Rapid City Regional Airport

Super charming airport with extremely wonderful staff and superb customer service. I found everything about this place refreshing, including the bathrooms. From the moment we walked in to the check in and car rental, this quaint little airport packs a whole lot of character. Don't miss the outside as there are things to see there as well. I love these little airports for their charm and small town feel and Rapid City did not disappoint. The entire staff were kind and helpful and I felt like customer service mattered there. You lose that sometimes at large airports as you get shuffled around. Truly enjoyed this airport, would not hesitate to stop back if I were flying through. Beautiful and breathtaking landscape!!

Flying into Rapid City was a lot of fun. Was very surprised to see all the food and shops open at 4:30 am to serve those leaving on early flights. Thank you for being open.

This is a great airport. Very clean and no frills. A 5 minute walk from the parking lot to your gate. Very friendly staff and clean toilets. They also have a groovy glass elevator in the main terminal. I wish all airports were this nice.

It's impressively clean throughout, with friendly staff and a super easy-to-navigate layout that makes arriving or departing a breeze. No endless walks or confusing signs. Perfect for quick trips to the Black Hills, and far less stressful than big-city airports. Highly recommend!

I recently came here for my in laws early Christmas celebration. On the way flying back I was randomly selected for a “screening” when boarding the flight. The “screening” was a check of my bag that a lady hardly even looked though. I knew he was going to choose me bc I dress alternately and wanted to single me out. It was completely pointless and a waste of time. If you don’t want this to be you, make sure you chat him up and wear your most country outfit so you don’t stand out. I know only 2 people fly out of here a year, I guess 4 now bc my husband and I just did but seems like they care more about chatting with people “their kind” then just getting people to where they need to go. Also the water fountain for filling water bottles was down. The water tasted absolutely disgusting. I guess I have to fly in to here sometimes but doesn’t mean I like it. If you not from here be warned, you will get stares, picked out and treated different if you rnt in your best flannel. Glad to leaving back home where you are not judged by racist ranchers. Good day. I said good day.

Sweet little airport. Getting around was easy. The place was clean. Would recommend, but then again, there aren’t any other options in town.

I’ve lived in Rapid City for a year and a half, and I have yet to experience an on-time departure from this airport, especially in the early morning. We’re currently waiting to be de-iced and are already 45 minutes past our scheduled departure, despite this flight being ready to leave on time. Pilots routinely tell passengers that the delays are due to airport staffing and are beyond their control. I’ll likely miss my connection as a result. The one positive: it’s a small airport, so TSA is fast. UPDATE: 75 minutes past our departure time, and we still haven’t left. 2nd Update: The plane departed 80 minutes late, and I missed my connection. The pilot told the plane that this airport only had one de-icing machine working (in mid-December).

It's a nice airport; we've traveled through here many times without any problems.

Small quiet airport with a gift shop & food stand. Six gates, two runways & 2 luggage carousels. There were enough ladies rooms without a wait. It was easy to maneuver through the airport. We were here 17 years ago & the airport is significantly larger as it expanded in 2012.

Another decent small airport. Quick security, easy to navigate, car rentals on site, limited dining opinions.

Our flight was at 5:15am. We arrived with less than an hour before take off and there wasn't much of a line at security. It was a stress free experience.

Such a nice convenient small airport in Rapid City, South Dakota. Flew in on Allegiant Air nonstop from Las Vegas. Even though its quite small it has lots of gift shops, art work of the history of SD and very nice customer service. The restrooms are super large and nice, I appreciate a good restroom when traveling. On the way back to Las Vegas... check in for Allegiant Air takes awhile because there is only 1 counter and 1 flight back to LV. Plan ahead when departing Rapid City. Security check in is ok. I got the full pat down, not sure why? It was uncomfortable. No reason was given as to why? That's my only complaint and minus the 1 star. Otherwise, very nice and clean airport.

Nice and small airport. It's not really as busy because there's only a few gates. Security line goes by quick and people here are super nice!

As you would expect Rapid City is a small airport but with seemingly many gates. The rental car services are at the airport so there is no shuttle which is a plus. The food offerings seemed fairly limited. Overall, the airport was very easy to get in and out.

A small commercial airport located on the East side of Rapid City, South Dakota. It is always clean and easy to navigate when flying. There is a restaurant located on the second floor that s pretty good. It also has an outdoor seating area.

It gets a two because rental cars are on site. 1 for the behind security restaurant that is chronically understaffed. Was not even given butter for toast and she never returned with it when asked. The tsa supervisor who was working the X-ray decided my travel steamer was now a threat after I have flown with it almost weekly for 10 years.

