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°WCoordinates: 17°42′16″N 064°48′06″W / 17.70444°N 64.80167°W | ||||||||||
Website | viport.com | ||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||
STX Location in Saint Croix STX STX (the U.S. Virgin Islands) | |||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Statistics (2006) | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
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].
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
Airlines | Destinations |
---|---|
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
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
- 1 2 3 FAA Airport Master Record for STX (Form 5010 PDF), effective July 5, 2007
- ↑ "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) - ↑ "Pan Am A300B4-203". AirlineFan.com.
- ↑ 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
- ↑ http://www.departedflights.com, Dec. 1, 1974 American Airlines system timetable
- ↑ http://www.departedflights.com, Oct. 1, 1991 Official Airline Guide (OAG), St. Croix-Miami schedules
- ↑ "Port Authority Hosting Charrette As It Unveils Plans For St. Croix Airport Redesign; Community Invited To Attend".
- ↑ https://stcroixsource.com/2018/08/11/vipa-invites-public-to-vision-charette-to-discuss-rohlsen-airport-upgrades/
- ↑ https://viconsortium.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/HERA-Charrette-Ad-page-001.jpg
- ↑ "St. Croix Airport Redesign Unveiled: Second Floor, Escalator, Jet Bridges, Baggage Handling Expansion And More".
- ↑ staff, Source (August 22, 2018). "Feds Put V.I. at Top of List for Redevelopment of Rohlsen Airport".
- ↑ https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/todayinthesky/2018/10/09/jetblue-airways-new-flights-boston-rochester-fort-lauderdale-ecuador-phoenix-exits-dulles/1577173002/
- ↑ "OST_R - BTS - Transtats". www.transtats.bts.gov.
- ↑ Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network
- ↑ "Five Are Dead In Plane Crash At St. Croix Airport".
- ↑ "Engine Failure Led To Plane Crash, FAA Preliminary Investigation Reveals".
- ↑ "Pilot Who Operated Plane That Crashed At St. Croix Airport Was Not Licensed To Fly Multi-Engine Aircraft, FAA Records Show".
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Henry E. Rohlsen Airport. |
- Virgin Islands Port Authority: Airport Facilities, official site
- FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective October 11, 2018
- FAA Terminal Procedures for STX, effective October 11, 2018
- Resources for this airport:
- FAA airport information for STX
- AirNav airport information for TISX
- ASN accident history for STX
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS latest weather observations for TISX
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for STX