Palm Beach International Airport | |||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Summary | |||||||||||||||||||
Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||||||
Owner/Operator | Palm Beach County Department of Airports | ||||||||||||||||||
Serves | Miami metropolitan area | ||||||||||||||||||
Location | Unincorporated Palm Beach County, adjacent to West Palm Beach | ||||||||||||||||||
Opened | 1936 | ||||||||||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 19 ft / 6 m | ||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 26°40′59″N80°05′44″W / 26.68306°N 80.09556°W | ||||||||||||||||||
Website | www.pbia.org | ||||||||||||||||||
Maps | |||||||||||||||||||
FAA airport diagram | |||||||||||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
Statistics (2023) | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
Source: Federal Aviation Administration; www.pbia.org [1] |
Palm Beach International Airport( IATA : PBI, ICAO : KPBI, FAA LID : PBI) is a public airport in Palm Beach County, Florida, located just west of the city of West Palm Beach, Florida, United States, for which it serves as the primary airport. It is also the primary airport for most of Palm Beach County, serving the suburbs and cities of Boca Raton, Wellington, Boynton Beach, Jupiter, and Palm Beach Gardens. It is the third busiest airport in the Miami metropolitan area after Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport. The airport is operated by Palm Beach County's Department of Airports. Road access to the airport is direct from I-95, Southern Boulevard, and Congress Avenue. The airport is bordered on the west by Military Trail.
Palm Beach International Airport began operations in 1936 as Morrison Field. It was named in honor of Grace Morrison, a key participant in the planning and organization of the airfield. The first flight departing the field was a New York bound DC-2 operated by Eastern Air Lines in 1936. The airport was dedicated on December 19, 1936. [2]
In 1937, the airport 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 was known as the Eastern Air Lines Terminal. [2]
The field was used by the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Morrison Field was used for training and later as a staging base for the Allied invasion of France, with numerous aircraft departing Morrison en route to the United Kingdom to take part in the D-Day invasion of Normandy. [2] Morrison Field was a stopover for flights to and from India, via Brazil and West Africa. [3]
In 1947, the newly established U.S. Air Force returned Morrison Field to Palm Beach County. The name was changed to Palm Beach International Airport in 1948. [3]
The airport was again used by the U.S. Air Force in 1951 and renamed Palm Beach Air Force Base under the control of the Military Air Transport Service (MATS). USAF operations occupied the north half of the airfield while civil operations and the airline terminal used the south half. MATS used the base for training with the host unit being the 1707th Air Transport Wing (Heavy), and its 1740th Heavy Transport Training Unit. The 1707 ATW was known as the "University of MATS", becoming the primary USAF training unit for all Air Force personnel supporting and flying heavy transport aircraft. These included C-124 Globemaster II, C-118 Liftmaster, C-97 Stratofreighter, and C-54 Skymaster maintenance training along with aircrew and transition pilot training. Nearly 23,000 airmen trained at Palm Beach AFB during the Korean War. [2]
The Air Weather Service used Palm Beach AFB as headquarters for hurricane research, flying the first WB-50D Superfortress "Hurricane Hunter" aircraft from the base in 1956.[ citation needed ]
After several years of Palm Beach County fighting the Air Force presence in West Palm Beach,[ clarification needed ] the Air Force started to close down operations there. The 1707 ATW was inactivated on June 30, 1959, and reassigned to Tinker AFB, Oklahoma. With the wing's departure, Palm Beach County took over airfield operations. The Air Force retained a small presence at the base with the 9th Weather Group becoming the main operational unit at Palm Beach AFB, performing hurricane and weather research for the Air Weather Service. The Air Photographic and Charting Service (APCS) moved its 1370th Photo-Mapping Wing to the base, performing geodetic survey flights. The Air Force finally closed Palm Beach AFB in 1962, and all property was conveyed to Palm Beach International Airport the same year.
Delta Air Lines began scheduled flights in 1959 and Capital Airlines in 1960. The first turbine-powered flights were Eastern Airlines Lockheed L-188 Electras in 1959, and Eastern DC-8 nonstops to Idlewild started in December 1960.
Air Force One was a frequent visitor to PBI during John F. Kennedy's presidency in the early 1960s. Local voters defeated a proposal to relocate the airport around this time, instead choosing to expand the existing facilities. In October 1966, an eight-gate Main Terminal opened on the northeast side of the airport; in 1974 Delta Air Lines moved into its own six-gate terminal with the airport's first jetways. [2] The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) built a new Air Traffic Control Tower on the south side of the airport during this period.
