Aspen or are planning a purchase, the 2027 closure affects when you arrive, how your guests get here, and how you schedule a rental season. Ashley Feddersen and Team Tarumianz at Aspen Snowmass Sotheby's International Realty can help you plan the year around it. Schedule a confidential consultation.
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