Greater Rochester International Airport
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2012) |
| Greater Rochester International Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||
 |
|||
IATA: ROC – ICAO: KROC – FAA LID: ROC
 ROC
|
|||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Owner | County of Monroe | ||
| Serves | Rochester, New York | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 559 ft / 170 m | ||
| Coordinates | 43°07′08″N 077°40′21″W / 43.11889°N 77.67250°W | ||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 4/22 | 8,001 | 2,439 | Concrete |
| 7/25 | 4,000 | 1,219 | Asphalt |
| 10/28 | 6,401 | 1,951 | Asphalt |
| Statistics (2006, 2010) | |||
| Aircraft operations (2006) | 137,601 | ||
| Based aircraft (2006) | 94 | ||
| Passengers (2010) | 2,533,834 | ||
| Sources: airport website[1] and FAA,[2] ACI[3] | |||
Greater Rochester International Airport (IATA: ROC, ICAO: KROC, FAA LID: ROC) is a county-owned public-use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) southwest of the central business district of Rochester, a city in Monroe County, New York, United States.[2] It serves as the major airport of the metro area known as Greater Rochester (composed by the city of Rochester and the counties of Monroe, Ontario, Livingston, Orleans and Wayne). The airport is owned and operated by Monroe County. The largest airline at the airport is Delta Air Lines. The airport is also home to the 642nd Aviation Support Battalion, part of the 42nd Infantry Division (United States).
Contents |
History [edit]
Early History [edit]
 |
This section does not cite any references or sources. (May 2012) |
The first developments of the Greater Rochester International Airport began in 1927, with the construction of Hangar No. 1 on a patch of land south of Rochester on Scottsville Road. At the time the airport was named Britton Field. This same year, the first scheduled passenger flights between New York City and Rochester were made. In 1928, the name of the field was changed to Rochester Municipal Airport and additional construction was completed, including improvements to the runways and drainage system, and the building of Hangar No. 2. As a result of the First and Second World Wars the airport saw a period of great expansion as passenger volume, frequency of scheduled flights, and civilian pilot training greatly increased. Also, a cadet flight training school, with nearly 1,000 students, was created.
On January 1, 1948 Monroe County took possession and control of the airport. The county made numerous improvements to the facility, including the construction of an instrumental runway measuring 5000 feet, an extension of the north-south runway from 2,670 ft to 5000 ft, and the building of administration facilities on Brooks Avenue.
1953–1992 Terminal [edit]
A new red-brick, single-level passenger terminal was opened on Brooks Avenue in 1953. It was expanded substantially in 1963, and expanded again in 1978 and 1980. The building had only one floor, until a small second floor was added for administrative offices as part of the 1980 expansion. At this time the airport was called the "Rochester Monroe County Airport."
After the 1963 expansion gave it its final configuration, the terminal had ten gates in two concourses. A small three-gate concourse at the east end served American Airlines, and a longer, angled concourse at the west end served Mohawk Airlines (four gates on the east side) and United Airlines (three gates on the west side).
Jet service was initiated at ROC in 1965 by American Airlines, who introduced the Boeing 727. However, the airport's two longest runways, 10-28 (5500 feet) and 1-19 (5,000 feet) were of less than ideal length for jet aircraft. In 1967 Monroe County built the airport's longest runway, the NE-to-SW-angled 4-22. It was originally completed at 7,000 feet and extended in 1969 to its length of 8,000 feet. 10-28 remains the airport's crosswind runway. Runway 7-25, 4000 feet long, is useful for propeller general aviation aircraft.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, there was discussion of building a common Rochester-Buffalo airport in southeastern Niagara County, which would have taken over passenger traffic from Rochester-Monroe County and Greater Buffalo International airports. This airport was never built.
The terminal's first jetways were added to gates 1 and 3 by American in 1977. As part of the 1978 expansion, new lounge space was built for Allegheny Airlines (successor to Mohawk) with three jetways. In about 1986 the airline (by then renamed USAir) added a fourth jetway. The 1980 expansion included two new lounge areas for United, each of which had one jetway. In 1987, Piedmont Airlines, which had taken over the United lounge closest to the terminal, added a second jetway to it. In about 1985, USAir built an expansion to the end of the main concourse to house a USAir Club.
The large new low-fare carrier Peoplexpress Airlines arrived at the airport in 1985. There was not room for them inside the terminal. A small ticket counter was built in office space in the northwest corner of the terminal, and a wooden peaked-roof shed was built on to house their outbound-baggage area, departure lounge, and baggage claim. No jetway was added. People's effect on fares was dramatic; ROC's enplanements increased 38% in 1985. When Continental Airlines took People over in 1987, they moved operations into the main terminal and shared gate space with American. The shed was removed.
