Orlando Melbourne International Airport

Orlando Melbourne International Airport
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner City of Melbourne, Florida
Serves Melbourne, Florida
Location One Air Terminal Parkway
Melbourne, Florida, U.S.
Elevation AMSL 33 ft / 10 m
Coordinates 28°06′10″N 080°38′43″W / 28.10278°N 80.64528°W / 28.10278; -80.64528Coordinates: 28°06′10″N 080°38′43″W / 28.10278°N 80.64528°W / 28.10278; -80.64528
Website www.MLBair.com
Maps

FAA airport diagram
MLB
Location of airport in Florida / United States
MLB
MLB (the US)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
9R/27L 10,181 3,103 Asphalt
9L/27R 6,000 1,829 Asphalt
5/23 3,001 915 Asphalt
Statistics (2008)
Aircraft operations 163,867
Based aircraft 262

Orlando Melbourne International Airport (IATA: MLB, ICAO: KMLB, FAA LID: MLB) is a public airport 1.5 miles (2.4 km) northwest of downtown Melbourne, in Brevard County, Florida, United States. On central Florida's Space Coast, the airport is reached by NASA Boulevard (State Road 508). It is governed by a seven-member board which is appointed by the Melbourne City Council and the private sector. The airport budget is part of the Melbourne municipal budget; the airport receives no local tax dollars. The projected expenses for 2010 is $14.1 million.[2] The executive director of the airport is Greg Donovan, A.A.E.[3]

History

Melbourne International Airport began in 1928 when a Pitcairn Aircraft landed on a cow pasture strip north of Kissimmee Highway.

Airmail service started in late 1928 when the airport was designated a fueling stop. In 1933 the City of Melbourne acquired 160 acres (65 ha) west of Indian River Bluff to develop as a new airport, which was further developed and operated as Naval Air Station Melbourne during World War II.

Returned to the city as a Surplus Property Airport after the War, Melbourne Airport was deeded to the city in 1947. It was a municipal airport until 1967 when the city created the Melbourne Airport Authority to plan, operate, maintain, and develop the airport, then called Melbourne Municipal Airport. The name was Cape Kennedy Regional Airport and city officials changed the name to Melbourne Regional Airport in 1973 to better reflect it's role.

In January 1951, the airport had runways 4, 9, 13 and 16, all 4,000 to 4,300 feet (1,200 to 1,300 m) long.

Scheduled airline flights began in 1953. The April 1957 Official Airline Guide listed four Eastern Airlines departures, Martin 4-0-4s to Vero Beach, Daytona Beach and Jacksonville.

National Airlines arrived in 1959 with Douglas DC-6Bs and scheduled the first jet flights in 1963: Douglas DC-8s Miami-Melbourne-New Orleans-Houston-Los Angeles and Los Angeles-Houston-Melbourne-Miami.

In 1960, Meadowlane Elementary School first opened at a Naval hospital on the airport grounds.[4] The school moved to West Melbourne in 1961.

In 1969, a National DC-8 flew Los Angeles-Tampa-Melbourne-Miami. Houston and Los Angeles figured in NASA's space program, and Melbourne was close to the NASA Kennedy Space Center. In July 1974 a National Boeing 727 flew Miami-Melbourne-Tampa-New Orleans-Los Angeles-San Diego; National Boeing 727-200s flew direct Houston and New Orleans to Melbourne. In May 1979 National had one flight a day from Melbourne, a 727-200 to Tampa.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Eastern Airlines Boeing 727s, Douglas DC-9s and Lockheed Electras flew out of the airport. In June 1967 Eastern announced "The Space Corridor" from Melbourne to three centers in the space program: Huntsville, Alabama, St. Louis and Seattle. Eastern's "Space Corridor" was a Melbourne-Orlando-Huntsville-St. Louis-Seattle Boeing 727-100. In June 1967 Eastern flew nonstop Melbourne to Atlanta, Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale and direct to New York City (JFK Airport), Washington, D.C. (Dulles Airport), Boston and Miami. In February 1976 Eastern flew a 727 direct Los Angeles to Melbourne via Atlanta; Eastern eventually dropped Melbourne upon the airlines closure in 1991.

In the early 1980s some ending scenes for the film Stranger Than Paradise were shot in the Melbourne area, including several plot scenes shot at the Airport (as listed in the credits).

People Express Airlines started nonstops to Newark, Baltimore, Columbus and Buffalo, New York in spring 1982 with Boeing 737 jets. They eventually scaled back to just nonstops to Newark and ended service to MLB in 1986.

