Chicago Rockford International Airport
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Chicago Rockford International Airport or Greater Rockford Airport (IATA: RFD, ICAO: KRFD, FAA LID: RFD), is a general aviation and commercial airport in Winnebago County, Illinois, United States. It is located 68 miles (109 km) northwest of Chicago[1] and four miles (6 km) south of Rockford. The airport served over 215,000 passengers in 2007. [2]
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[edit] History
RFD traces its history back to 1917, when Camp Grant — a U.S. Army Cavalry Camp was established during the First World War. During the events of World War II, Camp Grant was made into a military training base and prisoner of war confinement center.
Following the war, the state of Illinois adopted the Airport Authority Act. The Greater Rockford Airport Authority was created in 1946. For more than forty years this airport was referred to as the Greater Rockford airport. In 1987, the current passenger terminal was built in an effort to attract more passenger service. Rockford had been primarily seen as a regional airport at that time. Six years later, United Parcel Service opened its first of two cargo facilities at the airport. The location became a selling point as a transportation facility for cargo as well as for passengers.
Being less than 90 miles (145 km) from downtown Chicago, the airport's name was changed to the Northwest Chicagoland Regional Airport at Rockford in the early 2000s. In 2004 the airport became the Chicago/Rockford International Airport (the slash was removed in 2007[3]) when the airport gained an official US port of entry and achieved international status. The name change not only made it shorter, but also brought it in line with the other two "Chicago" airports (O'Hare and Midway). In many forms of media, the airport also markets itself by its three FAA call letters: RFD.
Today, the Rockford airport is marketed to residents of Rockford and surrounding areas as an alternative to Chicago Midway International Airport and O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, and Dane County Regional Airport in Madison as well as limited service airports such as the one at Dubuque, Iowa. The airlines at RFD also often use their low fares and free airport parking as a selling point as well.
Larry Morrissey, the mayor of Rockford, has pushed for high-speed rail to link the airport with O'Hare International.
[edit] Airport Layout
Chicago Rockford International Airport covers an area of 2,900 acres (1,174 ha) which contains two runways, both with an ILS: 1/19 measuring 8,199 x 150 ft. (2,499 x 46 m) and 7/25 measuring 10,004 x 150 ft. (3,049 x 46 m). For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2006, the airport had 77,558 aircraft operations, an average of 212 per day: 72% general aviation, 18% scheduled commercial, 6% air taxi and 3% military.[1]
[edit] Passenger Facilities
The current passenger terminal was constructed in 1987 in an effort to expand passenger service in Rockford. However, the common usage of bus service to O'Hare International Airport kept most airlines away from Rockford. Passenger service stopped altogether from 2001 to 2003. An upgrade to the terminal in 2005 added more jetways, escalators, and baggage handling equipment(the previous system catered more to smaller turboprop aircraft rather than jets).
[edit] Cargo Facilities
The airport is in a foreign-trade zone. As runway 7/25 is 10,000 feet long, a wide variety of passenger and cargo aircraft can land at RFD; currently, the largest aircraft to land at RFD is the Antonov An-124 Ruslan.
RFD currently has two cargo aprons that are in use. A third one was completed in November 2008 along the west end of runway 7/25 (southwest of the existing UPS ramp), but there are no current tenants.
South Cargo Apron
The smaller south cargo apron located in between the two runways is home to BAX Global and (DHL) cargo operations.
[edit] Airlines and destinations
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Allegiant Air | Las Vegas, Orlando-Sanford, Phoenix/Mesa, St. Petersburg/Clearwater |
| Apple Vacations operated by Aeroméxico Travel | Cancun (seasonal weekend charter; service begins December 26, 2009) |
| Direct Air | Punta Gorda (Service begins November 14, 2009) |
| ExpressJet Airlines | Branson (starts November 7) |
RFD is also the company headquarters for Ryan International Airlines, staging many of its aircraft at the airport for charter hire.
[edit] Cargo Airlines
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| UPS Airlines | Anchorage, Atlanta, Cedar Rapids, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Detroit, Hartford, Houston Intercontinental, Long Beach, Louisville, Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Newark, New York-JFK, Ontario, Peoria, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Sacramento-Mather, San Antonio, San Jose (CA), Seattle-Boeing |
| ATI | Laredo, Toledo |
| ABX Air | Wilmington, Ohio |
[edit] Historical
Several airlines have previously served the airport including United Express, Hooters Air, Frontier, Midwest Connect, Midway Connection, Trans Meridian, American Eagle, TWA, Ozark, McClain, Northwest Airlink (Mesaba and Pinnacle), etc. TWA had Boeing 727-200 service from Rockford to O'Hare in the 1980s for a short while. The original Frontier also served Rockford from 1984 until late 1986 when the operation was transferred to Britt Airways for a short time. Coleman Air Transport also had a hub operation at RFD in the latter part of the 1970's.
[edit] Rockford AirFest
The airport began hosting the Rockford AirFest in 2005. From 1986 to 1994, the Greater Rockford Airport (as it was known until 2003) hosted the Midwest AirFest which twice featured the Air Force Thunderbirds. They returned again in 2006, and the Navy Blue Angels were featured in 2007. The F-22 Raptor Team performed August 22-23, 2009.
Headline Performers
2005: None 2006: USAF Thunderbirds 2007: US Navy Blue Angels 2008: USAF Thunderbirds 2009: USAF F-22 Demonstration Team
[edit] Wing Ding
The historic Bell Bowl, a natural ampitheater on the south side of the airport, was the venue for the 16th annual Wing Ding concert on May 24, 2009. Shinedown headlined, with support from Saliva, Saving Abel, Powerman 5000, 10 Years, and more.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- FlyRFD.com, official website for Chicago Rockford International Airport
- FAA Airport Diagram(PDF), effective 22 Oct 2009
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for KRFD
- ASN accident history for RFD
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KRFD
- FAA current RFD delay information