In the mid-1980s, Monroe County Legislator Van Buren N. Hansford, Sr. (R-Pittsford) introduced successful legislation to have the airport's name changed to "Greater Rochester International Airport."
1988–1992 Expansion Project: New Terminal [edit]
The terminal was outgrown by the mid-1980s, and debate began about expanding the airport. In 1985, the administration of Monroe County Executive Lucien A. Morin (R) proposed a complicated terminal expansion that would have had baggage claim carousels across the driveway in a separate building, which tugs would have reached by a tunnel, and passengers would have reached by second-floor bridge corridors.
The County got as far as building temporary parking lots to the west and closing the main parking lots to begin construction on a garage. However, in 1988 the new County Executive, Thomas R. Frey (D) and the County Legislature had doubts about the cost of the project, and it was abandoned without any construction having taken place.
In 1988, Monroe County approved a $109 million plan to replace the terminal with an entirely new two-level facility with a second-level approach road and parking garage. The new facilities were built in stages on the exact site, between 1989 and 1992 and designed by HNTB and built by Wilmorite, Inc.[4] Ticketing and departures are on the second floor, and baggage claim is on the first floor. The County Legislature authorized the creation of a "Monroe County Airport Authority" to issue the bonds for the construction.
This terminal has two angled concourses, each with 11 gates. Gate assignments are listed below. The eastern or B concourse opened in summer 1990. The eastern half of the main terminal opened in 1991. The western half of the main terminal, western or A concourse, and garage, all opened in 1992. A series of temporary prefabricated buildings were used to provide gate space and baggage claim space during the construction.
By the end of the 1980s, The New York Air National Guard constructed a small hangar and office facility, and apron space, on the south side of the airport near the control tower. This facility has since been expanded.
2006–2010 Renovations and Additions [edit]
In 2006, Monroe County consolidated the separate security checkpoints at each concourse, to one central security checkpoint. Monroe County argued that this arrangement, although it would close the terminal's large concessions atrium and airfield views to non passengers, would be more efficient and save money.[5] The county replaced the lost public airfield view with a new viewing area at the west end of the terminal.
In 2008, renovations were undertaken to replace floors, carpets, and seating in the concourses, move explosives-scanning equipment from the ticketing lobby to the outbound baggage room, and replace 't' shaped baggage claim carousels with 360-degree walk-around carousels which receive luggage from belts through the ceiling. By late 2009 these projects were completed.
In January 2009, the airport began work on an extension of the three-story parking garage to the west. By early 2010, that project was completed.
Airfield [edit]
Greater Rochester International Airport covers an area of 1,136 acres (460 ha) at an elevation of 559 feet (170 m) above mean sea level. It has three runways:[2]
- Runway 4/22: 8,001 x 140 ft. (2,439 x 43 m), Surface: Concrete
- Runway 7/25: 4,000 x 100 ft. (1,219 x 30 m), Surface: Asphalt
- Runway 10/28: 6,000 x 150 ft. (1,676 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt
All of the airports runways are equipped with a Category II Instrument Landing System (ILS)
In 2008, the airport completed a project to put two service roads around the end of Runway 28, near Interstate 390, in tunnels. The ground was graded upwards beyond the end of the runway to cover the tunnels. Earlier in the decade, a 500-foot (150 m) overrun area was added to the east (10) end of this runway. An Engineered materials arrestor system (EMAS) of about 200 feet (61 m) was added to this extension. The EMAS consists of soft rubberized concrete into which an overrunning aircraft's wheels can sink, and the aircraft ostensibly be stopped safely before it veers onto the grass.
In 2011, runway 10/28 was expanded to handle the airport's MD88, 717, and 737-300, 737-700 traffic. Runway 4/22 is in debate of an expansion to 9,500 feet (2,900 m).
Movements [edit]
For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2006, the airport had 137,601 aircraft operations, an average of 376 per day: 43% general aviation, 34% air taxi, 21% scheduled commercial and 3% military. At that time there were 94 aircraft based at this airport: 68% single-engine, 17% multi-engine and 15% jet.[2]
Terminals, airlines, and destinations [edit]
Greater Rochester International Airport consists of two passenger concourses: Concourse A (also called Frederick Douglass Concourse) with gates A1-A11, and Concourse B (also known as Susan B. Anthony Concourse) with gates B1,B2, B2A, B3-B10.
Airlines and destinations [edit]
Service by AirTran Airways ceased in April 2013, and was replaced by Southwest Airlines, its parent.