Delta Air Lines started nonstops to Atlanta in 1983 with DC-9's and upgraded to Boeing 737's and MD-80's.

The Authority operated a recreational vehicle site, "Port O' Call." This was closed and the tenants evicted in 2003. The intent was to use the property for commercial development.[5]

The Melbourne Airport Authority operates Tropical Haven (formerly Trailer Haven), a 759-site manufactured home park.[6]

In 2010 the airport had non-stop flights to Atlanta on Delta Air Lines and regional partner Atlantic Southeast Airlines, as well as non-stops to Charlotte Douglas International Airport on US Airways' regional subsidiary PSA Airlines. Delta used to fly non-stop from Melbourne to its hubs in Cincinnati, New York-JFK and New York-La Guardia, and to Washington-Dulles and Washington-Reagan; all of this was discontinued. USA3000 Airlines briefly served Melbourne with flights to Baltimore/Washington. Presidential Airways (scheduled) had nonstop flights to Daytona Beach and Washington, DC (Dulles) with Boeing 737s and BAE-146 Jets. American Airlines served Melbourne with flights to Raleigh/Durham on MD-80 jets and Continental flew to Newark-Liberty with 727 and 737 aircraft. Direct Air flew to Niagara Falls, NY and Punta Gorda, Fl with 737 and McDonnell Douglas MD-80 Jets.[7]

Elite Airways began operating at the airport in 2014 with flights to Washington Dulles International Airport.[8]

In 2015, there were an estimated 15,000 paid attendees to the annual air show over a two-day weekend.[9]

The airport's first scheduled international service was announced by Porter Airlines in September, 2015 to Toronto's island airport.[10]

In 2015, the airport changed its name to "Orlando Melbourne International Airport". Airport and local tourism officials wanted to brand the airport as a less-congested alternative to Orlando's two airports. They also believed it would attract visitors who wanted to see Walt Disney World, Cape Canaveral, and the area's beaches.[11] The airport is located approximately 70 miles (110 km) southeast of the City of Orlando.

In 2017, a $20 million upgrade was proposed for the airport, 90 percent coming from FAA funds, almost $1 million from FDOT and $1 million from the airport.[12]

Statistics

Monthly passengers were at a seasonal low in September 2007 at 14,083.[13] A high was experienced in March 2010 of 41,725.[14] Total enplaned and deplaned passengers for 2008 numbered about 286,000.[15]

229,000 passengers used the airport in 2009, a 24% drop from 2008.[16]

Passengers rose 70% in 2010 over 2009, as US Airways restarted service and Delta expanded.[17]

Facilities and aircraft

Runway 9R

The airport covers 2,800 acres (1,133 ha) and has three asphalt runways: 9R/27L is 10,181 × 150 ft (3,103 × 46 m), 9L/27R is 6,000 × 150 ft (1,829 × 46 m) and 5/23 is 3,001 × 75 ft (915 × 23 m).[1] The main terminal building is named the Edward L. Foster Air Terminal.

In the year ending June 30, 2009 the airport had 133,576 aircraft operations; 95% were general aviation, 3% scheduled commercial, 1% air taxi and <1% military. 248 aircraft are based at this airport: 77% single-engine, 16% multiengine, 4% jet, 2% helicopter and <1% military.[1]

The Airport Museum is in the terminal building.

The Florida Institute of Technology Research, Science and Technology Park covers about 100 acres (40 ha) surrounded by airport tenants such as Northrop Grumman Joint Stars, G.E Railway, Rockwell Collins, DRS Technologies, and L-3, and leases property to two hospitals and one hotel.

A new Embraer Business Jet Assembly Facility, intended to employ 200 workers, is under construction.[6] Production facilities are for the Phenom 100 and 300, and Legacy 450 and 500.[18]

In 2010 two companies, AAR Corporation and MidAirUSA, announced plans for facilities at the airport. The companies intended to respectively employ 225 and 300 people.[19][20] MidAirUSA went bankrupt in 2015; Aeromod International took over the MidAirUSA hangar in 2016.

