Palm Beach International Airport

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Palm Beach International Airport

IATA: PBI – ICAO: KPBI – FAA: PBI
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner Palm Beach County Department of Airports
Serves West Palm Beach, Florida
Elevation AMSL 19 ft / 6 m
Coordinates 26°40′59″N 080°05′44″W / 26.68306, -80.09556
Website www.pbia.org
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
9L/27R 10,008 3,050 Asphalt
9R/27L 3,213 979 Asphalt
13/31 6,932 2,113 Asphalt
Statistics (2007)
Aircraft operations 199,681
Based aircraft 116
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

Palm Beach International Airport (IATA: PBI, ICAO: KPBI, FAA LID: PBI) is a public airport located 3 miles (5 kilometers) west of West Palm Beach, Florida and serves Palm Beach County. The airport is operated and maintained by Palm Beach County Department of Airports. Road access to the airport is available directly from I-95, Southern Boulevard, and Congress Avenue. The airport is bordered to the west by Military Trail.

Contents

[edit] History

Palm Beach International Airport (PBIA) began operations as Morrison Field in 1936. Morrison Field was named in honour of Miss Grace K. Morrison who was a key participant in the planning and organization of the airfield. The first flight departing the field was a New York bound Eastern Air Lines DC-2 in 1936. The airport was officially dedicated on December 19, 1936.

In 1937 the airport was expanded beyond an airstrip and an administration building when the Palm Beach Aero Corporation obtained a lease, built hangars and the first terminal on the south side of the airport. The new terminal became known as the Eastern Air Lines Terminal. The field was used by the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, commencing in 1941. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor Morrison field was used as a base for the allied invasion of France, many planes took off from Morrison, en route to the United Kingdom, to take part in the D-Day invasion of Normandy.

In 1947 the Army Air Corps moved to Mobile, Alabama and commercial services by Eastern and National Airlines resumed from Morrison Field. On August 11, 1948, the name of the airport was changed to Palm Beach International Airport. The airport was once again used by the military in 1951. Renamed Morrison Air Force Base the facility was used to train nearly 23,000 airmen during the Korean War. On March 1953 the county opened the airport's second passenger terminal on the south side of the field. Following the War, the federal government attempted to make the airport a permanent military base, however the County fought the move and took over airport operations in 1959. Delta Air Lines began scheduled service in 1959 and was followed by Capital Airlines in 1960. Jet-powered flights were introduced by Eastern Airlines in 1959 with the turboprop Lockheed L-188 Electra.

On October 1966 a jet-age eight-gate Main Terminal Building was opened on the northeast quadrant of the airport. In 1974, Delta Air Lines moved into its own six-gate unit terminal which featured the airport's first jetways. The FAA built a new ATC Control Tower on the south side of the airport during this period.

On October 23, 1988, the 25-gate David McCampbell Terminal, named for World War II naval flying ace, Medal of Honor recipient and Palm Beach County resident David McCampbell, was officially dedicated. The 550,000 square foot (51,000 m²) terminal was designed with expansion in mind and can be doubled in size when required.

In 2003 its terminal was voted among the finest in the nation by the readers of Conde Nast Traveler Magazine. In that same year, a new landscaped and state of the art I-95 interchange was built to decrease traffic on Southern Blvd (US 98) extending Turnage Boulevard (the road around the perimeter of the concourse).

Aggressive competition for the southern end of the airport's market from rapidly expanding Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport led to an unanticipated stagnation of passenger growth at the airport throughout the 1990s. The 2001 recession and the September 11th terrorist attacks further inhibited growth in 2001 and 2002. However, rapid development in South Florida since 2002 has finally led to a surge of passenger traffic at the airport. In addition, discount carriers such as Song and JetBlue decided to make PBIA a mini-hub for travellers from the northeast during this period, further increasing traffic at the airport. In 2006, the County embarked on an interim expansion program by breaking ground on a new 7 story parking garage and the addition of 3 gates within Concourse C. Long range expansions include an expansion of gates at Concourse B and the eventual construction of a new 14 gate Concourse D to be extended east from the present terminal.[citation needed]

A panorama of Palm Beach International Airport, taken from what was the 391st Bomb Group Restaurant off of Southern Boulevard.
A panorama of Palm Beach International Airport, taken from what was the 391st Bomb Group Restaurant off of Southern Boulevard.

