Cortez Municipal (KCEZ), Colorado
Landing essentials
Whether you can land, whether you can refuel, and how customs works here.
Overview
Cortez Municipal Airport, KCEZ, serves southwestern Colorado with a single long asphalt runway at a field elevation of 5,918 feet. The airport is unattended by a control tower but is attended dawn to dusk daily, and it offers 100LL and Jet A fuel. Business aviation accounts for roughly a third of the airport's 3,735 annual operations, with the remainder made up of other traffic recorded in FAA TFMSC data for 2025.
Runways
Cortez Municipal has one paved runway, 03/21, 7,205 ft long and 100 ft wide, with an asphalt surface.
Runway geometry from published threshold coordinates. Not for navigation.
Source: FAA Form 5010.
Fuel and airfield services
Cortez Municipal has Jet A and 100LL available on the field. The airport has no control tower.
Source: FAA Form 5010 / NASR.
Customs
Cortez Municipal does not clear customs. The nearest port of entry is Eagle County Regional (KEGE), 162 NM away.
Source: CBP list of ports of entry.
Business aviation traffic
Cortez Municipal recorded 1,188 business aviation movements in 2025. Traffic peaks in August and September. Business aviation traffic at KCEZ is concentrated in the summer and early fall months, peaking in August and September before dropping sharply in October.
Business jet movements, FAA TFMSC count. Peak month August, 137 movements in 2025.
Source: FAA TFMSC, business jet movements, 2025.
Climate
Cortez Municipal averages 21.2 days above 90°F in July and 30.2 freeze days in January. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 90.5°F, and January the coldest, at 41.5°F.
Weather station is on the field. Some values are estimated by the agency. 1991–2020 climate normals.
Source: NOAA NCEI.
Operating constraints
Cortez Municipal has published operating constraints in three categories: weight restrictions, runway notes and other notes.
Aircraft greater than 20,000 pounds with dual wheel gear are restricted to taxiway connector A2. These aircraft must back-taxi on the runway to and from taxiway connector A2 to reach the apron.
REIL for runways 03 and 21, and MIRL for runway 03/21, are pilot-activated on CTAF. PAPI for runway 03 and VASI for runway 21 operate continuously.
For clearance delivery, contact Denver ARTCC on frequency. If unable, contact FSS on frequency via the remote communications outlet. If still unable, contact Denver ARTCC.
Source: FAA Chart Supplement.
Nearby airfields
Cortez Municipal has five airfields within 45 NM. The closest is Shiprock Airstrip, 36.51 NM south.
Source: Skystar calculation from official coordinates.
Skystar at KCEZ
We arrange catering, fuel and trip support here. Supplier prices reach you unchanged; our coordination fee sits on its own line.
The same order, priced two ways.
$2,400.00 catering order at KCEZ.
Unchanged.
What the kitchen invoices us is what your quote reads.
One line, fixed.
It does not move with the size of the order.
At cost.
Passed on at the exact amount the processor took.
Market practice figures are industry averages, not a specific competitor.
Frequently asked questions
Is there customs service at KCEZ?
Cortez Municipal Airport has no onsite customs service. The nearest customs facility is at KEGE, located roughly 162 nautical miles away. Crews arriving from international origins need to plan a stop at that facility, or another customs airport of entry, before proceeding to KCEZ. This distance makes trip planning around customs a factor for any flight crossing an international border into Cortez. Dispatchers should confirm customs arrangements well ahead of the leg into KCEZ.
What is the runway length available at Cortez Municipal Airport?
Cortez Municipal Airport, KCEZ, has a single paved runway, 03/21, measuring 7,205 feet long and 100 feet wide with an asphalt surface. This is also the airport's max paved runway length, giving operators a single long strip to work with rather than a choice of runway orientations. Field elevation is 5,918 feet, which affects density altitude performance planning at this airport. There is no tower, and the airport is attended dawn to dusk every day of the year.
Are there any taxiway restrictions for larger aircraft at KCEZ?
Yes. At Cortez Municipal Airport, aircraft greater than 20,000 pounds with dual wheel gear are restricted to taxiway connector A2. These aircraft must back-taxi on the runway to and from taxiway connector A2 to reach the apron, rather than using other taxiway connectors. This is an operational constraint dispatchers should factor into ground movement planning for heavier business aircraft operating into KCEZ. Lighter aircraft are not subject to this same connector restriction.
Does KCEZ see seasonal variation in business aviation traffic?
Yes, business aviation traffic at Cortez Municipal Airport is concentrated in certain months rather than spread evenly across the year. Based on 2025 FAA TFMSC data, monthly bizav operations peaked in August at 137 and September at 135, while October dropped sharply to just 29. Other months generally ranged from the high 70s to over 100 operations. This pattern means dispatchers scheduling flights into KCEZ, whose annual bizav total was 1,188 operations against 3,735 total annual operations, should expect busier ramp conditions in late summer months.
How hot does it get at Cortez Municipal Airport in summer, and does that affect performance planning?
Cortez Municipal Airport sits at 5,918 feet field elevation, and July is its hottest month with an average high near 90.5 degrees Fahrenheit and about 21.2 days per year reaching or exceeding 90 degrees. June and August also see meaningful heat, averaging 12.4 and 11.7 days above 90 degrees respectively. Combined with the airport's elevation, these summer temperatures push density altitude well above field elevation on hot afternoons. Crews operating into KCEZ during summer months should account for reduced climb performance and longer takeoff distances in their planning.