Toledo Express Airport

Toledo Express Airport
FAA diagram of Toledo Express Airport
IATA: TOL – ICAO: KTOL – FAA: TOL
Summary
Airport type		Public
Owner		Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority
Serves		Toledo, Ohio
Location		Swanton, Ohio
Elevation AMSL		684 ft / 208.5 m
Coordinates		41°35′12.5″N 83°48′28.2″W / 41.586806°N 83.807833°W / 41.586806; -83.807833
Website		www.toledoexpress.com
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
7/25	10,600	3,231	Asphalt
16/34	5,599	1,707	Asphalt

Toledo Express Airport (IATA: TOL, ICAO: KTOL, FAA LID: TOL) is a passenger and cargo airport located 10 miles (16 km) west of the city of Toledo in the extreme Western portion of Lucas County, Ohio, United States, near the border with Fulton County, just east of the town of Swanton, Ohio. It is also a base for the Ohio Air National Guard's 180th Fighter Wing. As well as being a main airport for Toledo, it is also a secondary airport for Detroit, Michigan, and serves as a regional hub for smaller communities and rural areas in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan. The airport is operated by the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority. Toledo Express served 250,876 passengers in 2008, its lowest level since 1964.^[1] This ranked TOL 171st in North America.^[2]

Toledo Express also serves as the main North American hub for DB Schenker, whom acquired BAX Global, an international air cargo company. DB Schenker leases a 300,000-square-foot (30,000 m²) warehouse facility with direct access to the runways at Toledo Express. They operate approximately 20 flights per night from across the United States. Toledo Express was the 19th busiest cargo hub in North America in 2008 with 354,469 tons handled.^[3]

In 2007, TOL completed an expansion and renovation of the central gate area and promoted former Springfield, IL Airport Director Eric Frankl to the head position at KTOL.

TOL is located on State Route 2 near the Ohio Turnpike. Exit 52 on the Turnpike connects the Turnpike with Route 2.

Facilities

Toledo Express Airport covers 2,345 acres (949 ha) and has two runways:

• Runway 7/25: 10,600 x 150 ft (3,231 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt
• Runway 16/34: 5,599 x 150 ft (1,707 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt

Airlines and destinations

Cargo

• Schenker/BAX Global (Operated by Air Transport International and Capital Cargo International Airlines) Nonstop flights to Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL (O'Hare); Rockford, IL; Dallas/Fort Worth, TX; Denver,CO; Hamilton, ON; Hartford, CT; Houston, TX; Los Angeles, CA; Monterrey, MX; Philadelphia, PA; Phoenix, AZ; Raleigh/Durham, NC; Rochester, NY; St. Louis, MO; San Jose, CA; Seattle, WA (Boeing Field), and Wilmington, OH as well as continuing service to several other cities.) ^[4]
• Qantas (operated by Atlas Air in cooperation with BAX Global)
  • Sydney, Australia (via Honolulu)
• Emirates Airline (operated by Emirates SkyCargo/AtlasAir in cooperation with BAX Global)^[5]
  • Dubai, UAE (via Frankfurt, Germany)

Military

The 180th Fighter Wing (180 FW), an Air Combat Command (ACC)-gained unit of the Ohio Air National Guard leases 135.4 acres (0.548 km²) at the airport, housing combat-ready F-16C Fighting Falcon jet fighters and associated Air National Guard support units. There are 21 military aircraft based at TOL.

Corporate Usage

Toledo Express is used for several Toledo area companies as a base for their corporate aircraft. These companies include Owens-Illinois, Owens-Corning, Pilkington, and Dana Holdings.

Education

FlightSafety International operates one of its training centers at TOL. The company provides training for fixed and rotary wing pilots, flight attendants, dispatchers, and maintenance technicians. FlightSafety serves both corporate (business aviation) and commercial customers.

Toledo Public Schools also operates a training center at the airport.

Other Users

Promedica Air houses its air ambulances at Toledo Express.

Aircraft Usage

There are 91 aircraft based at TOL. In addition to the 21 military aircraft based here, there are 22 single engine and 22 multi engine airplanes, and 26 jet airplanes.

For the 12 month period ending December 31, 2008, the airport averaged 149 operations per day. 35% were transient general aviation, 24% were air taxi, 18% were commercial, 14% were local general aviation, and 9% were military moves.

History

• On October 29, 1960 a chartered plane carrying the Cal Poly football team, hours after a loss to Bowling Green State University, crashed on takeoff at the Toledo Express Airport. Eighteen of the forty-eight people on board were killed, including sixteen players, the team's student manager, and a Cal Poly football booster.

• 1997 is the busiest year in Toledo Express' history. 679,841 fly out of KTOL. Much of the growth is attributed to Air Tran Airways offering low cost flights to Orlando, FL^[6]

• December 15, 2006 - Security heightened when Toledo Express Airport noted there was a bomb threat. A note that was found in the commuter aircraft simply put it as 'bomb' and that was enough for the airport to take the necessary precautions. They later learned there was no explosives on board of the aircraft.

• January 12, 2007 - A bomb threat was called to 911 on a cell phone that American Eagle Flight 4359 flying out of the Toledo Express Airport had a bomb on board. This caused Toledo officials to heighten security at the airport. The plane had pushed away from the terminal and was getting ready to take off for Chicago-O'Hare when the 911 call was made at around 10:30 a.m. The plane had 30 passengers and three crew members on board, and no injuries were reported. The plane had sat isolated on a runway for about an hour before the fire trucks and other vehicles approached. The FBI and city fire officials did not know whether the caller was the one making the threat. The FBI are continuing to determine who sent the call in, but they also determined later in the day that the bomb threat was a hoax. American Eagle is a regional service for American Airlines.

• January 16, 2007 - A second bomb threat within four days at the Toledo Express Airport had been declared another hoax. The bomb threat was sent through email to the airport.

References

External links

• Toledo Express Airport (official site)
• Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority (official site)
• FlyTOL Northwest Ohio Aviation Information Site, Gallery and Wiki
• 180th Fighter Wing, Ohio Air National Guard (official site)
• Toledo Express Airport (ANG) (GlobalSecurity.org)
• Resources for this airport:
  • AirNav airport information for KTOL
  • ASN accident history for TOL
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart for KTOL
  • FAA current TOL delay information
  • FAA Airport Diagram(PDF), effective 19 Nov 2009