Pensacola International Airport
Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional Airport (IATA: PNS, ICAO: KPNS) 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.
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History
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 took over the airfield and through the Works Progress Administration developed it into a permanent municipal airport. Regular commercial service began in November 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: 6,999 x 150 ft. (1,828 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt
The airport terminal currently has 12 gates.
Airlines
The following airlines fly these non-stop flights to Pensacola Regional Airport:
- AirTran Airways (Atlanta)
- American Airlines
- American Eagle Airlines (Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth)
- Continental Airlines
- Continental Connection operated by Gulfstream International Airlines (Tampa)
- Continental Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines (Houston-Intercontinental)
- Delta Air Lines (Atlanta)
- Delta Connection operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines (Atlanta)
- Delta Connection operated by Chautauqua Airlines (Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa)
- Delta Connection operated by Comair (Jacksonville, ends April 2, 2007)
- Delta Connection operated by Freedom Airlines (Orlando, Fort Lauderdale)
- Northwest Airlines
- Northwest Airlink operated by Pinnacle Airlines (Memphis)
- US Airways
- US Airways Express operated by Mesa Airlines (Charlotte)
- US Airways Express operated by PSA Airlines (Charlotte)
Airport personnel
Frank Miller serves as the Airport Director. 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)