That summer, Lake Tahoe was a stop on an F-27 "milk run" service: Pacific flight 771 operated Reno-Lake Tahoe-Sacramento-San Francisco-San Jose-Fresno-Bakersfield-Los Angeles-San Diego.

[6] Golden Pacific Airlines (1969-1973), a commuter air carrier, was operating nonstop to Lake Tahoe from San Francisco, Sacramento and Reno in 1969 with Beechcraft 99 turboprops.

[13] At one point, Reno Air flew McDonnell Douglas MD-80s and MD-87s nonstop to Los Angeles; other jets included BAC One-Elevens and Convair 990s on nonscheduled casino charters.

[4] In 1999, Casino Express Airlines operating as Tahoe Air started low fare Boeing 737-200 service nonstop to San Jose and Los Angeles (LAX).

Due to budget cuts in 2001, the FAA ceased funding on-site weather observers who had also served as the airport's air traffic controllers.

Unable to find replacement funding, the South Lake Tahoe city council voted to close the airport's Air Traffic Control Tower on October 1, 2004.

Relocating to airport land allowed the city to counter rising lease costs at its old location in the Al Tahoe neighborhood.

Attached to the former airline terminal building, the Flight Deck Sports Bar & Grill provides a public restaurant overlooking the airport's runway.