El Paso International Airport

El Paso International Airport
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner City of El Paso
Operator El Paso Aviation Department
Serves El Paso, Texas, U.S.
Las Cruces, New Mexico, U.S. Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico
Location El Paso, Texas, U.S.
Elevation AMSL 3,958 ft / 1,206 m
Coordinates 31°48′26″N 106°22′39″W / 31.80722°N 106.37750°W / 31.80722; -106.37750Coordinates: 31°48′26″N 106°22′39″W / 31.80722°N 106.37750°W / 31.80722; -106.37750
Website elpasointernationalairport.com
Map
ELP
Location within Texas
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
Statistics (2017)
Passengers 2,929,362
Aircraft operations 74,899

El Paso International Airport ((IATA: ELP, ICAO: KELP, FAA LID: ELP); Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional de El Paso) is a public airport four miles (6 km) northeast of downtown El Paso, in El Paso County, Texas, United States. It is the largest commercial airport in West Texas, handling 2,778,248 passengers in 2014.[3] The airport is primarily for the El Paso–Las Cruces Combined Statistical Area.

History

The City of El Paso built the first El Paso Municipal Airport near the east side of the Franklin Mountains in 1928. The airport was closed by 1945 and in more recent times has been home to the Jobe Concrete Products "Planeport" cement factory.[4] In 1934, Varney Speed Lines (now United Airlines) operated at the original El Paso Municipal Airport (now closed). The original El Paso Municipal Airport construction was inspired by a visit from Charles Lindbergh.

What became the present-day El Paso International Airport was built as Standard Airport by Standard Airlines in 1929 for transcontinental air mail service. Standard Airlines became a division of American Airlines in the 1930s. In 1936, American Airlines "swapped" airports with the City of El Paso and El Paso International Airport was born.[4]

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

  • 385th Bombardment Group (Heavy) (B-17 Flying Fortress) December 21, 1942 – February 1, 1943
    • Served with the 8th Air Force in England.
  • 491st Bombardment Group (Heavy) (B-24 Liberator) November 11, 1943 – January 1, 1944
    • Served with the 8th Air Force in England.
  • 497th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) (B-29 Superfortress) November 20–December 1, 1943
    • Served with the 20th Air Force at Saipan.

At the end of the war the airfield was deemed excess by the military and returned to the local government for civil use. The April 1952 C&GS diagram shows runways 4, 8, 12 and 17, each 7001 to 7062 ft long.

El Paso was the last stop of the first hijacking of a jetliner, a Boeing 707 owned by Continental Airlines. Before airline deregulation in the United States, El Paso was a focus city for Continental but was soon demoted to a standard station in a hub-and-spoke system under Frank Lorenzo. The airline had a pilot base that was closed in 1963 but re-opened in 1977.

Aerial view of airport taken in 1996

The passenger concourses were built in 1971 as part of an expansion that tripled the size of the airport.[5] It was designed by Garland & Hilles.[6]

Serving general aviation at El Paso International Airport, Cutter Aviation established a fixed-base operation in 1982. Cutter Aviation moved to a new facility on Shuttle Columbia Drive in 2006. Atlantic Aviation also serves general aviation at ELP.

Facilities

El Paso International Airport arrivals and security hall viewed from an aircraft at the A concourse

El Paso International Airport covers 6,670 acres (2,699 ha) and has three runways:[1]

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

Main terminal

The airport security concourse from airside
Baggage claim area

The terminal is a pier-satellite layout. It has a central entrance and the gates branch out east to west on the two concourses. The airport has East and West Concourses. Gates A1–A4 are located on the West Concourse and Gates B1–B11 is located on the East Concourse. The airport has a total of 15 gates. There is also a lower and upper level. The gates are located on the upper level and the ticketing, baggage claim, rental car, and main entrance are located on the lower level of the terminal. The meeter/greeter area is located on the lower level just behind the escalators that lead to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint leading to the gates. Major terminal renovations have been made over the past several years, designed and managed by the local architectural firm MNK Architects.

Airlines customer service section

The airport access road is Convair Road. Convair Road splits into four lanes with the left two lanes reserved for commercial vehicles and the right two lanes utilized for pickup and drop-off of passengers. In between the split road there is a waiting area where passengers can wait for commercial vehicles to arrive.

Gates: Generally, these gates are used for the following airlines. Gates A1–A3: American Airlines and American Eagle. Gate B1: Delta Air Lines. Gates B3–B7: Southwest Airlines Gates B8 and B9:United Express. Gate B10: Allegiant. Frontier: B11

Food court: The food court is located between gates B6 and B11. It is currently occupied with Carlos and Mickey's Mexican Express, Pizza Hut Express, Quizno's and Starbucks.

Airlines and destinations

El Paso International Airport has 15 gates on 2 concourses: Concourse A has gates A1–A4 and Concourse B has gates B1–B11.

