Huntsville International Airport

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For the airport in Huntsville, Texas, see Huntsville Regional Airport.
Huntsville International Airport
Carl T. Jones Field
Huntsville International Airport.svg
Huntsville International Airport.jpg
FAA Official Diagram
IATA: HSV – ICAO: KHSV – FAA LID: HSV
HSV is located in Alabama
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HSV
Location of the Airport in Alabama
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner Huntsville / Madison County Airport Authority
Location 1000 Glenn Hearn Boulevard Huntsville, Alabama
Elevation AMSL 629 ft / 192 m
Coordinates 34°38′14″N 086°46′30″W / 34.63722°N 86.775°W / 34.63722; -86.775
Website www.hsvairport.org/hia/
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
18L/36R 10,006 3,050 Asphalt
18R/36L 12,600 3,840 Asphalt
Statistics (2009)
Aircraft operations 61,200
Based aircraft 87
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

Huntsville International Airport (IATA: HSV, ICAO: KHSV, FAA LID: HSV), also known as Carl T. Jones Field, is an airport located 9 miles (14 km) southwest of the central business district of Huntsville, a city in Madison County, Alabama, United States.[1] The airport is a part of the Port of Huntsville (along with the International Intermodal Center and Jetplex Industrial Park), and serves the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. Opened October 1967, this became the third airport site for Huntsville.[2] Today, it has a single straightforward layout with 12 gates and features restrooms, shops, restaurants, phones and large murals depicting various aviation and space exploration scenes. There is a Four Points by Sheraton above the ticketing area/lobby, and adjacent to the terminal is a parking garage and to opposite sides are the control tower and a golf course. The airport's west runway, at 12,600 ft (3,800 m), is the second longest in the Southeastern United States, being just 400 ft shorter than the international runway at Miami International Airport.

The airport's "Fly Huntsville" custom jingle encourages passengers to depart directly from Huntsville instead of driving to Birmingham or Nashville.[3] However, a hesitancy by locals to fly from HSV may be understandable, as an August 2009 report by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics covering the first quarter of 2009 revealed that Huntsville passengers paid, on average, the highest airfares in the United States.[4] The airport reported that commercial airline passenger traffic at Huntsville International increased 2.3 percent in January 2010 over the same period one year before.[5]

Contents

[edit] Airlines and destinations

Huntsville International Airport is served by seven airlines representing all three international airline alliances.

Airlines Destinations
AirTran Airways Baltimore, Orlando [all end August 12, 2012]
American Airlines Dallas/Fort Worth
American Eagle Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth
Delta Air Lines Atlanta
Delta Connection operated by ExpressJet Atlanta, Memphis
Delta Connection operated by Pinnacle Airlines Atlanta, Detroit, Memphis
United Express operated by ExpressJet Chicago-O'Hare, Houston-Intercontinental, Washington-Dulles
United Express operated by SkyWest Airlines Chicago-O'Hare, Denver
United Express operated by Trans States Airlines Chicago-O'Hare
US Airways Express operated by Air Wisconsin Charlotte, Washington-National
US Airways Express operated by PSA Airlines Charlotte
US Airways Express operated by Republic Airlines Washington-National

[edit] Cargo

Huntsville International is the largest airport in Alabama in terms of cargo transport. Huntsville features daily cargo service to Europe, and frequent service to Mexico and Hong Kong. It is therefore the only true international airport in the state. These airlines have Huntsville operations:

[edit] Expansion

In 1989, Huntsville International became the first airport in the United States to install an ASR-9 dual-channel airport surveillance radar system.[6]

Currently, Huntsville International is undergoing major renovations of the concourse facilities, which will add:[7]

  • A $60 million terminal expansion (under construction)
  • A new 219 ft (67 m) tall control tower (completed in 2007, opened May 4, 2008)
  • An expanded 5,000 sq ft (460 m2) concession area on concourse (opened April 12, 2008)
  • Upgraded flight information display systems at gates & parking areas (completed in 2007)
  • A parking deck expansion with 1,330 additional parking spaces (completed in December 2008)
  • An enlarged 20,000 sq ft (1,900 m2) public waiting and security screening area (completed in June 2009)
  • An expansion on the west runway, making it the second longest in the southeast (completed in 2006)
  • A new taxiway between both runways with a 269 ft (82 m) tunnel running underneath (under construction)
  • A new air cargo building at the International Intermodal Center, which will include about 92,000 square feet (8,500 m2) (completed in February 2009)
  • Security system improvement (completed in October 2008)
  • Taxiway "L" between the airport's east and west runways (completed in October 2008)
  • Dirt work on a new Jetplex Industrial Park north access road linking the airport's entrance to Wall Triana Highway (completed in July 2008)
  • AirTran started servicing HSV with direct flights to Orlando in May, 2010, and to Baltimore in June, 2010.

Also, plans are underway for another terminal area, added runways, and the lengthening of the two current runways.

[edit] Accidents and incidents

October 17, 1965
A Douglas DC-6 operated by United Airlines crashed while attempting to takeoff at Huntsville. While the plane was accelerating down the runway, the pilots pulled the nose up too early and retracted the front landing gear. The aircraft sank back laying the front of the fuselage on the runway. The pilots retarted the throttle and the plane stopped 272 feet (83 m) past the runway end.[8]
April 4, 1977
Southern Airways Flight 242, left Huntsville bound for Atlanta but crashed near Rome, Georgia. The Douglas DC-9 operated by Southern Airways entered a severe thunderstorm causing both engines to fail, the pilots attempted an emergency landing on State Highway 92 in Georgia but crashed, killing 63 people on the plane and 9 on the ground.
December 11, 1991
A Beechcraft Beechjet 400A crashed into Mount Lavendar after taking off from Rome, Georgia, to Huntsville. The aircraft crashed after entering a mountainous terrain with low visibility.[9]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b FAA Airport Master Record for HSV (Form 5010 PDF), retrieved 02/13/2010
  2. ^ Freeman, Paul. "Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: Alabama: Huntsville area". http://members.tripod.com/airfields_freeman/AL/Airfields_AL_Huntsville.htm. Retrieved December 25, 2011. 
  3. ^ Baskas, Harriet (March 12, 2008). "Better branding through music: Original airport theme songs". USA Today. http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/story?id=4432530&page=1. 
  4. ^ Associated Press (August 4, 2009). "Flights from Huntsville ranked most expensive". WAAY-TV. http://www.waaytv.com/Global/story.asp?S=10843985. 
  5. ^ Clines, Keith (February 10, 2010). "Passenger traffic at airport starts to climb". The Huntsville Times. http://www.al.com/business/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/business/1265796917224280.xml&coll=1. 
  6. ^ "Huntsville airport gets new radar system". The Tuscaloosa News: p. 7. May 12, 1989. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ljodAAAAIBAJ&sjid=E6YEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4768,4592434&dq=huntsville-international-airport&hl=en. 
  7. ^ AL.com
  8. ^ "Accident Description". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19651017-3. Retrieved December 25, 2011. 
  9. ^ "Accident Description". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19911211-0. Retrieved December 25, 2011. 

[edit] External links

North Alabama, United States landmarks
Huntsville area
Decatur area
Florence area
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