El Paso International Airport

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El Paso International Airport

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IATA: ELP – ICAO: KELP
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator City of El Paso
Location El Paso, Texas
Elevation AMSL 3,958 ft / 1,206 m
Coordinates 31°48′26″N 106°22′39″W / 31.80722, -106.3775
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
4/22 12,020 3,664 Asphalt
8R/26L 9,025 2,751 Asphalt
8L/26R 5,493 1,674 Asphalt

El Paso International Airport (IATA: ELP, ICAO: KELP, FAA LID: ELP) is a public airport located four miles (6 km) northeast of the central business district (CBD) of the City of El Paso, in El Paso County, Texas, USA.

Contents

[edit] Facilities

El Paso International Airport covers 6,800 acres (2,752 ha) and has three runways:

  • Runway 4/22: 12,020 x 150 ft (3,664 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt
  • Runway 8R/26L: 9,025 x 150 ft (2,751 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt
  • Runway 8L/26R: 5,493 x 75 ft (1,674 x 23 m), Surface: Asphalt

[edit] Airlines and destinations

El Paso International Airport has a total of 15 gates on 2 concourses.

The airport terminal as seen from above.
The airport terminal as seen from above.
The Don Juan de Oñate statue standing at the exit of the airport.
The Don Juan de Oñate statue standing at the exit of the airport.
Flight destinations for El Paso and Cd Juarez 2008.
Flight destinations for El Paso and Cd Juarez 2008.

[edit] Concourse A

Concourse A has 4 Gates: A1 - A4

[edit] Concourse B

Concourse B has 11 Gates: B1 - B11

[edit] History

The city of El Paso had originally constructed the El Paso Municipal Airport at a location close to the East Side of the Franklin Mountains in 1928. The airport was abandoned by 1965, and in more recent times has been home to the Jobe Concrete Products "Planeport" cement factory.

The El Paso International Airport was originally constructed as Standard Airport, constructed by Standard Airlines in 1929 for transcontinental air mail service. Standard Airlines became a division of American Airlines in the 1930's. In 1936, American Airlines "swapped" airports with the city of El Paso, and the El Paso International Airport was born.

In 1934, Varney Speed Lines (now known as the popular airline Continental Airlines) operated its service in and out of the old El Paso Municipal Airport (now closed). In 1937, the airline moved to Denver, Colorado when Robert Six took over the airline.

During World War II, the airport was used by the United States Army Air Forces as a training base. Units which trained at El Paso Army Airfield were:

  • 385th Bombardment Group (Heavy) (B-17 Flying Fortress) 21 Dec 1942 - 1 Feb 1943
    • Served with the 8th Air Force in England.
  • 491st Bombardment Group (Heavy) (B-24 Liberator) 11 Nov 1943 - 1 Jan 1944
    • Served with the 8th Air Force in England.
  • 497th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) (B-29 Superfortress) 20 Nov - 1 Dec 1943
    • Served with the 20th Air Force at Saipan.

At the end of the war the airfield was determined to be excess by the military and returned to the local government for civil aviation use.

Historically, Continental Airlines had a significant presence at the airport. It provided "Golden Jet" service to such cities as Phoenix, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Midland-Odessa, Dallas Love Field, Austin, San Antonio and Houston. Before deregulation in the USA, El Paso was a focus city for Continental Airlines, however El Paso was soon demoted to a standard station in a hub-and-spoke system under Frank Lorenzo's leadership of the airline.

Other airlines in the past that offered service to and from the El Paso International Airport were[1]:

  • AeroLitoral / Aeromexico (1994 - 2001) - non-stop service to: Chihuahua
  • Aerovias Centrales S.A. (1933) - non-stop service to: Chihuahua
  • Airways of New Mexico (1984 - 1986) - non-stop service to: Alamogordo, Roswell, Tucson
  • America West Airlines (1982 - 2005) - non-stop service to: Albuquerque, Austin, Las Vegas, Phoenix
  • Arizona Airways (1992 - 1995) - non-stop service to: Hermosillo, Tucscon
  • Aztec Airlines (1967) - non-stop service to Silver City
  • Azteca Airlines (2005) - non-stop service to: Mexico City (Mexico DF)
  • Eastern Airlines (mid 1980s) - non-stop service to: Atlanta, Austin, Houston, Tucson
  • Frontier Airlines (old) (1956 - 1986) - non-stop service to: Alamogordo, Albuquerque, Denver, Guadalajara, Ixtapa, Las Cruces, Mazatlan, Puerta Vallarta, Las Vegas
  • Lone Star Airlines (1994) non-stop service to: Chihuahua
  • Northwest Airlines (2004 - 2006) non-stop service to: Minneapolis / St. Paul
  • Pioneer Airlines (1948 - 1951) non-stop service to: Las Cruces, Roswell
  • Standard Airlines (1927) merged with American Airlines
  • Texas International Airlines (Trans Texas Airways) (1953 - 1978, 1981 - 1982) non-stop service to: Dallas/Ft. Worth, Roswell, Sierra Blanca
  • Trans World Airlines (1999 - 2001) non-stop service to: St. Louis
  • Western Airlines (1985 - 1987) non-stop service to: Albuquerque, Phoenix, Salt Lake City
  • Zia Airlines (1974 - 1978) non-stop service to: Las Cruces

Cities that once had non-stop service to and from the El Paso International Airport (arranged by airline)[2]:

[edit] See Also

[edit] References

  1. ^ AirTimes - A Source for Airline History
  2. ^ AirTimes - A Source for Airline History

[edit] External links