By the mid-1970s, the airport's dominant carriers were Delta, Eastern and National. Eastern operated the airport's only widebody service at the time, daily L-1011s to New York JFK and Newark. [4] By 1979, National operated daily DC-10 service to JFK, LaGuardia and Miami, while Eastern operated L-1011s to Atlanta and Delta operated L-1011s to Tampa. [5] By 1985, eight widebodies a day flew between PBI and the three New York airports. [6]
The 25-gate David McCampbell Terminal, named for a World War II naval flying ace, was dedicated in 1988. [7] In 2003, the terminal was voted among the finest in the nation by readers of Conde Nast Traveler Magazine. In that year, a new landscaped I-95 interchange was built to decrease traffic on Southern Boulevard (US 98) extending Turnage Boulevard (the road around the perimeter of the concourse).
Competition from rapidly expanding Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport cut growth at the airport in the 1990s. The 2001 recession and the September 11 terrorist attacks further inhibited growth, but development in South Florida since 2002 has finally led to a surge of passenger traffic at the airport. In addition, discount carriers such as JetBlue and Southwest Airlines began service to PBI. In 2006, the county embarked on an interim expansion program by breaking ground on a 7-story parking garage and the addition of 3 gates in Concourse C. Long range expansions include 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 ]
Following the 2016 election of Donald Trump as President of the United States, Air Force One again became a frequent visitor to PBI, typically parking on the south side of the airport near Southern Boulevard while Trump visited his nearby Mar-a-Lago estate. [8] Until 2017, a line of school buses was used as a temporary barrier between the aircraft and onlookers. Palm Beach County stated that it would erect a more permanent barrier system in mid-2017, but the school buses were still in use as of November. [9] [10]
Palm Beach International Airport covers 2,120 acres (858 ha) and has three runways: [1] [11]
The airport's runway designations were changed by the FAA to their current configuration on December 17, 2009. Previously, they had been [12] 9L-27R, 9R-27L, and 13–31.
PBI Airport has 32 gates (28 jetway gates, 4 hardstands). As of 2018, Concourse A has 4 hardstand gates and houses Bahamasair and Silver Airways. Concourse B has 13 jetway gates and houses Air Canada, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, and United Airlines. Concourse C has 15 gates and holds Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, and Spirit Airlines.
A new 240-foot (73 m) Airport Traffic Control tower is active on the north side of the airport (west of concourse A, off Belvedere Rd.) along with a single-story, 9,000-square-foot (840 m2) ATBM Base Building. [13] The new tower replaced the previous one which was located on the southern side of the airport. The old tower was eventually demolished after the new tower came into service.
The Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Aviation Battalion is located between runways at PBI. The fire station which is located near the center of the airport grounds, is home to 13 pieces of specialized fire fighting equipment. [14]
These apparatus include:
The Trauma Hawk Station, which is located at the south west corner of the airport, Palm Beach County Fire Rescue has two Sikorsky S-76C helos. [19] The department partners with the Palm Beach County Health Care District to operate the Trauma Hawk Aero-Medical Program. [20] The Trauma Hawk program, which was established in November 1990, replaced the use of Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office helicopters to medevac critically injured patients to area hospitals. [20] Air ambulances are identically equipped and can carry two patients each and up to four medical attendants if needed. [19] Each helicopter is staffed with a pilot, a registered nurse (RN) and a paramedic. The nurses and paramedics are Palm Beach County Fire Rescue employees while the pilots are Health Care District employees. [20]
Airlines | Destinations |
---|---|
FedEx Express | Memphis |
UPS Airlines | Columbia (SC), Louisville, Miami, Orlando, San Juan |
Rank | City | Passengers | Carriers |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Atlanta, Georgia | 632,000 | Delta, Southwest |
2 | Newark, New Jersey | 437,000 | JetBlue, United |
3 | New York–LaGuardia, New York | 344,000 | Delta, JetBlue, Spirit |
4 | New York–JFK, New York | 284,000 | Delta, JetBlue |
5 | Charlotte, North Carolina | 253,000 | American |
6 | Boston, Massachusetts | 248,000 | Delta, JetBlue |
7 | White Plains, New York | 211,000 | JetBlue |
8 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 204,000 | American, Frontier |
9 | Washington–National, D.C. | 181,000 | American, JetBlue |
10 | Baltimore, Maryland | 175,000 | Southwest |
Rank | Airline | Passengers | Percent of market share |
---|---|---|---|
1 | JetBlue Airways | 2,060,000 | 27.19% |
2 | Delta Air Lines | 1,970,000 | 26.01% |
3 | American Airlines | 1,413,000 | 18.66% |
4 | United Airlines | 824,000 | 10.87% |
5 | Southwest Airlines | 578,000 | 7.63% |
- | Other | 730,000 | 9.64% |
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
Year | Passengers | Year | Passengers | Year | Passengers | Year | Passengers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1989 | 5,115,700 | 1999 | 5,742,634 | 2009 | 5,994,606 | 2019 | 6,899,919 |
1990 | 5,691,410 | 2000 | 5,842,594 | 2010 | 5,887,723 | 2020 | 3,085,200 |
1991 | 5,077,573 | 2001 | 5,939,404 | 2011 | 5,769,583 | 2021 | 5,260,748 |
1992 | 5,023,693 | 2002 | 5,483,662 | 2012 | 5,609,168 | 2022 | 6,640,043 |
1993 | 5,074,132 | 2003 | 6,014,186 | 2013 | 5,691,747 | 2023 | 7,766,225 |
1994 | 5,588,434 | 2004 | 6,537,263 | 2014 | 5,886,384 | 2024 | |
1995 | 5,418,831 | 2005 | 7,014,237 | 2015 | 6,265,530 | 2025 | |
1996 | 5,680,913 | 2006 | 6,824,789 | 2016 | 6,264,397 | 2026 | |
1997 | 5,813,361 | 2007 | 6,936,449 | 2017 | 6,322,452 | 2027 | |
1998 | 5,899,482 | 2008 | 6,476,303 | 2018 | 6,513,943 | 2028 |
Palm Beach International Airport is near the West Palm Beach Brightline Station served by Brightline and the West Palm Beach train station served by Amtrak intercity trains and Tri-Rail commuter trains. The latter no longer provides a shuttle bus service from the station to the airport.
