Ely Airport (Yelland Field) is a county-owned airport three miles northeast of Ely, in White Pine County, Nevada, United States. The Federal Aviation Administration says this airport had 239 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008, 216 in 2009 and 245 in 2010. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a general aviation airport. History Historical airline service Ely's first airline service began with United Airlines in 1955 providing one daily direct flight each to Salt Lake City and San Francisco using Convair 340 aircraft. The flight to San Francisco made stops in Elko and Reno, Nevada, as well as Sacramento and Oakland, California. Service was later upgraded using Douglas DC-6s that continued into 1970. This was United's last service using piston engine propeller aircraft. United then began a subcontract arrangement with Frontier Airlines (1950-1986) using Convair 580s for its Ely service. In 1977, United brought the service back in house using Boeing 737-200 jets flying a San Francisco - Reno - Elko - Ely - Salt Lake City - Denver route with one daily round trip. Ely was the smallest destination ever to be served year round by United jets. United's service ended on April 1, 1982. Scenic Airlines also served Ely from about 1973 through 1976 with flights to Las Vegas using Cessna 402 aircraft. Chaparral Aviation flew from Ely to several smaller communities throughout northern Nevada in 1981 and 1982. With the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, service to Ely became subsidized under the Essential Air Service program so that the city would not lose all service. A series of commuter airlines then provided service to Ely. SkyWest Airlines provided service to Salt Lake City (SLC) as well as Elko and Reno, Nevada, offering three daily flights each using Piper Navajo aircraft. In 1986, SkyWest began operating as Western Express, a code-share affiliate for Western Airlines which had built a major hub at SLC. Service was reduced to only one daily roundtrip to SLC using a larger Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner aircraft. Western Airlines merged with Delta Air Lines in 1987, and the SkyWest flight then took on the designation as Delta Connection. Service continued until 1996. Alpine Aviation provided two daily flights to SLC from 1996 through 1999 using Piper Cheyenne aircraft. Scenic Airlines returned to Ely from 1999 through 2006 with flights to North Las Vegas Airport and Elko Regional Airport.