Fort Worth Meacham International Airport
| Fort Worth Meacham Int'l Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| IATA: FTW – ICAO: KFTW – FAA LID: FTW | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | City of Fort Worth | ||
| Location | Fort Worth, Texas | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 710 ft / 216 m | ||
| Coordinates | 32°49′11.2″N 97°21′44.8″W / 32.819778°N 97.362444°WCoordinates: 32°49′11.2″N 97°21′44.8″W / 32.819778°N 97.362444°W | ||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 9/27 | 3,677 | 1,121 | Asphalt |
| 16/34 | 7,501 | 2,286 | Concrete |
| 17/35 | 4,006 | 1,221 | Asphalt |
Fort Worth Meacham International Airport (commonly referred to as Meacham Field) (IATA: FTW, ICAO: KFTW, FAA LID: FTW) is an airport in Fort Worth, Texas, currently catering to private and small corporate air traffic, similar to Addison Airport on the Dallas side of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The airport is located at the intersection of Interstate 820 and U.S. Business Highway 287 in northwest Fort Worth, near the downtown business district. Meacham International Airport has two parallel runways and a crosswind runway.
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History [edit]
Meacham Field was purchased by the city of Fort Worth on July 3, 1925, named Fort Worth Municipal Airport. In 1927, the airport was renamed Meacham Field. American Airways moved its headquarters to Meacham Field in the early 1930s. Meacham was Fort Worth's airline airport until April 1953 when the major carriers moved to Amon Carter Field, later known as Greater Southwest International Airport. The January 1953 OAG shows 50 weekday airline departures from Meacham, 33 of which headed for Dallas. None of the others flew nonstop north of Wichita Falls, west of Midland, south of Austin or east of Dallas.
Since 1953 Meacham Field has been used for corporate aircraft, commuter flights, and student pilot training. It was renamed in 1985 to Fort Worth Meacham Airport, and in 1995 to Fort Worth Meacham International Airport. Since 1953 seven airlines have tried scheduled passenger flights from Meacham; none lasted more than a couple of years. In chronological order they were:
- Air Texas (1968–1970) flew Beechcraft Model 99 and Beechcraft Queen Air turboprops from Meacham to Austin and Houston
- Tejas Airlines (1979–80) flew Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner turboprops to Austin, Houston, Corpus Christi, San Antonio, and Laredo
- Metro Airlines (1979–81) flew DHC-6 Twin Otters
- Texas Star Airlines (1981–83) connected Meacham to both Austin and Wichita Falls
- Fort Worth Airlines (1984–85) flew NAMC YS-11 turboprops
- Exec Express Airlines (1987–88), later known as Lone Star Airlines, flew Dornier Do 228 turboprops
- Mesa Airlines (1997–98) flew Bombardier CRJ jets
In 2001 Continental Airlines announced plans for Continental Express regional flights between Meacham and Houston Intercontinental Airport but this project was abandoned in the wake of the downturn in the aviation industry following the September 11, 2001, attacks. In April 2006 low-cost carrier Skybus Airlines expressed interest in operating out of the airfield as it started operations in 2007. Due to Skybus folding and the Wright Amendment not fully repealing until 2014 this service will never happen.[1]
Current operations [edit]
Meacham is currently used for general aviation purposes. Several companies operate aircraft services on the airport property, including a division of the U.S. defense contractor Alliant Techsystems (ATK) and Texas Aviation Services [1]. An aviation museum (open weekends and by appointment during the week) is located in Hangar 33 on the airport's south side, at the end of Ellis Street. The terminal building houses several ATK employees, some Fort Worth city departments (mainly Aviation and Housing Development), a branch of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and several aviation related businesses. The Civil Air Patrol operates two squadrons at Meacham, the Fort Worth Senior Squadron, and the Phoenix Composite Squadron.
Destinations and Airlines [edit]
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Bombardier Business Jet Solutions | Dallas, Austin |
| Citationshares | Providence, Dallas |
| Netjets | Charlotte |
Other facilities [edit]
At one time Fort Worth Airlines had its headquarters on the property of the airport.[2]
References [edit]
- ^ The Airline News April 7, 2006
- ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. March 30, 1985. 83." "Meacham Field, Fort Worth, Texas, USA."
External links [edit]
- http://www.skymavs.com/
- http://www.skymavs.com/pilot-training
- Fort Worth Meacham International Airport
- Epic Helicopters LLC
- Civil Air Patrol, Phoenix Composite Squadron
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for KFTW
- ASN accident history for FTW
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KFTW
- FAA current FTW delay information
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