Nice clean place. Easy parking and getting around. Well... it is a small airport. Check out our YouTube channel Coolest Life.

Agreed with the previous reviewer, RAP is a decent airport to fly into. I would still recommend an earlier arrival time to your gate as there is minimal staffing here. Car drop off is a bit strange as I'm used to pulling up to a return location where I hand back the keys to a staff member. Not here! It's self park and self-check out. The line was short overall through TSA so I was lucky. There's also only 7 gates at this airport so small is an understatement! Still I wouldn't mind flying back here if I needed to.

We had a 4 hour delay in our flight. We got updates from Allegiant except for the last hour. We didn't get any updates from the airport at all until some passengers went to the airport personnel and asked what was going on. Airport personnel should have kept us informed.

I believe this is the only game in town so you have to fly in/out of here. Not a whole lot of food choices. Eat before you come here.

Small regional airports are often nice places. They do not suffer the same overcrowding and neglect of large metropolitan places. Rapid City Regional Airport is the airport serving the Black Hills region with connecting service to many domestic airports. Parking is generous, but I suspect most people are met by family. The airport has some cool little areas that show off the area. There is a large restaurant pre security and a smaller bar and grill in the gate area. Post security, there are plenty of restrooms and seating to help with any delays. The gift shop has some regional items for a last minute present for the grandkids. The gate area is bright and open which probably helps when they are deicing the plane in January. They are designed for the peaks and valleys of a regional airport and seem to handle the rushes with ease. You can rent a car here too and get connections to Ellsworth or other destinations. It may still be easier to fly into Denver and drive here, but flying helps if you don't need a car when you visit. If you can, fly into RAP and shave some time off your trip.

We flew United from RAP to Denver in August 2023 at the tail end of our Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and South Dakota trip. Easy to get through the airport check-in and sat at the airline location until take-off. Decent experience.

Decent regional airport. Car rental drop off was easy and staff were friendly. The bag tag kiosk gave me problems but there was a guest service attendant available to take care of me. The conveyor belt line at security was backed up but the TSA staff were in good spirits. Looks like they're going through a much needed expansion. Charging stations were limited. Lines at the bathroom were long. Facility maintenance should check floors more often. Gate seating was crowded. The post security restaurant was busy and staff were on point getting the orders out. The bar was busy. They had beers on tap and had attentive bartending. The restaurant definitely needs more dine in space as it was crowded. They offer styrofoam to-go boxes for leftovers. Kind of a bummer they haven't invested in compostable boxes especially when national and state parks are well known economic drivers for the city. They offer plastic bottle recycling and water bottle filling stations within the terminal though so they're trying...gotta give them a little credit right?! I'm sure once the Memorial holiday kicks off the airport will be at max capacity for the summer. Hope they can manage :)

Cute little airport. And I mean little. But it does a good job of getting what you need. The terminal area inside can get pretty crowded, it's not a big space, but it's clean and moderately comfortable. The gift shop is pretty cute, and has a decent variety for it's small size. The restaurant outside the terminal is pretty terrible. Bless. I had one of the worst BLT's of my life there. The parking lot is great and just steps away from the exit. The drop off area is also really easy and convenient. If you're heading to Western South Dakota, you really dont have much of a choice but to fly in here, but it should be a good experience for you, unless you dine at that restaurant.

I seriously heart small regional airports. They're not fancy, they're perfectly sized and always clean since they rarely have large crowds. RAP is no exception. We flew from a large international airport into RAP and it was such a refreshing change. You can easily get in and out of the terminal and rental cars are barely a five minute walk. This is the closest airport if you're visiting Mt Rushmore or any of the sites on the western side of South Dakota.

Cute and clean little airport. Great gift shop and surprisingly delicious bar and cafeteria. Great seating areas and outdoor lookout patio. Don't fly on United in or out of this airport as they are horribly late with every flight due to being understaffed. Other carriers like American are much more reliable.

This airport is small. Really small. But it works. Short lines. Easy to get through security and get to your plane. There is a full-service restaurant (sort of) past security. The food, however, is largely packaged and pretty limited. I want to commend the airport staff for going above and beyond the call. My wife had a medical emergency after we were through security on our way out. From the restaurant staff to the airport police to the firefighters to the airport management--everyone did their jobs and got our luggage back and had us on an ambulance to Monument Health. Every last one of them was great. Thank you all so much!

