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Albuquerque International Sunport

 
Wikipedia: Albuquerque International Sunport
For the city, see Albuquerque, New Mexico; For the USAF use of this facility, see Kirtland Air Force Base; For the former airport serving Albuquerque, see Oxnard Field.
Albuquerque International Sunport
Albuquerque

Logo of the facility

AlbuquerqueSunportentrance.JPG
IATA: ABQICAO: KABQFAA: ABQ
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator City of Albuquerque
Serves Albuquerque, New Mexico
Elevation AMSL 5,355 ft / 1,632 m
Coordinates 35°02′25″N 106°36′33″W / 35.04028°N 106.60917°W / 35.04028; -106.60917
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
3/21 10,000 3,048 Concrete
8/26 13,793 4,204 Concrete
12/30 6,000 1,829 Concrete
17/35 10,000 3,048 Asphalt/Concrete
Statistics (2006)
Aircraft operations 192,520
Based aircraft 322
Sources: airport website[1] and FAA[2]

Albuquerque International Sunport (IATA: ABQICAO: KABQFAA LID: ABQ) is a public airport located 3 miles (5 km) southeast of the central business district of Albuquerque, a city in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States.[2] It is the largest commercial airport in the state, handling 6,467,263 passengers in 2008.[3] The airport serves Albuquerque and Santa Fe (also served by Santa Fe Municipal Airport, providing regional jet service to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport).

Contents

History

Albuquerque in the 1930s was served by two private airports, West Mesa Airport and Oxnard Field. Around 1935 it was suggested that the city build a new public airport using WPA money. Having secured $520,500 USD in funding, Governor Clyde Tingley broke ground for the project on February 28, 1937. Albuquerque Municipal Airport opened in 1939 with two paved runways, a Pueblo Style terminal building designed by Ernest Blumenthal, and a massive hangar designed to accommodate the new Boeing 307.[4]

The airport took on a new role in 1940 when it was designated Albuquerque Army Air Base, the precursor to today's Kirtland Air Force Base. The airport continues to share its runways with Kirtland, which also handles rescue and firefighting operations.

The present terminal was constructed in 1965 on a site just east of the original terminal. It has since been expanded twice, first in the late 1980s and most recently in 1996. The old terminal has been restored and currently houses offices of the Transportation Security Administration. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

Operations

ABQ's terminal, which was expanded to its present size in the late 1980s and again in 1996, encompasses 574,000 sq ft (53,300 m²). of space.

The airport has one passenger terminal that is designed in the Spanish-Pueblo style of architecture which houses two concourses and an area for commuter airline gates.

The count of passengers at the Sunport has seen an average per year increase of 2% over the last 15 years.[3]

The airport's freight center moved 67,000 tons of cargo in 2008.[3]

The passenger terminal has free wireless internet access and electrical charging stations for passenger use.

Banner inside the airport terminal listing Albuquerque's sister cities

Facilities and aircraft

Albuquerque International Sunport Airport covers an area of 2,039 acres (825 ha) which contains four runways. For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2006, the airport had 192,520 aircraft operations, an average of 527 per day: 41% scheduled commercial, 23% air taxi, 23% general aviation and 16% military. There are 322 aircraft based at this airport: 33% multi-engine, 30% single-engine, 18% military, 13% jet and 7% helicopter.[2]

Proposed closure of Runway 17/35

The airport has been considering closing the runway due to many reasons, mostly because of noise pollution of nearby subdivisions to the north. Because runway 17/35 intersects all three of the other runways, it has the highest risk of runway incursions; therefore air traffic control prefers not to use the runway unless absolutely necessary. The prevaling winds are from the west, and even during strong winds, the other runways can cover departure and landing. Currently, most of the runway's use is general aviation.

Concourses

Albuquerque International Sunport has a single terminal with 23 gates in two concourses. There is also an area for commuter airline gates.