Palm Tran buses No. 40 and No. 44 serve the airport. Both provide connections to the Amtrak/Tri-Rail West Palm Beach train station. The station is also served by Greyhound buses.
In conjunction with the slated construction of a new ATC tower at PBIA, the Federal Aviation Administration 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 a terrorist attack. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association opposed the move. The remote facility at Miami International Airport houses air traffic controllers for Miami and Fort Lauderdale international airports.
Donald Trump sued to block the expansion of one of the runways at PBIA in 2010. [27] In 2015, he initiated a $100 million lawsuit over the flight path that passes over his Mar-a-Lago estate. [28] He dropped the lawsuit in 2016 after his presidential victory ensured some type of no fly zone over his property. [29]
Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport is a joint civil-military international airport located in suburban Carolina, Puerto Rico, three miles (5 km) southeast of San Juan. It is named for Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rico's first democratically elected governor, and was known as Isla Verde International Airport until it was renamed in February 1985. It is the busiest airport in the Caribbean region by passenger traffic. Over 4 million passengers board a plane at the airport per year according to the Federal Aviation Administration, making it the 48th busiest airport overseen by said federal agency.
Miami International Airport, also known as MIA and historically as Wilcox Field, is the primary international airport serving Miami, Florida and its metropolitan area with over 1,000 daily flights to 185 domestic and international destinations, including most countries in Latin America. The airport is in an unincorporated area in Miami-Dade County, 8 miles (13 km) west-northwest of Downtown Miami, in metropolitan Miami, adjacent to the cities of Miami and Miami Springs, and the village of Virginia Gardens. Nearby cities include Hialeah, Doral, and the Census-designated place of Fontainebleau.
Salt Lake City International Airport is a joint civil-military international airport located about 4 miles west of Downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The airport is the closest commercial airport for more than 2.5 million people and is within a 30-minute drive of nearly 1.3 million jobs. The airport serves as a hub for Delta Air Lines and is a major gateway to the Intermountain West and West Coast. The airport sees 343 scheduled nonstop airline departures per day to 93 cities in North America and Europe. It is by far the busiest airport in Utah.
Norfolk International Airport is seven miles (11 km) northeast of downtown Norfolk, within the boundaries of the independent city in Virginia, United States. It is owned and operated by the Norfolk Airport Authority: a bureau under the municipal government. The airport serves the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of southeast Virginia as well as northeast North Carolina. There are currently no international destinations with regularly scheduled service from the airport.
Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport is a major public airport in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is one of four airports with commercial service serving the Miami metropolitan area. The airport is off Interstate 595, Interstate 95, U.S. Route 1, Florida State Road A1A, and Florida State Road 5 bounded by the cities Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, and Dania Beach, 3 miles (5 km) southwest of downtown Fort Lauderdale and 21 miles (34 km) north of Miami.
Albuquerque International Sunport, locally known as the Sunport, is the primary international airport serving the U.S. state of New Mexico, particularly the Albuquerque metropolitan area and the larger Albuquerque–Santa Fe–Las Vegas combined statistical area. It handles around 5.4 million passengers annually and over 400 flights daily. ABQ is located in Bernalillo County, between the Rio Grande and the Sandia Mountains, east of Old Town and Barelas, 3 miles (5 km) southeast of downtown, south of the University of New Mexico and directly to the west of Sandia National Laboratories and Kirtland Air Force Base.
Jacksonville International Airport is a civil-military public airport 13 miles (21 km) north of Downtown Jacksonville, in Duval County, Florida. It is owned and operated by the Jacksonville Aviation Authority.
Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport is a public use international airport located on lands within three jurisdictions: the city of Sarasota, Sarasota County, and Manatee County, all in the U.S. state of Florida. Owned by the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority, the airport is within the city limits of Sarasota, being 3 miles (4.8 km) north of downtown as well as in Sarasota County and Manatee County. The name of the airport notwithstanding, no part of the airport is in Bradenton, which is 6 miles (9.7 km) to the north.
Naples Airport, formerly known as Naples Municipal Airport, is a public use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) northeast of the central business district of Naples, the most populous city and county seat of Collier County, Florida. It is owned by the Naples Airport Authority. The airport is home to flight schools, air charter operators, car rental agencies, and corporate aviation and non-aviation businesses. The airport is also a central location for public services, including fire/rescue services, mosquito control, the Collier County Sheriff's Aviation Unit and other community services.
Pensacola International Airport, formerly Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional Airport and Pensacola Regional Airport, and temporarily branded Pensacola Intergalactic Airport each February in recognition of the local Pensacon convention, is a public use airport three nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Pensacola, in Escambia County, Florida, United States. It is owned by the City of Pensacola. Despite its name, the airport does not offer scheduled international flights, though chartered international flights are not uncommon. This airport is one of the five major airports in North Florida, and among these is the second largest by passenger count, only behind Jacksonville. The other airports in the North Florida region are: Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport, Tallahassee International Airport, and Jacksonville International Airport.
Southwest Florida International Airport is a major county-owned airport in the South Fort Myers area of unincorporated Lee County, Florida, United States. The airport serves the Southwest Florida region, including the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Naples-Marco Island, and Punta Gorda metropolitan areas, and is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection port of entry. It currently is the second-busiest single-runway airport in the United States, after San Diego International Airport. In 2022, the airport served 10,343,802 passengers, the most in its history.
Tallahassee International Airport is a city-owned airport five miles southwest of downtown Tallahassee, in Leon County, Florida, United States. It serves the state capital of Florida, and its surrounding areas; it is one of the major airports in north Florida, the others being Pensacola, Northwest Florida Beaches, and Jacksonville. Despite its name, it does not service any international destinations.
Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport, formerly Birmingham Municipal Airport and later Birmingham International Airport, is a civil-military airport serving Birmingham, Alabama. The airport also provides scheduled airline service for the Birmingham and Tuscaloosa metropolitan areas. It is located in Jefferson County, five miles northeast of Downtown Birmingham, near the interchange of Interstates 20 and 59.
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport is the primary international airport serving Detroit and its surrounding metropolitan area in Michigan, United States. It is located in the City of Romulus and is Michigan's busiest airport.
West Virginia International Yeager Airport is a public airport 3 miles (4.8 km) east of downtown Charleston, in unincorporated Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States. It is owned by the Central West Virginia Regional Airport Authority. The airport hosts McLaughlin Air National Guard Base, home to eight C-130 Hercules aircraft of the West Virginia Air National Guard's 130th Airlift Wing, an Air Mobility Command (AMC)-gained unit of the West Virginia Air National Guard.
Charleston International Airport is a joint civil-military airport located in North Charleston, South Carolina, United States. The airport is operated by the Charleston County Aviation Authority under a joint-use agreement with Joint Base Charleston. It is South Carolina's busiest airport; in 2023 the airport served over 6.1 million passengers in its busiest year on record. The airport is located in North Charleston and is approximately 12 miles (19 km) northwest of downtown Charleston. The airport serves as a focus city for Breeze Airways. It is also home to the Boeing facility that assembles the 787 Dreamliner.
City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, simply known as Colorado Springs Airport, is a city-owned public civil-military airport 6 miles (9.7 km) southeast of downtown Colorado Springs, in El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the second busiest commercial service airport in the state after Denver International Airport. Peterson Space Force Base, which is located on the north side of runway 13/31, is a tenant of the airport.
Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport is a public airport located within the City of Rochester, three miles (4.8 km) southwest of Downtown, in Monroe County, New York, United States. It is owned and operated by Monroe County. The airport is home to the 642nd Aviation Support Battalion, part of the 42nd Infantry Division.
Palm Springs International Airport, formerly Palm Springs Municipal Airport, is an airport two miles east of downtown Palm Springs, California, United States. The airport covers 940 acres and has two runways. The facility operates year-round, with most flights occurring in the fall, winter, and spring.
Daytona Beach International Airport is a county-owned airport located three miles (5 km) southwest of Daytona Beach, next to Daytona International Speedway, in Volusia County, Florida, United States. The airport has 3 runways, a six-gate domestic terminal, and an international terminal. Daytona Beach is the headquarters of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
26°41′00″N80°05′44″W / 26.6832°N 80.0956°W