Flying Out of Clovis This Holiday Season? What Changed at the Airport This Year

When your sister asks whether you can fly out of Clovis on Thanksgiving morning and be in Denver by lunch, what's the honest answer?

The airline is settled for years. Clovis Regional Airport has a carrier under federal contract through April 2030, with nonstop flights to Dallas/Fort Worth and Denver every week. The date is the open question. The contract guarantees a number of flights per week, not service on any particular day. Last holiday season, the major holidays were the days with no flights.

So this year the airport question is simple. You can fly from Clovis. The thing to check is which days.

The Contract Counts Trips Per Week, Not Dates on the Calendar

In May, the U.S. Department of Transportation selected Key Lime Air, doing business as Denver Air Connection to keep providing Essential Air Service at Clovis for a four-year term that runs from May 1, 2026, through April 30, 2030. The order calls for 12 nonstop round trips a week: six to Dallas/Fort Worth International and six to Denver International, on either a 30-seat Dornier 328 or a 50-seat ERJ-145.

It's a renewal. Denver Air Connection already held the Clovis contract from May 2022 through April 2026, and DOT chose it again over proposals from Advanced Air and SkyWest. The airline's own Clovis check-in page lists the same two destinations. The Eastern New Mexico News covered the renewal in May.

The federal government pays for that service, and the amount is substantial. The first-year subsidy, covering May 2026 through April 2027, is $4,960,369. It rises each year to $5,420,329 in the final year, ending April 2030. Twelve round trips a week works out to roughly one departure in each direction per destination on most days of the week. That's enough to make Clovis a real option for getting to a hub. It isn't enough to promise a seat on any one day you choose.

Last Holiday Season, the Major Holidays Had No Flights

The detail that matters most for November and December comes from the City of Clovis Civil Aviation Board. At its January 20, 2026 meeting, Airport Director Chris Marshall reported on fuel sales and the airline's holiday operations. The meeting minutes record it this way:

"Denver Air Connection (DAC) did not operate flights on major holidays this past holiday season, which negatively impacted fuel sales. DAC advised this decision was related to crew morale considerations."

That describes last season. It doesn't set a rule for this one. It does show that a holiday pause has happened under this same carrier, and the reason the airline gave was crew morale, not weather or demand.

For a Clovis household, that changes the plan. A Denver connection that works fine on a Tuesday in October may not exist on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day or New Year's Day. Flying out the day before or coming home the day after could decide whether the trip starts in Clovis or with a drive to a bigger airport.

What's Settled and What's Still Open Heading Into November

The New Terminal Is Licensed for Food and Drink on Both Sides of Security

The City broke ground on a new passenger terminal on October 29, 2024, and projected about 18 months of construction. At the January 2026 board meeting, construction was still underway, with work focused on the parking lot. The City scheduled a Civil Aviation Board tour of the terminal construction site for July 7, 2026. Watch the City's announcements for an opening or ribbon-cutting date.

The plans include something the current building doesn't have. On June 18, 2026, the Clovis City Commission took up a governmental liquor license for 459 CR 11.5, the airport's address. City Attorney Jared Morris explained that it covers the proposed restaurant space in the new terminal. The license allows beer, wine and spirits, and it includes two licensed areas, one on the unsecured side and one on the secured side, in case a restaurant operator wants to use both. The commission voted unanimously to move the item to a public hearing.

At the same June meeting, Marshall called Clovis Regional the fifth-largest airport in New Mexico and noted that it had received New Mexico's Airport of the Year award. Until the City announces an opening, plan this holiday trip around the terminal operating today.

One Runway, One Bad Night in September

Weather can close the airport, too. Heavy rain on the afternoon and night of Thursday, September 24, flooded parts of Clovis. The City's September 25 update said flooding at Clovis Regional Airport had submerged the runway, leaving the airport closed with no flights in or out while debris remained as the water went down. The City said it would reevaluate service in 24 hours.

That fits everything else in this post. Clovis has steady, contracted service, but it's a thin schedule. A hub airport can absorb a cancellation by rebooking you on the next flight that afternoon. With six round trips a week to each destination, Clovis can't do that. The next flight to Denver or Dallas/Fort Worth may be the next day or later. That's worth knowing before you book a tight connection on December 23.

A Holiday Booking Checklist for CVN

1. Check the exact date on the airline's schedule before you buy anything that connects to it. Last season's holiday gap means a route that runs most days can still skip Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year's Day.
2. Pick the hub for the trip, not by habit. Denver and Dallas/Fort Worth are both under contract, and depending on where you're headed, one may give you a better connection on your travel day.
3. Leave room in the connection. With a dozen round trips a week split between two cities, a missed Clovis flight is harder to recover than a missed flight out of a big airport.
4. Watch City of Clovis news if weather turns. The September closure was announced through the City's News Flash page.
5. Use the airline's Clovis page for check-in details. Denver Air Connection keeps a CVN-specific check-in page.

See the Airport on October 31, Before Anyone Has a Flight to Catch

If you haven't been out to the airport lately, Halloween morning is an easy excuse. The City is hosting Wings 'n' Wheels at Clovis Regional Airport on Saturday, October 31, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The City calls it a family event highlighting Clovis' planes and automobiles. It will have a car show, Trunk or Treat, a costume contest, food trucks, vendors, static plane displays and other family activities. Sponsor and vendor questions go to Nicolle Holcomb at the City, and the general event line is 575-763-9670.

It isn't new, either. The Eastern New Mexico News described the 2023 edition as the third annual Wings 'n' Wheels.

Put the address in your phone before you leave: 459 CR 11.5. The listing gives it a Texico mailing address, though everyone in town calls it the Clovis airport. Kids can trick-or-treat in the morning, and you can get a look at the construction while the airport is at its friendliest.

At Tammy Waters, we pay attention to things like flight schedules and runway closures because they shape how Clovis families visit relatives, host guests and handle a Cannon AFB move. If you're planning a move around the holidays or have relatives flying in to see a new home, call or email The Waters Group. We're happy to help you think through the timing. Request your free buyer/seller packet to get started.