Columbia Regional Airport

Columbia Regional Airport (KCOU) is a medium airport in Columbia, MO. Pilots and dispatchers reference it by ICAO code KCOU or IATA code COU. It sits in North America.

Columbia Regional Airport is a regional commercial airport that doubles as a busy private-aviation base. Operators benefit from full instrument approaches and an FBO infrastructure scaled for regular jet traffic, often without the congestion of the nearest major hub.

The longest runway measures 7,401 ft (2,256 m), a heavy-class field. Representative aircraft that operate comfortably here include the Gulfstream G550, Falcon 7X, and Bombardier Global 5500. In practice this most heavy and super-midsize jets operate here without restriction.

Columbia Regional Airport sits near sea level at 889 ft.

Local operations run on America/Chicago. Scheduled airline service is light enough that it rarely interferes with charter movements, though planners should still expect to coordinate with the handling agent for international turnarounds.

SkyAccess currently tracks 118 departing and 86 arriving private-jet legs at KCOU across the next six months of operator inventory. 4 charter operators have run trips through this field in our recent inventory window.

Regional fields like KCOU are a meaningful share of US private aviation — closer to the trip's actual origin or destination than the nearest major hub, with shorter ramp-to-cabin times that are the main reason owners and brokers prefer them.

Columbia Regional Airport is a commercial passenger airport serving Columbia, Missouri. Located about 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Columbia in Boone County, Missouri, it is the only commercial airport in Mid-Missouri and also serves the state capital of Jefferson City. Commercial passenger service is provided by American Airlines subsidiary American Eagle and United Airlines via its regional airline contractor SkyWest branded as United Express. The airport opened in 1968, replacing the Columbia Municipal Airport off of Interstate 70. It is frequently used for charter flights by college athletic teams visiting the University of Missouri and for MU team flights.