Why This Winter's Telluride Flights Wind Down a Week Before the Lifts Do

On the mesa above Aldasoro, Telluride Regional Airport is between seasons this week. Denver Air Connection runs its Telluride service as seasonal winter and summer flying. Its Denver to TEX flights return the weekend of November 20 and 21 and then run year-round. That puts them back about five days before Telluride Ski Resort's targeted opening day on November 26.

The start of the season lines up well. The end does not. The resort is targeting April 4, 2027 for closing day. Most of the seasonal nonstops into Montrose, though, end on March 27 or 28. For anyone flying out of the region or bringing family in for the last runs of the year, the final week of ski season will have the fewest flights of the winter.

Easter sets the end date this year, not the lifts

The Colorado Flights Alliance markets and supports air service into TEX and MTJ. Its October 1, 2026 board presentation explains the change in one line. Under its winter 2026-27 planning slide, the board deck says:

"All routes end one week earlier YOY on March 28 (Easter)"

Easter falls early in 2027, and the seasonal schedules end with it. Last winter, closing day at the resort was Saturday, April 4, 2026, as the Telluride Times reported. CFA's 2025-26 announcement had United and American flights running through April 5, 2026, and the Dallas Love and Phoenix routes ran through April 7. Those flights kept going for a day to three days after the lifts stopped. This season the lifts run a full week past most of those routes.

The comparison below uses CFA's published winter schedules for 2025-26 and 2026-27.

The United, Southwest Dallas Love and Delta routes also start a day earlier than last year. Phoenix starts two days later, on December 20. On the major seasonal routes, the cut comes at the end of the season and not in the middle.

What still flies between March 28 and April 4

The last week of the season still has flights, but most of them are year-round routes and a few Southwest spring routes. According to CFA's 2026-27 schedule and the Montrose Regional Airport release from August 24, 2026, these are the nonstops scheduled in that window:

1. Denver to MTJ on United, 2 to 4 times daily, year-round.
2. Denver to MTJ on Southwest, 1 to 3 times daily, year-round.
3. Dallas/Fort Worth to MTJ on American, 1 to 3 times daily, year-round.
4. Denver to TEX on Denver Air, 1 to 2 times daily, year-round once it restarts in November.
5. Phoenix to TEX on Denver Air, Thursdays and Sundays through April 4.
6. Austin to MTJ on Southwest, several times a week from March 11 through April 5.
7. Nashville to MTJ on Southwest, Saturdays from March 13 through April 3.

The two Southwest spring routes move later this year. Last winter, Austin flew Saturdays only from March 7 to March 28. Nashville, then a new route, also ran Saturdays from March 7 to March 28. This season both run into April. CFA's board deck calls the Southwest plan "status quo except swap DAL for AUS in March." Austin flights take over in the weeks when Dallas Love service winds down. American's DFW route also remains available all year.

The Phoenix flight is the only route on this list that lands at TEX itself, a short drive from Aldasoro, and it now flies only on Thursdays and Sundays. Closing day, April 4, 2027, is a Sunday and is also the last date on the Phoenix schedule.

Phoenix and Orange County account for most of the rest

The early end is the biggest single change, but CFA's deck names two more. Breeze's Orange County service is listed as "Hiatus for Winter 26-27; slot issues at SNA." Denver Air's Phoenix to TEX route moves from daily to "Thu & Sun from Dec 20." The CFA schedule page puts it plainly: Phoenix flights "will run Thu & Sun vs daily last winter."

By CFA's count, overall schedule capacity is down 4 percent compared with last year. The one-week-earlier end date, together with the Phoenix and Orange County changes, makes up the bulk of that reduction.

Some routes gained. According to CFA, United will run Chicago daily through the winter, put more mainline jets on Denver to MTJ, and fly Los Angeles to MTJ five times a week again. On the board slide, Denver to MTJ moves to "nearly all mainline jets." American's DFW route is listed at two mainline flights a day, dropping to one daily in January and February. Delta's Atlanta service stays daily.

Through December, January and February, Telluride's air service looks much like last winter, with bigger planes on some routes. The cuts are concentrated in three places: the TEX gate, Orange County, and the last week of the ski season.

The fall gap, and what changed at Montrose

At the start of the season, timing matters again. CFA's board deck has Denver Air's Denver flights returning daily from November 20, and the published schedule shows the route running year-round from that weekend. Until then, Montrose is the only scheduled commercial option. The TEX commercial service page lists Denver and Phoenix as its destinations.

Montrose has made a few changes ahead of winter:

• New snowplows. KKCO reported on September 18 that Montrose Regional Airport bought replacement plows to clear the aircraft apron and gates. The station put the airport's average annual snowfall at 18 to 24 inches.
• Restroom work in the terminal. An October 9 airport notice says the women's restroom is being rebuilt. Temporary facilities are outside the north end of the terminal near baggage claim, and the adjacent ADA restroom remains open.
• Authorized shuttles only. An August 18 notice asks passengers to use airport-authorized shuttle operators and to look for the approved purple windshield sticker.

Next summer, and the dates to put on the calendar now

CFA's planning slide lists one more name for the future: JSX, marked "Target next summer." That is a target in a planning document, not a scheduled route, and it is the only sign so far of what the air map might look like after this winter.

For this season, the planning dates are fixed in the published schedules. Denver to TEX returns the weekend of November 20 and 21. The lifts are targeted to open November 26. Phoenix to TEX starts December 20 on its new Thursday and Sunday schedule. Most of the big-city seasonal routes into Montrose begin December 17 to 19. Most of them end March 27 or 28, and the lifts are scheduled to keep running through April 4. CFA notes on its schedule that flight times and dates are subject to change, so check the airline's own timetable before booking.

If you're planning a winter visit, a closing date or an end-of-season walkthrough of a property, the flight calendar can shape the plan as much as the snow does. JW Group works with remote owners and buyers all season and can help you time a trip, a showing or a handoff for the weeks when getting in and out of Telluride is easiest.