Vero Beach Regional Airport | |||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Summary | |||||||||||||||||||
Airport type | Public use | ||||||||||||||||||
Owner | City of Vero Beach | ||||||||||||||||||
Serves | Treasure Coast | ||||||||||||||||||
Location | Indian River County, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 24 ft / 7 m | ||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 27°39′20″N080°25′04.60″W / 27.65556°N 80.4179444°W | ||||||||||||||||||
Website | www | ||||||||||||||||||
Maps | |||||||||||||||||||
FAA airport diagram | |||||||||||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
Statistics (2021) | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
Source: Federal Aviation Administration [1] |
Vero Beach Regional Airport( IATA : VRB, ICAO : KVRB, FAA LID : VRB) is a public airport one mile northwest of Vero Beach in Indian River County, Florida, United States. The airport is publicly owned and is the home of Piper Aircraft. [1]
In 1929, Bud Holman, whose sons and grandsons now operate Sun Aviation, was one of the group that built the airport in Vero Beach. [2] [3] The Vero Beach Regional Airport was dedicated in 1930 and in 1932 Eastern Air Lines began refueling there. [2] [4] In 1935 EAL started passenger and mail service from Vero Beach, [5] making Vero Beach the smallest little airport in Florida to have airmail service, [2] continuing until about January 1973. By the end of the 1930s the airport got runway lights and radio and teletype machines; in 1939, using Public Assistance workers, the runways were extended and a year later the Civil Aviation Administration spent $250,000 on more improvements.[ citation needed ]
In 1942 the U.S. Navy notified Vero Beach that it had selected its airport for a naval air station and purchased 1,500 acres (6.1 km2) surrounding the airport. The base was commissioned as Naval Air Station Vero Beach in 1942 and initially functioned as an operational training unit training for Naval Aviators beginning in February 1943 with the SB2A Buccaneer aircraft.
In December 1944 the mission of NAS Vero Beach changed to night fighter training using F6F Hellcats and F7F Tigercats. Witham Field in Stuart was designated as Naval Auxiliary Air Station Witham Field and was a subordinate base of NAS Vero Beach. Airfields at Sebastian/Roseland (OLF Roseland) and Fort Pierce (OLF Fort Pierce) also served as outlying landing fields. Air-sea rescue of downed pilots was provided from Fort Pierce. Over 237,100 hours of flight time occurred between 1942 and the base closing in 1946. Base personnel were quartered in the Beachland Hotel, The Sebastian Inn, and other facilities in the community. At its peak NAS Vero Beach was home to 250 aircraft and 1,400 U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps personnel, to include Navy WAVES and Woman Marines. After the war, the installation was reduced to a skeletal staff and in 1947 the Navy closed NAS Vero Beach and returned it to the city for use again as a civil airport. [6] [7]
In 1948 Major League Baseball arrived as Bud Holman, a local businessman, invited the Brooklyn Dodgers to take over barracks facilities from the closed naval air station for winter and spring training. [8] The Dodgers liked the area so much that Dodgertown was born, a 110-acre (0.45 km2) tract next to the airport, as their training grounds. [9] The Dodgers continued to use the facility even after becoming the Los Angeles Dodgers until they moved to a new facility in Glendale, Arizona in 2008. [10]
In 1957 Piper Aircraft selected Vero Beach for a research and development center at the former naval air station; in 1961 Piper moved administrative and manufacturing operations here. By 1967 Piper had expanded its facility to 11 acres (45,000 m2) and its workforce to over 2,000. [11] Manufacturing of Piper Aircraft at the Vero Beach facility ceased in the mid-1980s when increasing product liability insurance premiums made continued operation financially impossible. Upon limitation of liability by new legislation by United States Congress in the early 1990s, manufacturing began again in 1995.
Skyborne Airline Academy, a leading flight training school, is also based at Vero Beach Regional Airport. The company purchased and rebranded the FlightSafety Academy in 2021 in order to expand its flight training to the United States. [12] The flight school's focus is to provide a dynamic, engaging, and welcoming flight training environment. [13]
Today, Vero Beach Regional Airport is a 1,707-acre (6.91 km2) tower-controlled facility with an FAR Part 139 operating certificate. [1] The airport has seen airlines (mainly regional) in the past, [14] commercial passenger service continued, including USAir Express flights to Melbourne and Orlando in the 1990s, but the American Eagle flew its last flight to Miami in February 1996 — ending Vero Beach's commercial passenger service for nearly two decades. Elite Airways began operating flights from the airport in 2015 but stopped indefinitely in 2022. [4]
The airport currently has scheduled non-stop service on Breeze Airways to Hartford, Providence, Long Island and White Plains. [15] [16] Vero Beach is one of the few commercial airports in the United States to offer free long-term parking for up to 21 days. [17]
Airlines | Destinations | Refs |
---|---|---|
Breeze Airways | Hartford, Providence, White Plains Seasonal: Long Island/Islip | [18] |
Vero Beach is a city in and the county seat of Indian River County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,354. Nicknamed “The Gateway to the Tropics”, the city is situated along the Indian River Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean on Florida's Treasure Coast. Located at the northern end of the South Florida region, Vero Beach is 85 miles (137 km) southeast of Orlando and 65 miles (105 km) north of West Palm Beach.
