Blue Grass Airport | |||||||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||||||
Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||
Owner/Operator | Lexington-Fayette Urban County Airport Board | ||||||||||||||
Serves | Lexington, Kentucky | ||||||||||||||
Location | Fayette County | ||||||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 979 ft / 298 m | ||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 38°02′11″N084°36′21″W / 38.03639°N 84.60583°W | ||||||||||||||
Website | bluegrassairport | ||||||||||||||
Maps | |||||||||||||||
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Runways | |||||||||||||||
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Statistics (2023) | |||||||||||||||
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Blue Grass Airport( IATA : LEX, ICAO : KLEX, FAA LID : LEX) is a public airport in Fayette County, Kentucky, United States, 6 miles west of downtown Lexington. Located among horse farms and situated directly across from Keeneland Race Course, Blue Grass Airport is the primary airport serving central and eastern Kentucky. More than 1.3 million passengers depart or arrive annually at Blue Grass Airport. In 2017, the airport served 1,316,847 passengers via four major airline carriers: Allegiant Air, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines. [4]
The airport covers 911 acres (3.69 km2) and has two runways. [2] [5] On August 4, 2010, a new 4,000 foot runway, 9/27, opened replacing the previous 3,500 foot runway, 8/26. [6] The previous runway, which is in a similar location as the new runway except that it overlapped runway 22, was removed after a 2006 crash of a Delta Connection flight, during which all aboard except the co-pilot were killed after an attempted take-off from the wrong, shorter runway. [7] Blue Grass Airport is home to the Aviation Museum of Kentucky, which features more than 25,000 square feet of exhibit space displaying restored aircraft and memorabilia. The current main terminal building opened in 1977. On April 18, 2007, Blue Grass Airport opened an extension of Concourse B, adding six boarding gates with four new jet bridges.
This airport is protected by the Blue Grass Airport Department of Public Safety, located at 4101 Aviator Road, approximately the middle of the airport. This is an Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting (ARFF) facility with five apparatus bays, administration and operations, on-site residential living quarters, classroom-style training and physical training facilities, and a flight line watch room. [8] The apparatus bays are located on the level aligned with the airfield, along with the frequently used spaces are located as close as possible to the apparatus bays to minimize response times. All of the DPS officers are trained and certified in law enforcement, firefighting, and EMS. Officers of the DPS work shifts of 24-on and 48-off, which is a typical firefighter's shift. During the 24-hour work shift, they perform all aspects of public safety - law enforcement, firefighting, and EMS. [9] They are required to have 100 hours of fire training every year on top of the 40 hours of law enforcement training each year.
Blue Grass Airport is a catalyst for economic growth in the region, contributing to both the Lexington area and other parts of Kentucky. The airport is an important component of Lexington's economy, providing 3,478 jobs for Lexington and an annual economic impact of $370 million. [10] In addition to commercial passenger service, the airport also offers corporate and general aviation services, including a newly constructed general aviation terminal, U.S. Customs, charter flights, aircraft maintenance, hangars, and flight instruction.
The airport is the third busiest airport in Kentucky, behind Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (9.1 million passengers/year) and Louisville International Airport (4.2 million passengers/year).
