Austin-Bergstrom International Airport

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Austin-Bergstrom International Airport

IATA: AUS – ICAO: KAUS – FAA: AUS
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator City of Austin
Serves Greater Austin
Location Austin, Texas
Elevation AMSL 542 ft / 165.2 m
Coordinates 30°11′40″N 97°40′12″W / 30.19444, -97.67
Website http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/austinairport/
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
17L/35R 9,000 2,743 Concrete
17R/35L 12,248 3,733 Concrete
Helipads
Number Length Surface
ft m
H1 60 18 Concrete
H2 60 18 Concrete
Statistics (2006)
Passengers 8,261,310
Flights/day 302

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (IATA: AUS, ICAO: KAUS, FAA LID: AUS) is a mixed-use commercial airport located five miles (8 km) southeast of the central business district of Austin, the capital of Texas. It covers 4,242 acres (1,717 ha) and has two runways and two helipads.

The airport began passenger service on May 23, 1999. A total of 8,261,310 passengers traveled through the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in 2006, up 7.5 percent over the 2005 record of 7,683,545.[1][2][3]

Contents

[edit] History

A separate airport, named Robert Mueller Municipal Airport, originally built on open farmland, first served the air traffic needs of Austin starting October 14, 1930.[4]

In 1942, the City of Austin purchased land and donated the land to the United States government for a military installation, with the stipulation that the city would get the land back when the government no longer needed it. This land became Bergstrom Air Force Base.

In the 1950s, developers began building residential areas beneath the flight paths of Mueller and, in parallel, the number of arrivals and departures at the airport increased dramatically because of the growth of the city. Citizens began to complain about the noise. Also, at 7,269 feet (2,216 m), the runway at Mueller was too short to handle new planes such as the 747. However, larger aircraft such as American Airlines DC-10s and Continental Airlines Boeing 720s have been regularly scheduled in the past. Before major expansion at Mueller took place, the departure area consisted of 4 to 5 gates, not enclosed but covered by a large awning. No jetways existed at this time.

Historic airline routes (at Mueller) include: Braniff International (San Antonio-Austin-Washington D.C. Dulles-New York City JFK), Continental Airlines (Houston-Austin-Midland/Odessa-El Paso-Phoenix-Los Angeles), Trans World Airlines (Mc Allen-Austin-St. Louis and Austin-Houston Hobby), Texas International (Austin-Lubbock-Amarillo-Denver), Eastern Air Lines (Atlanta-Austin-El Paso), Pan American World Airways (Austin-Dallas-New York City JFK), Muse Air (Houston Hobby-Austin-Midland/Odessa-Las Vegas-Los Angeles) and United Airlines (Austin-Corpus Christi and Austin-San Antonio) .

The city began considering options for a new airport as early as 1971, when the Federal Aviation Administration proposed that Austin and San Antonio build a joint regional airport. That idea was rejected, as few Austinites supported driving half way to San Antonio to catch a flight.

In 1976, the city submitted a proposal to the United States Air Force for joint use of Bergstrom AFB. The Air Force rejected the proposal in 1978 as being too disruptive to its operations.

In the 1980s, neighborhoods around Mueller applied enough political pressure to force the city council to choose a site for a new airport from locations under consideration. On November 1, 1987, a voter referendum finally approved a site near Manor. The city began acquiring the land and fighting lawsuits from the Sierra Club and others concerned about the Manor location.

In 1991, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission selected Bergstrom AFB for closure and gave the nod to the city for it to be used as a civilian airport. The city council decided to abandon the original plan to build the new airport near Manor, and resolved instead to move the airport to the Bergstrom site; the voters approved the move in 1993. Groundbreaking for the airport was November 19, 1994 and air cargo operations began on June 30, 1997. Bergstrom had the designator BSM until Mueller's final closure, when it took Mueller's IATA code of AUS. On November 5, 2007 the Mexican-based carrier Viva Aerobus announced plans to operate their Boeing 737 aircraft to Austin with 6 new non-stop flights to the Mexican cities Cancun, Guadalajara, Leon/Bajio, Monterrey, Puebla, and Queretaro. Viva Aerobus has already received approval from the US Department of Transportation to operate to those cities.

[edit] Facilities

Main entrance to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport
Main entrance to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport

[edit] Terminal

Barbara Jordan Terminal was designed by University of Texas at Austin Architecture professor Larry Speck.[5] The terminal is 600,000 square feet (56,000 m²) with a total of 25 gates. Inside the terminal, many local restaurants have leased concession space so that visitors can get a "taste of Austin" as they come through. The terminal also has a live music stage on which local bands perform in keeping with the spirit of Austin's proclamation as "The Live Music Capital of the World."

A new dedicated facility known as the South Terminal Austin has been approved by the Austin City Council in order to accommodate the arrival of Mexican based airline Viva Aerobus, which launched operations on May 1st 2008.

Both American Airlines and Continental Airlines operate lounges at this airport for members of their executive lounge programs.

[edit] Runways

Runway 17R/35L, to the west of the terminal, is the original runway built and used by the Air Force. The 12,250 foot (3734 m) long runway was reconditioned when Austin-Bergstrom was built. The runway is dedicated to former President Lyndon B. Johnson.[6]

Runway 17L/35R is a new 9,000 foot (2743 m) runway on the east side of the terminal and parallel with runway 17R/35L. This runway is dedicated to former Congressman J.J. "Jake" Pickle.[6]

The runways are watched over by a new 20-story air traffic control tower.[7] The tower used by the Air Force was demolished during construction.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is served by 12 commercial airlines and their regional partners. The airport is a focus city for ExpressJet Airlines.


[edit] Main Terminal

[edit] South Terminal

[edit] References

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Eight million passenger milestone passed, record year at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, January 24, 2007.
  2. ^ ABIA travelers way up, cargo way down, Austin Business Journal, January 24, 2007.
  3. ^ Austin airport has 2nd record year, Austin American-Statesman, January 25, 2007.
  4. ^ http://www.muelleraustin.com/history.html
  5. ^ Larry Speck UTopia Profile The University of Texas. Accessed 23 June 2006.
  6. ^ a b Fast Facts. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
  7. ^ Milestones: Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Austin City Connection. Retrieved on 2007-10-05.

[edit] External links

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