Airlines and destinations

Monument sign at entrance to Melbourne International Airport

Passenger

AirlinesDestinations
American Eagle Charlotte, Philadelphia (begins February 16, 2019)[21]
Delta Air Lines Atlanta
Delta Connection Seasonal: Atlanta
Elite Airways Bimini, Long Island/Islip, Portland (ME)
Porter Airlines Seasonal: Ottawa, Toronto–Billy Bishop, Windsor
Sun Country Airlines Charter: Gulfport-Biloxi


Charter

AirlinesDestinations
Baer Air, Inc. dba Apex Executive Jet Center United States, Caribbean & Canada

Cargo

The airport handled about 38,667 short tons (35,078 t) in January 2014.[22]

Top destinations

Busiest domestic routes from Orlando-Melbourne Airport
April 2017 – March 2018[23]
Rank City Passengers Airline
1 Atlanta, Georgia 167,130 Delta
2 Charlotte, North Carolina 45,330 American
3 Portland, Maine 3,650 Elite

Flight schools

  • F.I.T. Aviation Flight School owned by Florida Institute of Technology for the College of Aeronautics. Offers flight training for fixed wing aircraft for the FAA Private Pilot Certification, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot Certification, Multi-Engine and Advanced Aircraft Training. In 1999, to match a grant for a new engineering building, Florida Tech sold nearly a third of its training fleet.

References

  1. 1 2 3 FAA Airport Master Record for MLB (Form 5010 PDF), effective October 25, 2007
  2. ↑ City of Melbourne FL Community Information Archived February 16, 2007, at the Wayback Machine., melbourneflorida.org
  3. ↑ (MLB), Orlando Melbourne International Airport. "Welcome from the Executive Director". mlbair.com. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
  4. ↑ Meadowlane Elementary School. "Meadowlane's History", Meadowlane School Webpage. Retrieved 04 November 2016.
  5. ↑ "MELBOURNE AIRPORT AUTHORITY MINUTES of the Regular Meeting OF THE MELBOURNE AIRPORT AUTHORITY 7:30 A.M. IN THE MELBOURNE INT'L AIRPORT BOARD ROOM" (PDF). mlbair.com. February 21, 2007.
  6. 1 2 Baumann, Christine Selvaggi Sanford Airport eyeing retail development, Orlando Business Journal, bizjournals.com/orlando, January 31, 2005
  7. ↑ "Falls Airport: Direct Air adding flights to Melbourne". Niagara Falls: Niagara Gazette. November 11, 2009. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Tickets on sale for Melbourne, Fla.-Dulles service". USA Today. August 25, 2014.
  9. ↑ Neale, Rick (March 15, 2015). "Full Throttle Fun". Florida Today. Melbourne, Florida. pp. 1A, 5A. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  10. ↑ Price, Wayne T. "Canadian airline coming to Melbourne". Florida Today. Retrieved 2015-10-06.
  11. ↑ Berman, Dave (October 18, 2015). "Melbourne Airport pushes 'Orlando Melbourne' name". Florida Today.
  12. ↑ "FAA OKs $18 million grant for Orlando Melbourne airport runway upgrades". floridatoday.com.
  13. ↑ "The friendly skies less crowded". Melbourne, Florida: Florida Today. March 30, 2009. pp. 8C.
  14. ↑ Price, Wayne T. (May 30, 2010). "Competition heats up for port". Melbourne, Florida: Florida Today. pp. 1E.
  15. ↑ Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, US DOT. Melbourne, FL: Melbourne Regional (MLB) Scheduled Services except Freight/Mail, retrieved May 10, 2009
  16. ↑ Lowenstein, Adam (March 14, 2010). "Car sales drive local economy". Melbourne, Florida: Florida Today. pp. 1E.
  17. ↑
  18. ↑ Trautvetter, Chad. "Approval Imminent for Embraer Legacy 450/500 U.S. Plant" AINonline, 26 August 2014. Accessed: 4 September 2014.
  19. ↑ Price, Wayne T. (December 16, 2010). "Airport lands link to 450 jobs". Melbourne, Florida: Florida Today. pp. 1A.
  20. ↑ "IN DEMAND". Melbourne, Florida: Florida Today. January 9, 2011. pp. 8A.
  21. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/FlyOrlandoMelbourne/photos/a.131232563584803/2252697224771649/?type=3&theater
  22. ↑ Price, Wayne T. (April 6, 2014). "Travel". Florida Today. Melbourne, Florida. pp. 1A.
  23. ↑ "RITA | BTS | Transtats". Bureau of Transportation Statistics. January 2017. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  • Melbourne International Airport, official site
  • FIT Aviation, official site
  • "Melbourne International Airport". brochure from CFASPP
  • FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective October 11, 2018
  • FAA Terminal Procedures for MLB, effective October 11, 2018
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