Airlines | Destinations | Refs |
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Allegiant Air | Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Orlando/Sanford, Punta Gorda (FL), St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Sarasota (begins April 3, 2025) [11] Seasonal: Destin/Fort Walton Beach, Myrtle Beach | [12] |
American Airlines | Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth | [13] |
American Eagle | Charlotte, Chicago–O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Philadelphia Seasonal: Miami [14] | [13] |
Delta Air Lines | Atlanta | [15] |
Delta Connection | Detroit, New York–LaGuardia (resumes May 7, 2025), [16] Washington–National | [15] |
United Express | Chicago–O'Hare, Denver [17] | [18] |
Destinations map |
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Rank | Airport | Passengers | Carriers |
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1 | ![]() | 194,000 | Delta |
2 | ![]() | 102,000 | American |
3 | ![]() | 88,000 | American, United |
4 | ![]() | 76,000 | American |
5 | ![]() | 41,000 | Delta |
6 | ![]() | 31,000 | Allegiant |
7 | ![]() | 26,000 | Allegiant |
8 | ![]() | 22,000 | Allegiant |
9 | ![]() | 19,000 | Allegiant |
10 | ![]() | 15,000 | American |
Rank | Airline | Passengers | Share |
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1 | Delta Air Lines | 355,000 | 27.66% |
2 | Allegiant Air | 217,000 | 16.92% |
3 | PSA Airlines | 195,000 | 15.22% |
4 | SkyWest Airlines | 105,000 | 8.14% |
5 | American Airlines | 95,940 | 7.47% |
Other | 316,000 | 24.58% |
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Blue Grass Airport began as a municipal airfield that was developed with the assistance of the Federal Civil Works Administration as part of a state-wide airport development policy in 1933. The town share for construction was $1,362 with a portion of $22,427 spent in Lexington overall. [19] Blue Grass Airport opened with a star-shaped layout. In World War II it was used by pilots training at Bowman for dead-stick landing practice in preparation for glider assaults. [20]
The original airport logo was designed by a student who attended and graduated from the University of Kentucky. Dr. Jill Reiling Markey (class of 1978) designed the logo in 1976. The current logo is based on Dr. Markey's design. For her efforts, Dr. Markey was awarded the Commission of Kentucky Colonel by then Governor Julian M. Carroll in 1976. [21]
Bluegrass Field was Auric Goldfinger's flight destination in the James Bond film Goldfinger . [30]
Northwest Airlink was the brand name of Northwest Airlines' regional airline service, which flew turboprop and regional jet aircraft from Northwest's domestic hubs in Minneapolis, Detroit, and Memphis. Service was primarily to small-to-medium-sized cities and towns where larger aircraft might not be economical to operate and also to larger markets to either provide additional capacity or more frequent flights than could be justified using mainline aircraft. The Northwest Airlink trade name was replaced by the Delta Connection trade name for Delta Air Lines following the Delta/Northwest merger.
Raleigh–Durham International Airport, locally known by its IATA code RDU, is an international airport that serves Raleigh, Durham, and the surrounding Research Triangle region of North Carolina as its main airport. It is located in unincorporated Wake County, but is surrounded by the city of Raleigh to the north and east, and the towns of Cary and Morrisville to the south. The airport covers 5,000 acres (20 km2) and has three runways.
Orlando Sanford International Airport is in Sanford, Florida, United States, near Orlando. It was built as Naval Air Station Sanford, a Master Jet Base for carrier-based attack and reconnaissance aircraft, and was used by the U.S. Navy until 1969. The airport is owned and operated by the Sanford Airport Authority. It serves as an operating base for Allegiant Air.
Columbia Metropolitan Airport is the main commercial airport for Columbia and the Midlands region of South Carolina, United States. The airport is located in West Columbia, five miles (8.0 km) southwest of Columbia, in Lexington County. It is surrounded by the city of Cayce and the towns of Springdale, Pine Ridge, and South Congaree. The airport is a regional cargo hub for UPS Airlines.
Delta Air Lines Flight 1141 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight between Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Texas, and Salt Lake City International Airport, Utah. On August 31, 1988, the flight, using a Boeing 727-200 series aircraft, crashed during takeoff at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, resulting in 14 deaths and 76 injuries among the 108 on board.
Akron–Canton Airport is a commercial airport in the city of Green, in southern Summit County, Ohio. The airport is located about 14 miles (23 km) southeast of Akron and 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Canton. It is jointly operated by Summit County and Stark County. The airport is a "reliever" airport for Northeast Ohio and markets itself as "A better way to go", emphasizing the ease of travel in comparison to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. Just under 90% of its traffic is general aviation. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2019–2023, in which it is categorized as a small-hub primary commercial service facility.
On the evening of Friday, February 1, 1991, USAir Flight 1493, a Boeing 737-300, collided with SkyWest Airlines Flight 5569, a Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner turboprop aircraft, upon landing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). As Flight 1493 was on final approach, the local controller was distracted, though air traffic was not heavy at LAX, by a series of abnormalities, including a misplaced flight progress strip and an aircraft that had inadvertently switched off the tower frequency. The SkyWest flight was told to taxi into takeoff position, while the USAir flight was landing on the same runway.