Concourse A

Concourse A has 13 Gates: A1 - A12, A14

Concourse B

Concourse B has 10 Gates: B1 - B10

Concourse E (Commuter Terminal)

Concourse E has 2 Gates: E1 & E2

Airlines and destinations

Airlines Destinations Concourse
Aeromexico Connect Chihuahua [ends January 15][citation needed] A
American Airlines Chicago-O'Hare [seasonal], Dallas/Fort Worth B
American Eagle Chicago-O'Hare [seasonal] B
Continental Airlines Houston-Intercontinental B
Continental Express operated by
ExpressJet Airlines
Houston-Intercontinental, Cleveland [seasonal] B
Delta Air Lines Atlanta B
Delta Connection operated by
SkyWest Airlines
Salt Lake City B
Frontier Airlines Denver B
Great Lakes Airlines Clovis, Silver City E
New Mexico Airlines Alamogordo, Carlsbad, El Paso[5], Hobbs[5] E
Northwest Airlines Minneapolis/St. Paul B
Southwest Airlines Baltimore, Chicago-Midway, Dallas-Love Field, Denver, El Paso, Houston-Hobby, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, Oakland, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland (OR), St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Seattle/Tacoma, Tampa [seasonal], Tucson A
United Airlines Denver, Washington-Dulles A
United Express operated by
SkyWest Airlines
Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco A
United Express operated by
Shuttle America
Chicago-O'Hare A
US Airways Phoenix B
US Airways Express operated by Mesa Airlines Phoenix B

Cargo

Ground transportation

Bus
ABQ RIDE offers bus service (Routes 50, 222 and 350) at the southside of the baggage claim area.
Commuter train
ABQ RIDE Route 222 provides connecting service to the New Mexico Rail Runner Bernallilo County/International Sunport Station. Service began April 20, 2007. The Rail Runner provides service both north and south of the airport, including Downtown Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
Scheduled shuttle bus service
Regularly scheduled bus and shuttle service is provided by various carriers to locations from ABQ to the city as well as Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Taxi
Taxis can be hailed through the Ground Transportation employees outside the baggage claim areas.

Accidents

  • On September 11, 1958, an F-102 Delta Dagger slid off the end of Runway 35 in heavy rain and struck a car on Gibson Boulevard before coming to rest in an empty lot on the north side of the street. Both occupants of the car were killed.[7]
  • On November 3, 1973, National Airlines Flight 27, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10, suffered a catastrophic engine failure while en route from Houston to Las Vegas. Shrapnel from the engine struck the fuselage and caused an explosive decompression of the aircraft. One passenger was sucked out of the cabin. The plane was able to make an emergency landing at ABQ.[8]
  • On July 6, 1997, Delta Air Lines Flight 1470, a Boeing 727 suffered a right landing gear failure after landing on Runway 21. While there were no fatalities, 3 people were injured and the aircraft suffered serious damage.

References

  1. ^ Albuquerque International Sunport, official site
  2. ^ a b c FAA Airport Master Record for ABQ (Form 5010 PDF), effective 2008-06-05
  3. ^ a b c "Sunport Facts & Figures". City of Albuquerque. http://www.cabq.gov/airport/sunport-information/facts-figures. Retrieved 2009-02-12. 
  4. ^ Biebel, Charles D. (1986). Making the Most of It: Public Works in Albuquerque during the Great Depression 1929-1942. Albuquerque: The Albuquerque Museum, pp. 66-67.
  5. ^ a b "Our Flights". New Mexico Airlines. 1 November 2008. http://www.pacificwings.com/nma/our-flights.asp. Retrieved 18 December 2009. 
  6. ^ Aviation Safety Network: Aircraft accident description Martin 4-0-4 N40416 - Sandia Mountain, NM
  7. ^ Palmer, Mo (August 10, 2006). "Remembering past tragedies." The Albuquerque Tribune.
  8. ^ Aviation Safety Network: Aircraft accident description McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 N60NA - Socorro, NM
  9. ^ (September 15, 1977). "20 die in Air Force plane crash." Associated Press.

External links


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