Pretty, pretty, pretty good. They tweaked the front rewrites area several years back. Some food options pre and post security. The usual TSA to keep the homeland safe. Regional traffic in and out. Occasional United will fly some bigger metal in but mostly connections to Denver or Chicago O'Hara then onto bigger distinctions. An easy airport to navigate with a few gates and concessions. You may want more depending on weather but alert from snow flights come and go on time. You're not far from downtown Rapid City if you have to spend the night due to a travel disruption. Adjacent to have some National Guard operations and then general aviation for those working on cross countries or just flying in to see Mt. Rushmore closer. Sioux Falls is another option but really is comparable as far as amenities and carrier options.

This was my first visit to Rapid City, SD. Took a quick visit to South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore. I was told by friends and family and this airport was small and boy it was SMALL. It was so homey and cute. There is only 4 airlines that come in and out and only 2 luggage carousels. Coming from Las Vegas, this airport was like a breath of fresh air because it wasn't busy and full of people and chaos. I got off the plane went down 1 hallway, down 1 escalator, and to the right was the 2 carousels. Once you get your bag, just a few steps, you're right outside! It was so great! When you're outside it's just a parking lot across the way and the curb is where you would pick up, drop off, and Lyft. So calm and chill.

For this being a small airport they sure got it right. Our arrival from LAX airport on United Airlines went smooth and so did our return. The baggage area is easy to get to and spacious restrooms are nearby. The rental car counter is a few yards away and picking up the car is an easy walk outside by an adjacent side door. When we flew back home the small cafe bar had beer on tap - what could be better than to down a cold brew before my flight home.

This is a nice small airport. I came during the slow season, at the front of a pandemic. The airport is easy to fly though, even though that may be different during the busy season. The entire staff there is friendly and the airport is very clean. Because the airport is so small, there is only like one gift shop and limited food options. The rental cars (from all the major rental car places) are located on the lot, but you get your key from the counter and just walk out to the parking lot and jump in your car. To return your car in is simple. Just park in a spot and drop the keys off at the counter.

Very small airport, easy to get around and as small as it is there are car rental companies ready to serve at the airport location. Staff were very helpful and informative. We rented a car through budget with a federal employee discount and it was awesome! The only hold up was to wait on our car coming back from the car wash (we got there early) and the car was a new model corolla with some neat features! It was clean and very nice to drive! When we were heading home car rental at the airport has a drop box for keys to car rental returns and we forgot my husband's big hat in the car with only 15 minutes to board our flight. After calling budget, they located the hat and rushed to security to deliver the hat before last call! TSA worked with me in getting the hat through and was nice about it which is relieving. There are several small restaurants outside the gate area, and one diner-like restaurant that I noticed inside gate area (adjacent to our gate). There was one gal running this place and the morning was busy. Menu listed mochas and cappuccinos and other special morning drinks but when I asked for a mocha the gal said there is only coffee available. I was a bit disappointed yet I figured she was the only one catering to the morning rush and we also discovered that the 3 regular coffee carafes prepped at self service were empty so the poor gal didn't have time to refill them and a few of us waiting to get the only coffee available here. Need to add help for this gal especially during the morning rush and lots of breakfast orders. Other than that the gal still put on a smile and served her customers with class even with limited menu items and lack of help. The bathroom was nice and clean, very spacious and well maintained. Rapid City Airport is a great little airport and we enjoyed the little time we had with no problems at all.

RAP was the last stop of my whirlwind tour of North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota, giving me enough in three days to write more than forty reviews. But enough about that. Let's focus on the Rapid City airport. Easy to access, but I didn't see a gas station very nearby. The closest seemed to be a mile or two away. Good signage to find the rental car return and the lot is right next to the entrance/exit where the rental counters are located. And that's right next to the baggage carousels. Checking my luggage with the airline was easy and then it was up to the TSA where the TSO said that they do sometimes actually have PreCheck but a couple of people called in sick today so it's just "expedited screening." Riiiiiight. Anyway, that only took a minute and I was through to the gate area. It's a small airport with only six gates. Plenty of power outlets if you'll look and the seating is ample. I wasn't able to get their wifi to work on either my laptop or my phone, but they're in range of T-Mobile so I was able to do tethering. A quick peek at the vending machine and I turned away. Who pays $2.75 for a bottled drink? Even in a restricted place like an airport, that's crazy. Easy to understand the announcements. All in all, a decent airport. I'm a fan.

Great small and easy airport. So much better than ATL! Snack bar was superb. They must make everything there. The people behind the counter truly took pride in the food, and the service was outstanding. I had a ham and Swiss on marble dry with a pickle. The pickle came in a little plastic sandwich bag you like my mom had packed my lunch for me. I thoroughly enjoyed every bite of the sandwich. The bar had a selection of local beers so I was able to sample another local beer before I boarded the plane.

