Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport

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Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport
Airport-logo.jpg
Brownsvilleiap-8feb2002.jpg
IATA: BRO – ICAO: KBRO
BRO is located in Texas
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BRO
Location of airport in Texas
– FAA LID: BRO
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner City of Brownsville
Serves Brownsville / South Padre Island, Texas
Location Brownsville, Texas
Elevation AMSL 22 ft / 7 m
Coordinates 25°54′25″N 097°25′33″W / 25.90694°N 97.42583°W / 25.90694; -97.42583
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
13L/31R 3,000 914 Asphalt
13R/31L 7,400 2,256 Asphalt
17/35 6,000 1,829 Asphalt
Statistics (2007)
Aircraft operations 43,105
Based aircraft 56
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]
FAA airport diagram

Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport (IATA: BRO, ICAO: KBRO, FAA LID: BRO) is a city-owned public-use airport located four nautical miles (7 km) east of the central business district of Brownsville, a city in Cameron County, Texas, United States.[1]

The airport is by four commercial airlines, six air taxis and offers three FBOs for general aviation. It is a convenient airport for flying into the Rio Grande Valley and Northern Mexico. Most cities in the Rio Grande Valley are accessible from BRO by automobile within 30–60 minutes. It is also the closest commercial airport to South Padre Island.

The National Weather Service forecast office for Deep South Texas is located on the airport grounds.

Contents

[edit] History

  • On March 9, 1929, Charles Lindbergh landed at BRO after a five hour, 38 minute historic flight from Mexico City to the United States. This established the first leg of Airmail Service to Mexico.
  • An event was held on site in Lindbergh's honor, with a crowd of over 20,000 greeting him upon his arrival. Among the attendees was Amelia Earhart, for whom the main street in front of the Airport is named. This event has been described as an international event of great significance.
  • Pan-American Airways started service at the airport on June 4, 1929, the beginning of a 30-year relationship between BRO and PanAm.
  • In the 1960s, the 16th weather radar system in the nation was installed at BRO.
  • In 1983, the airport was officially renamed the Brownsville-South Padre Island International Airport.

[edit] Brownsville Army Airfield

During World War II the airport was used by the United States Army Air Forces, although the Air Corps had signed a contract with Pan American Airways in 1940 for the training of aircraft mechanics at the airport. Shortly after the Pearl Harbor Attack on 7 December 1941, both Army and Navy observation aircraft began operations from the airport flying antisubmarine missions over the Gulf of Mexico.

For the first year of the United States' involvement in combat of the war, Pan American continued to operate the airport, providing training to Ferrying Command pilots and ground mechanics assigned to the 18th Transport Transition Training Detachment. With the realignment of Ferrying Command to Air Transport Command on 1 July 1942, plans were made by the Army to assume jurisdiction of the airport. On 28 July 1943 the USAAF 568th AAF Base Unit, Air Transport Command was assigned to the newly-designated Brownsville Army Airfield. The mission of the 4th Fighter Operational Training Unit at the airfield was the training of pilots to ferry pursuit planes to the various theaters of war. Training was carried out by AAF instructor pilots, however Pan American Airways retained operations at the airfield flying larger 2 and 4 engine transports to the airport as an overhaul facility. In May 1944, a new mission was developed to train multi-engined pilots at the base. The school began operations in June, and the pilots began to ferry ferry large numbers of aircraft to Panama for subsequent shipment by sealift to Australia.

Achievements of note during World War II at Brownsville AAF were:

  • Civilian Pilot Training program initiated to train military and commercial pilots.
  • The first American jet engine flight was tested at Brownsville Army Air Field.
  • B-29 bombers were renovated on the site.
  • The airport had one of the largest overhaul facilities in the country. By the end of the war Pan American had overhauled nearly 6,000 engines.

With the end of the Pacific War in August 1945, operations at Brownsville AAF were dramatically reduced. Flight operations continued at a reduced level for the balance of 1945, however in early January the base was declared surplus and was inactivated on 5 March 1946 and returned to full civil control.

[edit] Facilities and aircraft

Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport covers an area of 1,700 acres (690 ha) at an elevation of 22 feet (7 m) above mean sea level. It has three asphalt paved runways: 13L/31R measuring 3,000 x 75 ft (914 x 23 m), 13R/31L measuring 7,400 x 150 ft (2,256 x 46 m) and 17/35 measuring 6,000 x 150 ft (1,829 x 46 m).[1]

For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2007, the airport had 43,105 aircraft operations, an average of 118 per day: 52% general aviation, 35% military, 13% air taxi and <1% scheduled commercial. At that time there were 56 aircraft based at this airport: 91% single-engine and 9% multi-engine.[1]

Various aircraft types, including Embraer ERJ 140 and Embraer ERJ 145, are used by American Eagle, Aeroméxico Connect and United Express in Brownsville. Previous aircraft used include ATR-42 and Embraer ERJ 135 aircraft (ExpressJet Airlines), Bombardier CRJ-200 aircraft (Chautauqua Airlines), as well as Boeing 737-200, 737-300 and 737-500 aircraft (Continental Airlines).

Pan American Airways, Inc.. located in the 1931 Pan American Airways Building at the Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport, has renovated the 1931 Pan American Airways Building with the intent of re-opening the "Gateway to Latin America" in 2011.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

An ExpressJet Airlines ERJ 145 arriving at the Gate 2 jetway.
Airlines Destinations
Aeroméxico Connect Monterrey
American Eagle Dallas/Fort Worth
United Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines Houston-Intercontinental

[edit] Cargo

The airport is the largest air cargo handling airport in the Rio Grande Valley.

Pan American Airways and World-Wide Consolidated Logistics, Inc. will open cargo service to Latin America in 2011. A TSA Certified Cargo Screening Facility is being established by World-Wide Consolidated Logistics, Inc. to facility the screening of domestic and international cargo to and from the United States with the Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport being the "Gateway to Latin America" in 2011 and the "Gateway to Africa" (via the Southern Route) in 2012.

[edit] Website

The Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport is the first airport in Texas to offer flight status notification via text-messaging through its website. When the system was launched, it was one of only three airports in the nation between Michigan and Alabama to offer such a service.

In addition to flight status text-messaging notification, the site also features current fares to popular routes, including Houston, Atlanta, Toronto, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Querétaro.

[edit] See also

Portal icon Texas portal
Portal icon Aviation portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d FAA Airport Master Record for BRO (Form 5010 PDF), effective 2008-04-10

[edit] Other sources

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brownsville/South_Padre_Island_International_Airport&oldid=472000162"
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