[1] It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2019–2023, in which it is categorized as a non-hub primary commercial service facility.

[7] During the summer of 1977, the airport was closed so the terminal building could be expanded and the runway was lengthened to handle jet traffic.

[1] For the twelve-month period ending January 1, 2020, the airport had 38,468 aircraft operations, average 105 per day: 70% general aviation, 15% airline, 13% air taxi, and 1% military.

[7] The flights to Albuquerque and Salt Lake City had ended in the early 1950s as they were redirected through Farmington, New Mexico which then became Frontier's connecting hub for the four corners states.

During the summer of 1977, the La Plata County Airport was closed so that the main runway could be extended to handle jet traffic.

Frontier Airlines then initiated the first jets to the airport in November 1977 with Boeing 737 flights to Denver making one stop in Pueblo, Colorado.

[12] Since the beginning of airline deregulation in 1978, many carriers, small and large, have served Durango: Aspen Airways flew to Denver from late 1978 through 1990 using Convair 580s and in 1985 introduced British Aerospace BAe 146-100 jets.

Desert Pacific Airlines flew to Los Angeles in 1980 making five stops en route and using Piper Navajos.

Service to Denver began in 1990 as United Express and continued into 1998 using Beechcraft 1300s and 1900s and later upgraded with Embraer EMB-120 Brasilias and de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8s.

American Airlines began ski season service during the winter of 1994–95 with flights to Dallas/Fort Worth using McDonnell Douglas MD-80 mainline jets.

Air 21 flew a single daily flight to Grand Junction, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Fresno for a short time in late 1996 using a Fokker F28 Fellowship jet.

Mountain Air Express operating on behalf of Western Pacific Airlines served Durango from Colorado Springs during the 1996/1997 ski season.

SkyWest Airlines began United Express flights in 2001 with Embraer Brasilia's and service continues today, now with all regional jets.

American Eagle service to Dallas/Fort Worth and Phoenix is now solely provided by Mesa Airlines using Canadair CRJ-900 regional jets.

Continental Express service operated by ExpressJet flew to Houston from December 2001 through September 2002 then again for the winter 2002–03 ski season using Embraer EMB-145 regional jets.

Delta Connection service operated by SkyWest Airlines flew to Salt Lake City from mid-2006 through late 2008 using Canadair CRJ-200 regional jets.

This daily service resumed on May 5, 2021, before ending on November 1, 2021, leaving only American, United, and Frontier Airlines flying to Durango–La Plata County Airport.

The new Frontier Airlines provided service to Denver at first by way of its subsidiary company, Lynx Aviation, using de Havilland Canada DHC-8-402 Q400 prop aircraft from April 22, 2008, through 2011.