Grand Forks International Airport
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Coordinates: 47°56′57″N 097°10′34″W / 47.94917°N 97.17611°W
| Grand Forks International Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: GFK – ICAO: KGFK – FAA: GFK | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | Grand Forks Regional Airport Authority | ||
| Location | Grand Forks, North Dakota | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 845 ft / 258 m | ||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 9L/27R | 4,206 | 1,282 | Concrete |
| 17L/35R | 3,901 | 1,189 | Concrete |
| 17R/35L | 7,351 | 2,240 | Asphalt |
| Statistics (2006) | |||
| Aircraft operations | 224,942 | ||
| Sources: FAA[1] and airport web site[2] | |||
Grand Forks International Airport (IATA: GFK, ICAO: KGFK, FAA LID: GFK) is a public airport located five miles (8 km) northwest of the central business district of Grand Forks, a city in Grand Forks County, North Dakota, United States. GFK has no scheduled passenger airline service in or out of the country but receives its international title (like many other airports) because it has customs service available for general aviation aircraft arriving from Canada and other countries.
The airport, sometimes called Mark Andrews International Airport after Mark Andrews, a former U.S. House Representative and U.S. Senator from North Dakota, is owned by the Grand Forks Regional Airport Authority[1] and located on U.S. Highway 2, around four miles (6 km) west of Interstate 29.
In 2008, the airport's FAA control tower was the 50th busiest in the nation, with a total of 241,753 tower operations[3]. Approximately 90% of all airport operations at GFK are flights operated by the University of North Dakota's John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences which is based on the field.
Contents |
[edit] Facilities
[edit] Terminal
The current passenger terminal at GFK was built in 1964. Outside security the terminal has Northwest (however has been re-branded into Delta now) and Allegiant Airlines ticketing counters, a restaurant, a gift shop and a waiting area. After passing through security screening there is a small waiting area that serves the terminal's two passenger gates.
Recently there has been talk of upgrading or totally replacing the terminal as it has structural and safety problems and leaves little to no room for expansion. Findings from a study commissioned by the Grand Forks Regional Airport Authority were released in early 2005. The study, which was done by Ulteig Engineers, gave the Airport Authority options for the future of the passenger terminal.
One option is to keep the terminal as is and not perform any upgrades. The consulting group did not recommend this as the terminal has too many structural and safety problems. The list of problems include: mold growth, roof leakage, differential settlement, blocking runway line of sight, passenger boarding, potential equipment damage from basement flooding, outdated electrical and mechanical systems, no sprinkler system, code deficiencies, insufficient parking setback, and interior traffic circulation issues. The terminal could be rehabilitated for $18.3 million, however, that would leave many issues unresolved and leave no room for expansion.
The consulting group recommended that a brand new passenger terminal would the best solution to the current terminal's problems. Five locations for a new terminal were evaluated favoring a site between the cargo apron and general aviation apron. Building a new terminal here would cost an estimated $29 million for a terminal with surface parking. Adding a parking garage instead of a surface parking lot would cost approximately an extra $8.6 million.
Much of the price tag for a new passenger terminal would be eligible for federal funding, except for revenue generating parking areas. Even with the US government provided much of the required funding, the price tag for a new terminal is still quite high for a small airport like Grand Forks International. Another complication is the closing of the nearby landfill and construction of a fourth runway. Plans for a new runway would have to be completed before planning for a new terminal could begin due to environmental and safety regulations. The earliest a new terminal could be designed, funded, built and constructed by is estimated to be between 2010 and 2011.
[edit] Runways
Grand Forks International Airport covers an area of 1,618 acres (655 ha) which contains three runways:[1]
- Runway 9L/27R: 4,206 x 100 ft (1,282 x 30 m), Surface: Concrete
- Runway 17L/35R: 3,901 x 75 ft (1,189 x 23 m), Surface: Concrete
- Runway 17R/35L: 7,351 x 150 ft (2,241 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt
Due to the increased amount of general aviation traffic, primarily from the UND Aerospace flight training school, a fourth runway is currently under construction. Located in the southeastern portion of the airport, it will operate as a parallel East/West runway and be named 9R/27L. The previous runway 8/26 was renamed in October 2008 to 9L/27R in preparation for the new runway.
[edit] Aircraft
For the 12-month period ending December 31st, 2008, the airport had 241,459 aircraft operations, an average of 662 per day: 93% air taxi, 5% general aviation, 1% scheduled commercial and 1% military.[3]
[edit] GFK Flight Support
GFK Flight Support, the fixed base operator at the airport, began construction of a new $4.5 million dollar facility in September 2007. Completed in Fall 2008, this 45,000-square-foot (4,200 m2) facility increased GFK Flight Support's heated hangar and aircraft support space to 130,000 square feet (12,000 m2) making it the largest aircraft service center in North Dakota. The previous facilities are now used by wing of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, housing a number of government aircraft and helicopters. [4]
[edit] Airlines and destinations
Gates 1-2
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Delta Connection operated by Mesaba Airlines |
Devils Lake, Minneapolis/St. Paul |
| Delta Connection operated by Pinnacle Airlines |
Minneapolis/St. Paul |
| Northwest Airlines | Minneapolis/St. Paul |
| Allegiant Air | Las Vegas |
[edit] Cargo
- FedEx Express (Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Sioux Falls, Winnipeg)
- FedEx Feeder operated by Corporate Air (Minot, Bismarck, Dickinson, Williston, ND. Thief River Falls, Bemidji, MN)
- Suburban Air Freight (Bismarck)
- Alpine Air Express (Bismarck)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c FAA Airport Master Record for GFK (Form 5010 PDF), effective 2007-12-20
- ^ Grand Forks International Airport, official web site
- ^ a b FAA ATADS Report
- ^ "GFK Flight Support To Build State-Of-The-Art Corporate Jet Center". press release. Grand Forks International Airport. 2007-08-27. http://www.gfkairport.com/html/gfkfs.htm.
[edit] External links
- GFK Flight Support, the fixed base operator (FBO)
- FAA Airport Diagram(PDF), effective 2 July 2009
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for KGFK
- ASN accident history for GFK
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KGFK
- FAA current GFK delay information
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