Totally incompetent. Limited flights. Avoid like the plague. 3rd world country. Go anywhere but this airport.

Okay, is anyone that works at this airport aware we're in the middle of a worldwide pandemic? NO employees were wearing masks. NONE! Incredible. Took 25 min to get the luggage after getting off the plane which is a bit extreme.

Fabulous little jetport! Easy to get in and out. Rental cars only steps away from check-in. TSA was a little slow when I passed through but may have been an off day.

Easy in, easy out! Just enough conveniences to make it OK, and it's so small, I can't imagine any complications or waiting time, for anything there. Made coming in to Rapid City that much easier and pleasant.

Airport is so SUPER CLEAN!!! Small but very efficient serving the country's bigger flag carriers. This is the airport you fly into if you're going to visit Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse or the Custer State Park. 30-40 min from Keystone (where Mt Rushmore is) and they got car rentals here on site.

I fly a lot and that means I frequent quite a few airports. I've traveled through Rapid City Regional multiple times and each time I am impressed with the updates and growth of the airport. Coffee shops, vending machines and the bathrooms all surprise and surpass my expectations of what a small regional airport would have. It's comforting knowing that if my travels take me through Rapid City I'll be well taken care of and can expect a qualify airport.

It is a clean airport, and staff are friendly but consistently under staffed. Never have enough people to manage all the flights and baggage with any since of speed. Manage fail! Whomever is in charge of staffing should be fired!

Rapid city Regional Airport makes the larger airports seem burdensome. At RAP you drop your rental car off, walk to the terminal (about 50 yards), and check in for your flight without a line today. The little deli/cafe before security screening has a simple but good menu and seating area is ample with views of the Black Hills out the window. They have a patio too, but that wasn't appealing today with a temperature of about 5 degrees F outside. TSA staff was actually friendly while they did their job. imagine that LAX, SFA, CLT! FYI you know you are in SD by looking at the airport parking lot. The muddy pickup to car ratio (MP2CR) is about 3 to 1. Good bye Black Hills. I look forward to next time.

This was or airport when we came to visit Mt Rushmore. It is a small regional airport and was easy to drive to and inside it was efficient and clean. The food offerings were small, but the small restaurant inside the gate are was decent with homemade baked goods and a large offering of different quick and good sandwiches and soups. Service was 5/5. Food 4/5. Services 4/5

RAP is a really small airport so it's easy to navigate. Be aware that because of the size, there are limited flights in and out. There about five airline counters. Our flight got delayed, which would have caused us to miss our connecting flight in Minneapolis. The next available MN connecting flight would have gotten us home on Monday afternoon, which was not ideal for us since we didn't have any additional vacation days to use. Seeing us in distress, three agents got together and worked their magic, getting us to Denver to take a red eye that would get us back to BWI at 6am. They were so patient and nice, and pretty much saved us from losing our job! Thanks guys! 5 stars for them! TSA was pretty slow. They took forever scanning every bag. Clean bathrooms!

This airport is very small, but it functions efficiently. There is a cafe and patio in the waiting area to pick people up, and a restaurant and gift shop past security. The inside restaurant is simple, with burgers and chicken sandwiches, but good for what it is. The workers were all pleasant and worked quickly. The line didn't take long, and we had an easy travel experience with a group of 15!

One of the best airports I have ever been to. So quiet, not busy and the friendliest people around. Loved looking at the pictures on the walls of nearby Lackland Air Force Base.

Total BS to be searched when the screen was cleared. The fact of feeling violated is embarrassing. I get that TSA is doing their best but step up do better!!!

Small airport - friendly people. Only two baggage claim areas. Hertz counter was small. Easy to navigate and close to the city.

super small airport so navigation is easy - restaurants inside move rather quickly and everything is reasonably priced. Really only complaint is TSA lines - despite having nobody in line - they still have you zig zag thru about 12 times before you get to the check point - why not just unhook the line and let it go straight thru?

This airport went through a massive improvement and refurbishing just a few years ago and the place looks great. Friendly airport employees, large clean and modern restrooms, nice coffee, sandwich, and gift shops, and a fast luggage plane to carousel process. The place was pretty impressive considering they have just five or six flights land and take off a day. Seems many of the passengers on the arriving flights are enlisted men and women heading to Ellsworth AFB just north of the Rapid City Regional Airport. I knew we had a few military personnel on our small aircraft but as it turned out there were many more. Just a few were in their military uniforms but when many plain-clothed passengers started picking their green military duffles off the luggage carousel it became clear over half the flight was heading to the Air Force Base. We flew in on a pretty small plane. An EMB-145. I'm more of a Boeing 737 fan. And this landing in SD was very hard. When we "touched down" it seemed our pilot was trying to drive the airplane under the runway. It was the hardest landing I've ever experienced but that was more an issue with United and their regional carrier than the airport so no star reductions. I'd happily return to this airport frequently. I hope they keep up the great work and maintain the new areas of the airport.

