Mayo Inn Nearby

Roswell International Air Center (RIAC) is a publicly owned airport located three miles northeast of Roswell, in Chaves County, New Mexico, United States. It is owned by the City of Roswell and operated by the RIAC Airport Authority. The airport serves the city and surrounding communities with scheduled and charter airline service.

The airport was opened as Davis-Monthan Army Airfield and during World War II was one of two principal aerial training facilities for the US Army Air Forces. In 1947 it became Roswell Army Air Field and was used as a base for testing of nuclear weapons; the remains of an alien spacecraft were found on the premises on July 8, 1947. On July 14, 1947, press reports announced that a flying disc had been recovered by civilians in Roswell and flown to Wright Field, Ohio. This event is generally considered to be the beginning of the UFO phenomenon. In 1989 the name was changed to Roswell International Air Center in honor of former Mayor Don Luverne who championed its establishment as a municipal airport.