History
Forbes Field is on the former site of the Topeka Army Airfield, later known as Forbes Air Force Base, a former Strategic Air Command (SAC) facility which closed in 1973. Most of the former base administrative area is now used for offices and an industrial park. The 190th Air Refueling Wing (190 ARW) of the Kansas Air National Guard also uses a portion of the airport as an Air Force cantonment area and Air National Guard installation in support of KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft operations.
In April 1976, with the exception of those portions retained by the Air National Guard, most of the former Forbes Air Force Base was turned over to the city of Topeka and Shawnee County. During this transition, all commercial air service was moved from the Phillip Billard Airport to the newly established Forbes Field. On June 1, 1976, Frontier Airlines provided the first jet service out of Forbes Field. In 1981, a bond to build a new air terminal was rejected, but then approved a year later in 1982. The new $5 million terminal was completed in 1985. The terminal includes 5 airline ticket counters and 2 rental car counters, currently Hertz is the only rental car company at FOE, there is also one baggage claim carousel. Several charter and military flights still use the terminal today. Topeka had several carriers throughout the mid-1970s to late-1980s, including Air Midwest, Frontier, Midway, TWA and United Airlines. During this period, Forbes Field handled up to 180,000 passengers per year. After the major carriers pulled out, commuter flights were offered out of Forbes Field.
As recently as November 2003, commuter service was provided by Air Midwest, codeshared with US Airways Express, on 19-passenger planes between Topeka and Kansas City International Airport. Scheduled passenger service was subsidized by the Essential Air Service program until May 2003, when it was terminated due to federal law not allowing a subsidy over $200 per passenger for communities located within 210 miles of the nearest large or medium hub airport (Kansas City International Airport, a medium hub, is 71 miles away via Interstate 70 and I-435).
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