Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport is a county owned, public use airport in Riverside County, California, United States. It is located in the southeastern Coachella Valley, 20 nautical miles (23 mi, 37 km) southeast of the central business district of Palm Springs, in Thermal, California. This airport is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation facility.Built during World War II and used by both the US Army and US Navy, Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport has had several name changes. As a civilian facility, it was called Thermal Airport from 1948 to 1998. To better reflect its regional function, the name was then changed to Desert Resorts Regional Airport. The most recent name change, to honor the pioneering aviator and Indio resident Jacqueline Cochran, took place in 2004.The airport is one mile (1.6 km) west of the California State Route 86S expressway and six miles (10 km) south of Interstate 10 in the lower Coachella Valley of central Riverside County, an area known as the Desert Resorts Region^{citation needed}. The communities of Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta, Rancho Mirage, Cathedral City, Coachella, Indio and Thermal surround the airport.