The staff here are amazing! The airport is kept clean and TSA are even so friendly and kind when I've come through. The only reason they didn't get the fifth star- THE FOOD IS A JOKE. We can do better. C'mon. Those prices? For this quality? Bummer.

Welcome to small town 'Merica! There's something to be said about arriving for your flight 45 min before take off, getting thru security within 2 minutes and still having time to sit and check email for another 30 minutes before boarding. Oh yeah and I also returned my rental car in less than 5 min. Just one place to eat/drink. Small offering of sandwiches and salads so if you're hungry grab something before you get to the airport. Free wifi and plenty of outlets to stay charged up. Clean bathrooms with plenty of stalls for the ladies- no lines (YES!). I have to travel to beautiful Rapid City for work. Now there are no direct flights here from Chicago during the winter. However, during the spring/summer I heard there are. When that happens I'll give this airport 5 stars. It'll be more convenient not having to layover in Dallas or Minneapolis.

Very tiny airport. The security line is short so you won't have to wait, but my flight was early in the morning. Only 1 restaurant/cafe inside the terminal, one shopping store, and one set of restrooms. There are about 7 gates and the Delta gates are located at the end. There is another restaurant/cafe right before the security line and 2 sets of restrooms. The rental car is right next to the baggage claim which only has two baggage carousels. There is wifi, but it kicks you off every 30 mins. The staff is nice, the airport is clean, and not a bad little airport, emphasizes on "little."

This small airport is very well designed with a great layout, finishes and lighting- the whole package! The rest rooms are beautiful, too! I love how an area behind the toilet was designed to hold a bag/purse so that they can't be stollen. All in all, this airport is clean and updated- gorgeous regional architecture. Be sure to look at the airport from outside to appreciate its fully beauty. Kudos to the architects & designers.

the nicest people in America live in South Dakota and this was our original feel for the locals. LOVE people of So. Dakota (and your Gov) I'd move there tomorrow if you didn't have winter.

Racial Profiling in security line. There were over 20 people I saw go through security and only one of these peopovert a pat down and this man was black. I spoke to a security agent saying it really bothered me he was the only one getting pat down when white men who also were wearing beits and similar attire were just asked to lift their shirt slightly to show their belt. The agent said "the machine doesn't see color and we're just going off the machine. I saw the screener pick up the same spots on a couple white people and no one pat them down or stopped them. Work on your ignorance Rapid City airport- this was major racial profiling.

After my stint in Burlington, VT, I flew into Rapid City regional for a week of vacation and rest and relaxation. Taking 2 stopovers in New York LaGuardia and Minneapolis courtesy of Delta Airlines. This airport, like the name implies, is small and regional. Like the airplanes that fly into RAP, they are small too. I am surprised that as small as they are, they are roughly the same size airports to places I have been already - like SAV and IND. They have jet bridges and all the modern improvements of any other airport in the country. They're just small in size. The rental car companies are in terminal, so you can get your rental car and drive into Rapid City or wherever your travels may take you. The airport itself is very clean and immaculate, so they know how to be clean and neat. The lines are very small, so the TSA can take longer to search your stuff if need be. Bored much? Probably. I enjoyed my time here coming in, but hope to see stuff before flying out of here in a week or so. I'm sad that T-Mobile isn't the dominate force out here in South Dakota - AT&T is. Otherwise, I would have done a check in here. It is indeed expensive to fly here, but it's a sacrifice versus driving 6+ hours straight alone from Denver, which I am not keen on doing. I'm glad that this airport is about a 10-15 minute drive from downtown Rapid City, with a couple of gas stations along the way. Not much in the way of restaurant options, but they do have one. While I was there, they were in the middle of renovations to the main terminal, which is basically the entire terminal. The car rental counter is also located inside the terminal, so you can get your rental car here too, not like other larger cities where there is a rental car shuttle to bus to you to their location. There is free wifi, which I used while waiting for a friend of mine to come and get me to drive up to Deadwood for a couple of nights, but it's very spotty and kind of a hit or miss. I actually checked a bag here and I'm glad the airline got it safely back with me when I flew back to HNL. Bag claim usually is a breeze, since the amount of flights that come here are fewer than other busier airports, but I am sure they get a lot of tourists who come just to see Mount Rushmore and other tourist attractions in and around South Dakota / Wyoming. Just like me. A+