Silver Airways is a regional airline in the United States with its headquarters in Hollywood, Florida near Fort Lauderdale. It was founded in 2011 with assets from the former Gulfstream International Airlines, and currently operates scheduled flights from its hubs in Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa, Florida, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. It started flying on December 15, 2011.
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.
John Glenn Columbus International Airport is an international airport located 6 miles east of downtown Columbus, Ohio. Formerly known as Port Columbus International Airport, it is managed by the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, which also oversees operations at Rickenbacker International Airport and Bolton Field. The airport code "CMH" stands for "Columbus Municipal Hangar," the original name of the airport.
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.
Naval Air Station Jacksonville is a large naval air station located approximately eight miles (13 km) south of the central business district of Jacksonville, Florida, United States.
Holman Stadium is a baseball stadium in Vero Beach, Florida, built in 1953 from an abandoned naval base, to accommodate spring training for the Brooklyn Dodgers as part of a complex now called Historic Dodgertown. In addition to the Dodgers' spring games, it was the home of the Vero Beach Devil Rays, previously the Vero Beach Dodgers, of the Florida State League, through the 2008 season. The official seating capacity is 6,500.
New Bedford Regional Airport is a Part 139 Commercial-Service Airport, municipally-owned and available for public use. The airport is located three nautical miles northwest of the City of New Bedford, a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States.
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.
Palm Beach County Glades Airport, also known as Pahokee Airport, is a county-owned, public-use airport in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located three nautical miles (6 km) southwest of the central business district of Pahokee, Florida. The airport is owned by Palm Beach County and operated by the Palm Beach County Airports Department. It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation facility.
Apalachicola Regional Airport is a county-owned, public-use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) west of the central business district of Apalachicola, a city in Franklin County, Florida, United States. It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation facility. It was previously known as Apalachicola Municipal Airport. The airport supports general aviation activity in the area and provides service via a tenant fixed-base operator (FBO).
Phoenix Goodyear Airport is a public airport in Goodyear, Arizona in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States.
Ocala International Airport is five miles west of Ocala, in Marion County, Florida, United States. It is also known as Ocala International Airport-Jim Taylor Field and was previously Ocala Regional Airport or Jim Taylor Field.
Treasure Coast International Airport is a public airport located three miles (5 km) northwest of the central business district of Fort Pierce, a city in St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. It is owned by the St. Lucie Board of County Commissioners.
Witham Field is a public-use airport located 1 mile (1.6 km) southeast of the central business district of the city of Stuart in Martin County, Florida, United States. The airport is publicly owned.
Sebastian Municipal Airport is a public-use airport located 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the central business district of the city of Sebastian in Indian River County, Florida, United States. The airport is publicly owned.
Naval Air Station Point Mugu was a United States naval air station near Oxnard, California, which operated as an independent base from 1941 to 2000, when it merged with nearby Naval Construction Battalion Center Port Hueneme to form Naval Base Ventura County.
Southern Airways Express is a commuter airline operating across the United States with headquarters in Palm Beach, Florida. Southern Airways acts as a local service airline for dozens of cities across all U.S. time zones. Approximately one third of its routes are subsidized through the Essential Air Service program by the United States Department of Transportation.
Elite Airways was an airline based in the United States that operated charter and scheduled passenger flights. The airline was headquartered in Portland, Maine.
Historic Dodgertown is a multi-sport facility in Vero Beach, Florida where athletes of all ages and skill levels have the opportunity to train, play, and stay together. The facility which includes the historic Holman Stadium was originally created as a Navy housing base, and was transformed into the home of spring training for Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, as well as the Vero Beach Dodgers from 1980 to 2006, and the Vero Beach Devil Rays from 2007 to 2008. It has since evolved into a multi-sport destination that includes an option of room and board via their on-site villas.