Kansas Highway Patrol
HAYS - The Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) held a ribbon cutting ceremony on October 22 commemorating the recent completion of a KHP aircraft hangar facility at the Hays Regional Airport.
This 6,800 square foot hangar facility was completed in May 2025 and includes hangar space, offices for the trooper pilots, and a conference room for training and flight planning. This project was a collaborative effort between the City of Hays and KHP, where the city managed construction and KHP assumed ownership of the facility at a cost of $1.7 million. The hangar will house multiple law enforcement aircraft and serve as a staging location for joint agency air support operations within the region. Hays is a strategic location for KHP’s Air Support Unit. In conjunction with aircraft bases in Wichita and Topeka, the Hays base affords statewide coverage.
“We would like to extend our appreciation to those who committed so much of their time and talent to making this partnership a reality,” said Colonel Erik Smith, KHP Superintendent. “The project is a model for interagency and intergovernmental cooperation.”
“Regional airports such as Hays provide vital and critical resources to local communities that reach far beyond air travel, especially when assisting with emergency response. These efforts often go unnoticed,” said Jamie Salter, Hays Regional Airport Director. “The collaborative nature of this project highlights the importance of partnership between governmental agencies to best service our communities.”
“The capabilities that KHP provides to local law enforcement is critical to rural communities like Hays,” said State Representative Ken Rahjes (Agra, Kansas). “We are grateful for the service of State Troopers in Western Kansas.”
KHP is the only entity in Kansas operating tactical law enforcement aircraft, providing vital support to local public safety agencies. The agency acquired its first aircraft in 1961 to patrol state highways and first established an aircraft base in Hays in 1979. In 2024, KHP flight crews in Hays were requested to assist local law enforcement agencies with numerous missions, including 17 manhunts, 23 vehicle pursuits, 19 searches for missing or endangered people, and three hazardous weather events involving endangered motorists.