Pensacola International Airport

Pensacola Regional Airport prior to 2007-2009 expansion

Pensacola International Airport (IATA: PNS, ICAO: KPNS), historically known as Hagler Field, is a regional public airport located 3 miles (5 km) northeast of Downtown Pensacola. The airport is owned by the City of Pensacola, and is located wholly within the city limits, east of 12th Avenue/Tippin Avenue and north of Summit Boulevard.

According to the Airport's web site, Pensacola Regional Airport is the "fastest growing airport between New Orleans and Jacksonville". Tha airport served 1.5 million passengers in 2004.

History

Hagler Field in 1940

In 1933, Lee Conner Hagler and Harry Blanchard purchased 504 acres of wooded land northeast of the city. The two cleared space for two grass airstrips and erected a surplus Navy hangar. On April 7, 1934 the first commercial flight landed in Pensacola — a 14-passenger tri-motor Stinson from Atlantic and Gulf Coast Airlines. In 1935, the City of Pensacola purchased the airfield for $50,000 and made Blanchard manager. With the help of the Works Progress Administration, the City of Pensacola developed Hagler Field into a permanent municipal airport. National Airlines began regular commercial service to Pensacola on November 1, 1938.

The Navy took over command of the airport from 1942-1945, although civilian air service continued. The Navy constructed two new airfields and lengthened the existing two. A terminal and control tower were built in the 1950s. The first commercial jet plane — an Eastern Airlines Boeing 727 — landed at Pensacola's airport on August 25, 1965.

Facilities

Pensacola Regional Airport covers 1,211 acres and has two runways:

• Runway 17/35: 7,004 x 150 ft. (2,135 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt
• Runway 8/26: 7,000 x 150 ft. (2,134 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt

The airport terminal currently has 12 gates.

Future Air Serivce

Southwest Airlines announced it will begin service from Pensacola, but it has yet to announce to which cities it will fly to.

Airlines

The following airlines fly these non-stop flights to Pensacola International Airport:

• AirTran Airways operated by Southwest Airlines (Atlanta)
• American Airlines
  • American Eagle Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami)
• Delta Air Lines (Atlanta)
  • Delta Connection operated by ExpressJet Airlines (Atlanta)
  • Delta Connection operated by Pinnacle Airlines (Atlanta)
• United Airlines
  • United Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines (Chicago O'Hare, Houston Intercontinental, Washington Dulles)
  • United Express operated by Silver Airways (Orlando, Tampa)
• US Airways
  • US Airways Express operated by Air Wisconsin (Washington Reagan National)
  • US Airways Express operated by PSA Airlines (Charlotte)
  • US Airways Express operated by Mesa Airlines (Charlotte)

Cargo Airlines

• UPS Airlines (Louisville)

Airport personnel

Melinda C. Crawford serves as the interim Airport Director, after the departure of Frank Miller. Law enforcement within the airport grounds is operated by Pensacola Airport Police.

Incidents

On May 8, 1978 National Airlines Flight 193 landed in Escambia Bay due to pilot error.

On July 6, 1996, Delta Air Lines flight 1288, an MD-88, experienced an uncontained engine failure during takeoff. Fragments from the number one (left) Pratt & Whitney JT8D-200 turbofan engine penetrated the fuselage, killing two and seriously injuring one of the 148 people on board.

Rebranding

Previously known as Pensacola Regional Airport, the airport rebranded itself in 2008 as Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional Airport in 2008 in an attempt to position itself as the premier airport destination "serving Mobile, Gulf Shores, Pensacola, Fort Walton, and Destin."

External links

• Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional Airport (official site)