Fort Wayne International Airport

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Fort Wayne International Airport
FAA airport diagram
IATA: FWA – ICAO: KFWA – FAA: FWA
Summary
Airport type		Public
Owner		Fort Wayne/Allen County Airport Authority
Location		3801 West Ferguson Road Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States
Elevation AMSL		815 ft / 248 m
Coordinates		40°58′42″N 085°11′42″W / 40.97833°N 85.195°W / 40.97833; -85.195
Website		www.flyfwa.com
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
5/23	12,000	3,658	Asphalt/Concrete
9/27	4,001	1,220	Asphalt/Concrete
14/32	8,001	2,439	Asphalt/Concrete
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

Fort Wayne International Airport (IATA: FWA, ICAO: KFWA, FAA LID: FWA) is a joint civil-military public airport located seven miles (11 km) southwest of the central business district of Fort Wayne, in Allen County, Indiana, United States. This airport is publicly owned by Fort Wayne/Allen County Airport Authority.^[1]

The airport contains one terminal, the Lieutenant Paul Baer Terminal. Passenger service is offered to seven larger airline hubs of Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas-Fort Worth, Cleveland, Detroit, and Minneapolis-Saint Paul, annually serving approximately 650,000 passengers.^[2] The airport has a 600,000-square-foot (56,000 m²) air cargo center located on the southwest side. The center was occupied by Kitty Hawk Aircargo, which operated a hub and spoke operation out of Fort Wayne until October 30, 2007, shortly after the carrier filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Fort Wayne International is also home to a maintenance base for Pinnacle Airlines.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

Fort Wayne International Airport has 8 common-use gates. Gates 1-4 are ground-level and are boarded via airstairs, whereas Gates 5-8 board via jetways. However, most of the time, gates are typically used in this fashion by the airlines:

[edit] Military and airfield infrastructure

Fort Wayne International Airport is homebase to the Fort Wayne Air National Guard Station and the the 122d Fighter Wing (122 FW) of the Indiana Air National Guard. Nicknamed the "Blacksnakes," the 122 FW is an Air National Guard fighter unit operationally gained by the Air Combat Command (ACC). The 122 FW flies the F-16C/D Fighting Falcon from Fort Wayne AGS, which is located on the east side of the airport in a secure area away from the publicly accessible facilities. The current military installation that makes up Fort Wayne AGS was occupied by the 122 FW in 1954.

As of 2006, the airport's main Runway 5/23's usable dimensions are 11,981 feet (3,652 m) long and 150 feet (46 m) wide while the grooved-surface dimensions are 12,000 feet (3,700 m) long and 150 feet (46 m) wide, large enough to accommodate the NASA Space Shuttle orbiter, Boeing 747s, and military air mobility and aerial refueling aircraft such as the C-5 Galaxy, C-17 Globemaster III, KC-135 Stratotanker and KC-10 Extender. The runway is also equipped with BAK-14 arresting gear on both ends for emergency arrestment of US and NATO/Allied fighter and other similar-sized tactical fixed-wing aircraft.

[edit] History

Baer Field on 8 April 1988.

The airport was originally constructed at a cost of $10 million as a U.S. Army Air Forces base during World War II, opening in 1941 under the name Baer Field and later Baer Army Air Field. During wartime, over 100,000 military personnel served out of Baer Field and its more than 100 structures. The principal units at the installation were the First Troop Carrier Group and the 45th Army Air Force Base Unit. By the end of World War II, the City of Fort Wayne bought the airport from the federal government's General Services Administration for the price of $1, renaming it Fort Wayne Municipal Airport in 1946.^[3]

Under the management of the Fort Wayne/Allen County Airport Authority since 1985, the airport was renamed Fort Wayne International Airport in 1991. Through the 1990s, the airport underwent the largest expansion and revitalization in its history, with an expanded and updated terminal, runway upgrades, and the establishment of the Air Trade Center on the southwest side of the property. In 2006, a modernized 210 feet (64 m) air traffic control tower was opened on the south side of the airport, at a price of $9.7 million.^[4]

Located in the Lieuteant Paul Baer Terminal, the Greater Fort Wayne Aviation Museum recounts early aviation history in Northeastern Indiana.^[5]

[edit] Incidents

• In late 2003, Charles McKinley shipped himself via Kitty Hawk Air Cargo from Newark International Airport to Buffalo, New York, then to Fort Wayne, eventually flying to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, undetected through security.^[6][7]

• On August 18, 2004, Fort Wayne International Airport was in the national spotlight after a mysterious "liquid substance" discovered leaking from luggage forced authorities to shut down the airport, when six people fell ill. Fearing that the incident may have been an act of terrorism, the FBI was involved in the investigation. Later in the day, Haz-mat ruled that there was "no biological or chemical threat" and the airport was reopened that afternoon. All who were ill recovered and it was later revealed that the substance was an agent for producing perfume.^[8]

[edit] See also

• Indiana World War II Army Airfields

[edit] External links

• Fort Wayne International Airport Official Website
• 122nd Fighter Wing Official Website
• Fort Wayne/Allen County Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Aerial Photo (from Indiana Department of Transportation)
• FAA Airport Diagram(PDF), effective 2 July 2009
• Resources for this airport:
  • AirNav airport information for KFWA
  • ASN accident history for FWA
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart for KFWA
  • FAA current FWA delay information

[edit] References