Statistics [edit]
| Rank | City | Passengers | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlanta, Georgia | 223,000 | AirTran, Delta |
| 2 (tie) | New York-JFK | 174,000 | Delta, JetBlue |
| 2 (tie) | Chicago, Illinois | 174,000 | American, United |
| 4 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 78,000 | US Airways |
| 5 | Baltimore, Maryland | 72,000 | AirTran |
| 6 | Detroit, Michigan | 65,000 | Delta |
| 7 | Washington (Dulles), Virginia | 61,000 | United |
| 8 | New York-LGA | 58,000 | Delta |
| 9 (tie) | Newark, New Jersey | 50,000 | United |
| 9 (tie) | Charlotte, North Carolina | 50,000 | US Airways |
Cargo [edit]
Greater Rochester International Airport has a cargo terminal in the northwest corner of the airfield. The terminal is operated by USAirports. This terminal consists of three cargo buildings, two hangars, and USAirports' three-story headquarters administrative building. The company was founded in Rochester in the 1980s as Airport Systems and later changed its name to USAirports. The company operates cargo terminals at several airports in the United States.
This cargo terminal handles:
- Air Transport International operates Boeing 757 for DHL
- Other non-FedEx cargo carriers.
Federal Express operates its own cargo terminal on the southern border of the airport on Scottsville Road. It handles:
- FedEx Express (Usually operates MD-10s into ROC, but may substitute for an Airbus A300-600)
- FedEx Feeder operated by Wiggins Airways (Flies Cessna Caravans into ROC)
General aviation [edit]
The airport has a number of flying clubs and a fixed base operator for general aviation flights.
Incidents [edit]
- Mohawk Airlines Flight 121 crashed July 2, 1963, killing 7 people and injuring 36.
- Air Canada flight 7405 destined for Toronto Pearson International Airport was called back over suspicion about a Sri Lankan couple carrying fake passports on July 19, 2006
- An American Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-10 skidded off of Runway 22 during landing, onto snowy, muddy grass, during the winter of 1972/1973. The aircraft had to be towed out of the mud and was moved to the terminal.
- Allegheny Airlines Flight 453 crash-landed on July 9, 1978, while arriving from Boston Logan International Airport. The BAC-111 aircraft was carrying 77 people. According to the NTSB report, the flight landed on Runway 28 at too high a speed, but with sufficient performance capability to reject the landing. The pilots chose to continue the landing, the aircraft skidded off the end of the runway, and its landing gear were sheared off by a ditch. There were no fatalities. The aircraft was written off.
- Delta Air Lines Flight 1907, a McDonnell Douglas MD-88 from Rochester to Atlanta on October 11, 2009 had to make a return to Rochester after take off from runway 22, due to an engine failure. 12 minutes later, the aircraft made a safe landing back on runway 22. Once the aircraft landed, the FAA made a statement that after take off, the aircraft hit a fleet of geese, which caused the engine failure. All 149 passengers and crew landed safely with no injuries.
- At 11:37pm On February 22, 2012, United Express flight 3350, an ERJ-145 operated by Trans States Airlines, arrived from Chicago O'Hare and skidded off the end of Runway 22 after landing. There was a heavy snowfall passing through the Rochester region around the time of this incident. No damage to the aircraft or injuries were reported and the FAA was at the scene investigating the cause of the overrun. The main runway (4/22) was closed until the aircraft was towed from the overrun area around 4:30 a.m. Due to the incident, two flights had to be diverted including American Eagle flight #3960, also from Chicago, which diverted into Pittsburgh and eventually arrived in Rochester at 2:27am. JetBlue Airways Flight #30 from New York-JFK also diverted to Syracuse Hancock International Airport where the passengers and crew spent the night before landing in Rochester at 9:48am the next day.
References [edit]
- ^ Greater Rochester International Airport, official site
- ^ a b c d FAA Airport Master Record for ROC (Form 5010 PDF), effective 2008-06-05
- ^ 2010 North American final rankings
- ^ Greater Rochester International Airport - Wilmorite: Portfolio
- ^ http://www.monroecounty.gov/p/gria-Newsletter01.pdf. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ^ "Rochester, NY: Greater Rochester International (ROC)". Bureau of Transportation Statistics. November 2011.
External links [edit]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Greater Rochester International Airport |
- New York State DOT Airport Diagram PDF
- FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective May 2, 2013
- FAA Terminal Procedures for ROC, effective May 2, 2013
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for KROC
- ASN accident history for ROC
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KROC
- FAA current ROC delay information
- Rochester Wiki Airport Page
- Monroe County Airport Professional Firefighters - IAFF Local 1636
- KROC Airport Spotter's YouTube Page
