Henry E. Rohlsen Airport

Henry E. Rohlsen Airport
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner Virgin Islands Port Authority
Serves St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands
Elevation AMSL 74 ft / 23 m
Coordinates 17°42′16″N 064°48′06″W / 17.70444°N 64.80167°W / 17.70444; -64.80167Coordinates: 17°42′16″N 064°48′06″W / 17.70444°N 64.80167°W / 17.70444; -64.80167
Website viport.com
Map
STX
Location in Saint Croix
STX
STX (the U.S. Virgin Islands)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
10/28 10,004 3,049 Asphalt
Statistics (2006)
Aircraft operations 13,672
Based aircraft 31

Henry E. Rohlsen Airport (IATA: STX, ICAO: TISX, FAA LID: STX) is a public airport located six miles (10 km) southwest of Christiansted on the island of St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands.[1] The airport is named after Henry E. Rohlsen, a St. Croix native who was one of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II.

It is a small international airport that hosts mainly inter-Caribbean flights. The airport, which was a hub for Aero Virgin Islands in the 1970s and 1980s, has the capability to receive jets up to the size of the Boeing 747s. Prior to 1996 the airport was known as Alexander Hamilton International Airport and was renamed that year Henry E. Rohlsen International Airport[2].

Check-in area of the terminal
A JetBlue Airways Embraer 190 on the apron
A Seaborne Airlines DHC-6 Twin Otter unloading passengers

History

During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces Sixth Air Force stationed the 12th Bombardment Squadron (25th Bombardment Group) at the airport for antisubmarine patrols flying B-18 Bolo aircraft from November 8, 1941 to November 10, 1942.

Historically, a number of airlines operated scheduled passenger jet service into St. Croix in the past. These air carriers included Air Florida with Douglas DC-9-10s, Caribair with McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s, Continental Airlines with Boeing 727-200s, Eastern Airlines with Boeing 727-100s, 727-200s and 757-200s, Midway Airlines with Boeing 737-200s, Pan Am with Boeing 727-200s as well as wide body Airbus A300B4s [3] and Trans Caribbean Airways with Boeing 727-200s.[4] One air carrier that has served St. Croix for many years is American Airlines. In 1974, American was serving the airport with Boeing 707 and Boeing 727-100 jetliners with nonstop flights to New York City.[5] In 1994, American was operating Airbus A300-600R wide body jets into St. Croix with nonstop service to Miami.[6] A Boeing 747 carrying relief supplies during the aftermath of Hurricane Marilyn landed at the airport in 1995. Satellite imagery in Google Earth shows the presence of C-17 and C-130 military transports in 2006 and 2015.

Facilities and aircraft

Henry E. Rohlsen Airport covers an area of 1,455 acres (589 ha) which contains one asphalt paved runway (10/28) measuring 10,004 ft × 150 ft (3,049 m × 46 m). For the 12-month period ending September 30, 2013, the airport had 36,287 aircraft operations, an average of 99 per day: 68% air taxi, 25% general aviation, 6% scheduled commercial and 1% military. In the same period, there were also 36 aircraft based at this airport, including 11 single-engine, 15 multi-engine, 5 jets, four military aircraft and one helicopter.[1]

Renovation

In August 2018, the Virgin Islands Port Authority (V.I.P.A.) held a charrette to announce and discuss the expansion and renovation of the terminal.[7][8][9][10][11]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

AirlinesDestinations
Air Sunshine Dominica–Douglas–Charles, Nevis (begins November 2018), Saint Kitts (begins November 2018), Saint Lucia - Charles, Saint Thomas, San Juan
American Airlines Miami
Seasonal: Charlotte
Cape Air Saint Thomas, San Juan, Vieques
Coastal Air Dominica-Canefield, Nevis, Sint Eustatius
Delta Air Lines Seasonal: Atlanta
JetBlue Airways San Juan (ends January 8, 2019)[12]
Seaborne Airlines Saint Thomas, San Juan
Sea Flight Airlines Saint Thomas
Spirit Airlines Fort Lauderdale

Statistics

Top destinations

Busiest Domestic Routes from St. Croix
(March 2017 – February 2018)[13]
Rank Airport Passengers Carriers
1 Miami 82,480 American
2 San Juan 53,980 Cape Air, JetBlue, Seaborne Airlines
3 St. Thomas 33,130 Cape Air, Seaborne Airlines, Sea Flight
4 Atlanta 10,990 Delta
5 Charlotte 4,050 American
6 Fort Lauderdale 620 JetBlue
7 Vieques 450 Cape Air
8 Orlando 140 N/A

Accidents and incidents

  • On July 24, 1979, Prinair Flight 610 crashed shortly after takeoff from Alexander Hamilton Airport. One crew member and seven passengers were killed.[14]
  • On December 7, 2017 at about 8:54 p.m., a private plane, a Beech Baron on its way to St. Thomas, had to return to St. Croix due to an emergency and crashed before it could make it to the runway, resulting in five fatalities.[15] A preliminary investigation revealed that engine failure was the cause of the crash.[16] It was also revealed that the pilot operating the aircraft was unqualified to fly multi-engine airplanes.[17]

References

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

  1. 1 2 3 FAA Airport Master Record for STX (Form 5010 PDF), effective July 5, 2007
  2. ↑ "Virgin Islands Port Authority | The United States Virgin Islands' Airports and Seaports". www.viport.com. Retrieved 2018-06-15. line feed character in |title= at position 67 (help)
  3. ↑ "Pan Am A300B4-203". AirlineFan.com.
  4. ↑ http://www.departedflights.com, Official Airline Guides (OAGs) dated Nov. 15, 1979 and July 1, 1983; http://www.airchives.net, Caribair system timetables; http://www.timetableimages.com, July 7, 1969 Trans Caribbean Airways system timetable
  5. ↑ http://www.departedflights.com, Dec. 1, 1974 American Airlines system timetable
  6. ↑ http://www.departedflights.com, Oct. 1, 1991 Official Airline Guide (OAG), St. Croix-Miami schedules
  7. ↑ "Port Authority Hosting Charrette As It Unveils Plans For St. Croix Airport Redesign; Community Invited To Attend".
  8. ↑ https://stcroixsource.com/2018/08/11/vipa-invites-public-to-vision-charette-to-discuss-rohlsen-airport-upgrades/
  9. ↑ https://viconsortium.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/HERA-Charrette-Ad-page-001.jpg
  10. ↑ "St. Croix Airport Redesign Unveiled: Second Floor, Escalator, Jet Bridges, Baggage Handling Expansion And More".
  11. ↑ staff, Source (August 22, 2018). "Feds Put V.I. at Top of List for Redevelopment of Rohlsen Airport".
  12. ↑ https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/todayinthesky/2018/10/09/jetblue-airways-new-flights-boston-rochester-fort-lauderdale-ecuador-phoenix-exits-dulles/1577173002/
  13. ↑ "OST_R - BTS - Transtats". www.transtats.bts.gov.
  14. ↑ Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network
  15. ↑ "Five Are Dead In Plane Crash At St. Croix Airport".
  16. ↑ "Engine Failure Led To Plane Crash, FAA Preliminary Investigation Reveals".
  17. ↑ "Pilot Who Operated Plane That Crashed At St. Croix Airport Was Not Licensed To Fly Multi-Engine Aircraft, FAA Records Show".


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