[edit] Annual passenger counts

Enplaning and deplaning combined.[2]

2007 - 6,936,449 [3]
2006 - 6,824,789
2005 - 7,014,237
2004 - 6,537,263
2003 - 6,010,820
2002 - 5,483,662
2001 - 5,934,904
2000 - 5,842,594
1999 - 5,742,634
1998 - 5,899,482
1997 - 5,813,361
1996 - 5,680,913
1995 - 5,418,831
1994 - 5,588,540
1993 - 5,074,132
1992 - 5,023,963
1991 - 5,077,573
1990 - 5,691,410

[edit] Facilities

Palm Beach International Airport covers 2,120 acres (858 ha) and has three runways:

  • Runway 9L/27R: 10,008 x 150 ft. (3,050 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt
  • Runway 9R/27L: 3,213 x 75 ft. (979 x 23 m), Surface: Asphalt
  • Runway 13/31: 6,931 x 150 ft. (2,113 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt

[edit] Helicopters

  • Helicopter operations typically use 09R/27L or its parallel taxiways, or make a direct approach to either Customs or the Galaxy Aviation ramp.
  • Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office (PBSO) maintains its air division from a hangar at the southwest corner of the airport.

[edit] Other Hangars

[edit] Fire Protection and Emergency Medical Services

The Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue Aviation Battalion is located between runways at PBI. The battalion is made up of 3 shifts of Aviation Firefighters, Florida Paramedics, a shift Lieutenant and District Chief. The Aviation Battalion Chief oversees all aspects in the battalion. The battalion is responsible for Emergency Medical Services and fire protection for the entire airport.

There is 1 Rescue/Pumper unit (ambulance/mini-pumper), 9 Airport Crash Trucks, 1 mobile command unit, 1 support truck (with backboards, body bags, air bottles, etc.), 1 airplane stair truck, and 3 Battalion Officer vehicles in the Battalion.[4]

[edit] Airlines and destinations

Destinations with direct service from PBI
Destinations with direct service from PBI

The following airlines fly to Palm Beach International Airport:

[edit] Concourse A

[edit] Concourse B

[edit] Concourse C

[edit] Air Charters

[edit] Trivia

Palm Beach International Airport was used in Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach. It is speculated that the filmmakers used PBIA for logistical purposes; the airport is only about 70 miles (110 km) from Miami, the focal point of the film. This fact is proven in the film as a floor mat with the large letters 'PBIA' printed upon it can be plainly seen.

[edit] Controversies

In conjunction with the slated construction of a new ATC tower at PBIA, the FAA intended to transfer all of PBIA's air traffic controllers whose assigned sector is between 5 and 40 miles (60 km) from the airport to a remote facility at Miami International Airport. Ground traffic controllers, and approach controllers whose sector is within 5 miles (8 km) of the runway would have remained at PBIA. The FAA cited the move as a cost cutting measure, but critics say that it creates a risk to South Florida air traffic if the Miami facility is damaged in a hurricane, or terrorist attack. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association opposed the move. The remote facility at Miami International Airport currently houses air traffic controllers for both Miami and Fort Lauderdale international airports. In July 2007, a spending bill for federal transportation and housing programs, the U.S. House of Representative blocked the Federal Aviation Administration's plans to consolidate all South Florida airports' tracking systems into one system at Miami International Airport. That would allow Palm Beach International Airport to keep its tracking system. The bill still must be approved by the Senate and the president to become law.

[edit] Incidents involving PBI

[edit] See Also

[edit] References

  1. ^ FAA Airport Master Record for PBI (Form 5010 PDF), effective 2007-12-20
  2. ^ http://www.pbia.org/Airport/Business/Reports.aspx
  3. ^ http://www.pbia.org/Airport/Business/reports/traffic/2007_12.pdf
  4. ^ Aaron Lang - Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue
  5. ^ http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080131/BREAKINGNEWS/80131001/1086
  6. ^ http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080222/ap_on_re_us/diverted_flight

[edit] External links


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