Passenger

Air traffic control tower
AirlinesDestinationsRefs
Alaska Airlines San Diego (begins February 19, 2019),[7] Seattle–Tacoma (begins February 19, 2019)[8] [9]
Allegiant Air Las Vegas, San Diego
Seasonal: Orlando/Sanford 		[10]
American Airlines Chicago–O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth [11]
American Eagle Chicago–O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Phoenix–Sky Harbor [11]
Delta Air Lines Atlanta [12]
Delta Connection Salt Lake City [12]
Frontier Airlines Chicago–O'Hare, Denver [13]
Southwest Airlines Austin, Dallas–Love, Denver, Houston–Hobby, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix–Sky Harbor, San Antonio, San Diego
Seasonal: San Jose (CA) (begins April 14, 2019)[14] 		[15]
United Airlines Houston–Intercontinental [16]
United Express Chicago–O'Hare, Denver, Houston–Intercontinental [16]

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
Amerijet International Miami
DHL Aviation Cincinnati
FedEx Express Austin, Houston–Intercontinental, Indianapolis, Memphis, San Antonio
GTA Air Dallas–Addison
UPS Airlines Albuquerque, Lubbock, Ontario, San Antonio

Statistics

Top destinations

Airport Clock Tower
Busiest domestic routes from ELP
(July 2017 – June 2018)[17]
Rank City Passengers Carriers
1 Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas 275,000 American
2 Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Arizona 234,000 American, Southwest
3 Dallas–Love, Texas 138,000 Southwest
4 Los Angeles, California 113,000 American, Southwest
5 Houston–Hobby, Texas 107,000 Southwest
6 Atlanta, Georgia 107,000 Delta
7 Houston–Intercontinental, Texas 95,000 United
8 Las Vegas, Nevada 90,000 Allegiant, Southwest
9 Austin, Texas 77,000 Southwest
10 Denver, Colorado 73,000 Frontier, Southwest, United

Accidents and incidents

  • On July 20, 1982, Douglas C-47D N102BL of Pronto Aviation Services was damaged beyond repair in a crash landing near El Paso International Airport following an engine failure shortly after take-off. The aircraft was on a domestic non-scheduled passenger flight to Tucson International Airport in Arizona when the engine failed and the decision was made to return to El Paso. A single engine go-around was attempted following an unsafe landing gear warning.[18]
  • On February 19, 1988, Don McCoy, a private pilot, the owner of El Paso Sand and Gravel, took off in a newly acquired Rockwell Aero Commander 680 in a snowstorm (an aircraft he was not properly rated to fly), and attempted to land again after encountering mechanical trouble in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). The aircraft crashed, killing the owner and two acquaintances. Some later attempted to attribute the accident to US Senator Phil Gramm, as it was alleged that McCoy planned to testify against Senator Gramm's shakedown of campaign contributions made by the El Paso Small Business Administration office.[19][20]
  • On January 16, 2006, a mechanic employed by a contractor of Continental Airlines was killed when he was sucked into the right engine of a Boeing 737–524 while investigating an oil leak. The aircraft was preparing to depart as Continental Airlines Flight 1515 to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.[21][22][23]
  • In April 2015, a Southwest Airlines jet was directed by the tower at ELP to land on a closed runway under construction. The aircraft landed safely but missed construction equipment by "mere feet".[24]
  • On June 3, 2018 American Airlines flight 1897, from San Antonio to Phoenix, was diverted to El Paso due to damage sustained by the aircraft after running into a hail storm in flight. The plane was able to land normally, and no injuries were reported.[25]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 FAA Airport Master Record for ELP (Form 5010 PDF)
  2. ↑ "El Paso International Airport Operating Statistics". El Paso International Airport. January 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  3. ↑ "El Paso International Airport Operating Statistics for 2014". El Paso International Airport. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: Texas - El Paso area". airfields-freeman.com.
  5. ↑ McClintock, Wayne (April 2, 1971). "Airport Passenger Numbers 3 Times E.P. Population". El Paso Herald-Post. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  6. ↑ Diaz, Kandice N. (September 22, 2008). "Hilles and Garland: Modern Architecture for the Borderland". The UTEP Prospector. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
  7. ↑ https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/todayinthesky/2018/09/27/alaska-expands-el-paso-adds-nonstops-seattle-and-san-diego/1440879002/
  8. ↑ . September 27, 2018 http://newsroom.alaskaair.com/2018-09-27-Alaska-Airlines-announces-daily-nonstop-service-to-El-Paso-Texas. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ↑ "Flight Timetable". Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  10. ↑ "Allegiant Interactive Route Map". Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  11. 1 2 "Flight schedules and notifications". Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  12. 1 2 "FLIGHT SCHEDULES". Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  13. ↑ "Frontier". Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  14. ↑ "Southwest Airlines Extends Bookable Flight Schedule Into June 2019".
  15. ↑ "Check Flight Schedules". Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  16. 1 2 "Timetable". Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  17. ↑ "El Paso, TX: El Paso International (ELP)". Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  18. ↑ "N102BL Accident report". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved July 25, 2010.
  19. ↑ "Probable cause briefing, NTSB Identification: FTW88FA066". NTSB. 1990-01-24. Retrieved 2014-11-01.
  20. ↑ "Phil Gramm". Famoustexans.com. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  21. ↑ "CNN.com – Mechanic sucked into jet engine – Jan 16, 2006". CNN.
  22. ↑ "NTSB Report on Flight DFW06FA056". Ntsb.gov. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  23. ↑ "Incident document". R721.livejournal.com. May 15, 2010. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  24. ↑ Genevieve Curtis (April 17, 2015). "Plane lands on runway closed for construction at El Paso International Airport". KFOX-TV.
  25. ↑ María Cortés González (June 4, 2018). "American Airlines plane forced to make emergency landing in El Paso because of hail damage". El Paso Times.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.