Sioux Falls Regional Airport, also known as Joe Foss Field, is a public and military use airport three miles northwest of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States. It is named in honor of aviator and Sioux Falls native Joe Foss, who later served as the 20th Governor of South Dakota (1955–1959).
Bishop International Airport is a commercial and general aviation airport located in Flint, Michigan, United States. It is named after banker and General Motors board member Arthur Giles Bishop, who donated 220 acres of his farmland for the airport in 1928. It is located in southwestern Flint, and is surrounded by Flint Township to the north, east and west; and Mundy Township to the south.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport is mostly in Pittston Township, Pennsylvania, about 7 miles (11 km) from Scranton and 8 mi (13 km) from Wilkes-Barre. It spans the border between Luzerne County and Lackawanna County, and is owned and operated by the two counties. It is the fifth-largest airport in Pennsylvania by passenger count and calls itself "your gateway to Northeastern Pennsylvania and the Pocono Mountains".
Evansville Regional Airport is three miles north of Evansville, in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. It is owned and operated by the Evansville-Vanderburgh Airport Authority District.
Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport is 5 miles (8 km) east of downtown Chattanooga, in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. The airport is owned and operated by the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport Authority. It is a Class C airport serviced by the Chattanooga Airport Traffic Control Tower. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2019–2023 categorized it as a small-hub primary commercial service facility.
Portsmouth International Airport at Pease, formerly known as Pease International Airport, is a joint civil and military use airport located one nautical mile (2 km) west of the central business district of Portsmouth, a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. It is owned by the Pease Development Authority. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021, in which it is categorized as a non-hub primary commercial service facility.
Pellston Regional Airport, also known as Pellston Regional Airport of Emmet County, is a public airport located one mile (1.6 km) northwest of the central business district of Pellston, a village in Emmet County, Michigan, United States. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021, in which it is categorized as a non-hub primary commercial service facility.
Southwest Airlines Flight 1248 was a scheduled passenger flight from Baltimore, Maryland, to Chicago, Illinois, continuing on to Salt Lake City, Utah, and then to Las Vegas, Nevada. On December 8, 2005, the airplane slid off a runway at Midway Airport in Chicago while landing in a snowstorm and crashed into automobile traffic, killing a six-year-old boy.
Manchester–Boston Regional Airport, informally referred to as Manchester Airport, is a public use airport 3 miles (5 km) south of the central business district of Manchester, New Hampshire, United States on the border of Hillsborough and Rockingham counties. It is owned by the City of Manchester, and is in the southern part of the city on the border with Londonderry, New Hampshire.
Comair Flight 5191 was a scheduled United States domestic passenger flight from Lexington, Kentucky, to Atlanta, Georgia. On the morning of August 27, 2006, at around 06:07 EDT, the Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet 100ER crashed while attempting to take off from Blue Grass Airport in Fayette County, Kentucky, 4 miles west of the central business district of the city of Lexington.
Trans World Airlines (TWA) Flight 159 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight from New York City to Los Angeles, California, with a stopover in Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, Kentucky, that crashed after an aborted takeoff from Cincinnati on November 6, 1967. The Boeing 707 attempted to abort takeoff when the copilot became concerned that the aircraft had collided with a disabled DC-9 on the runway. The aircraft overran the runway, struck an embankment and caught fire. One passenger died as a result of the accident.
On 22 December 2009, an American Airlines Boeing 737-800, operating American Airlines Flight 331 and carrying 148 passengers and 6 crew, overran runway 12 on landing at Kingston in poor weather. The plane continued on the ground outside the airport perimeter and broke apart on the beach, causing injuries.
Delta Air Lines Flight 1086 was a scheduled Delta Air Lines domestic passenger flight between Atlanta and New York's LaGuardia Airport. On March 5, 2015, the McDonnell Douglas MD-88 aircraft veered off the runway shortly after landing at LaGuardia Airport in New York City. The plane ran up the seawall berm and struck the perimeter fence, sliding along it for approximately 940 feet (290 m) before coming to rest with the nose of the aircraft hanging over the berm above Flushing Bay. There were no fatalities, although 29 people suffered minor injuries. The aircraft was seriously damaged and written off.