Lehigh Valley International Airport
| Lehigh Valley International Airport | |||
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IATA: ABE – ICAO: KABE – FAA LID: ABE
 ABE
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| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Owner | Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority | ||
| Serves | Lehigh Valley | ||
| Location | Allentown, Pennsylvania | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 393 ft / 120 m | ||
| Coordinates | 40°39′08.4″N 075°26′25.7″W / 40.652333°N 75.440472°W | ||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 6/24 | 7,600 | 2,316 | Asphalt |
| 13/31 | 5,797 | 1,767 | Asphalt |
| Statistics (2006) | |||
| Aircraft operations | 122,012 | ||
| Based aircraft | 117 | ||
| Sources: airport website[1] and FAA[2] | |||
Lehigh Valley International Airport (IATA: ABE, ICAO: KABE, FAA LID: ABE), formerly Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton International Airport, is a public airport in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.
The airport is located 3 miles (5 km) northeast of Allentown, in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania, the third most populated metropolitan region in the state (after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh).
It is owned and operated by the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority. In 2007, 847,256 people used the airport.[3]
In recent years, Lehigh Valley International Airport has encountered stiff competition from nearby airports such as Philadelphia International Airport (75 miles away) and Newark Liberty International Airport (80 miles away). These airports often offer a greater selection of flights and sometimes lower fares. This was exacerbated by the completion of the Pennsylvania extension of Interstate 78 in 1990, which allowed for a faster drive to Newark; and the opening of Interstate 476 in 1991 that made it easier to connect to Interstate 95 near Philadelphia.
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[edit] History
Allentown Airport opened in 1929 and is one of the very few in the nation that still serves its community from its original location. Scheduled airline service began on September 16, 1935 by United Airlines with Boeing 247 service. At the time, the airport hangar served as the passenger terminal. The first terminal building at the airport was built in 1938 as a Works Projects Administration (WPA) project.
During World War II the U. S. Navy V-5 flight training program was conducted at the airport in conjunction with ground training held at Muhlenberg College. In addition, Headquarters of Group 312 of the Civil Air Patrol was at Allentown-Bethlehem Airport. One of its activities was to provide a courier service for cargo defense plants. Allentown CAP pilots also patrolled the Atlantic coastline, and was active in recruiting young men for the air cadet program of the Army Air Force.
By January 1944, work on a new runway was completed and a Class A United States Weather Bureau station had been installed. About 1,000 Naval Aviation Cadets had been trained during 1943, and a large increase in the amount of civilian and military air traffic had occurred. In late July, the War Production Board approved the construction of a second story addition to the administration building. The building housed the Lehigh Aircraft Company, the weather bureau station, the Civil Aeronautic communications station, and the office and waiting room of United Air Lines. In August, the V-5 flight training program ended when the Navy decided to move all flight training to naval air bases under Navy pilots.
In the immediate postwar years, in April 1946, the Lehigh Airport Authority was created to own and manage the airport. This made the airport a public enterprise. 1948 saw the beginning of construction for a new passenger terminal, being finished in 1950. Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton (ABE) airport, as it was now called, also expanded passenger service by offering flights with United, Trans World Airlines (TWA), and Colonial airlines. DC-4 and DC-6 service was offered with the addition of 5,000 ft of runway.
Throughout the 1950s, both passenger service as well as air cargo service expanded at ABE. Eastern and Allegheny Airlines began service. In 1960, both Vice President Richard Nixon and Senator John F. Kennedy made campaign stops at ABE. Construction began in late 1972 for the new terminal, which was opened on December 14, 1975.
Today Lehigh Valley International Airport continues to serve the Lehigh Valley.
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Allentown PA Airport in the early 1930s before the addition of hard-surfaced runways.
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Naval pilot training graduation ceremony at the Allentown PA Airport - 1943
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Lehigh Valley International Airport before terminal expansion.
[edit] Facilities and aircraft
Lehigh Valley International Airport covers an area of 2,629 acres (1,064 ha) at an elevation of 393 feet (120 m) above mean sea level. It has two asphalt paved runways: 6/24 measuring 7,600 by 150 feet (2,316 x 46 m) and 13/31 measuring 5,797 by 150 feet (1,767 x 46 m).[2]
According to the official website, for the 12-month period ending December 31, 2010, the airport had 100,951 aircraft operations. Itinerant Operations include 35,333 general aviation, 18,994 Regional Airlines , 5,035 Major Airlines and 786 military. In addition another 40,803 were by local aircraft.
The local operations at the airport could increase dramatically if the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority sells the nearby 210 acre Allentown Queen City Municipal Airport. The agency needs money because it is required to pay developers $16 million in installments by 2015 to settle a legal dispute over a doomed residential project dating to the 1990s.[4]
[edit] Dining and Shopping
Lehigh Valley International Airport contains a number of restaurants: two Subway restaurants, one on the landside terminal and one on the airside terminal, a restaurant called the L.A. Cafe on the landside terminal, and a snack bar restaurant on the airside terminal. It has 2 Hudson News gift shops, one on the landside and one on the airside terminals, respectively.
[edit] Airlines and destinations
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Air Canada Jazz operated by Air Georgian | Toronto-Pearson |
| AirTran Airways | Orlando Seasonal: Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale [all end August 12, 2012] |
| Allegiant Air | Myrtle Beach, Orlando-Sanford, St. Petersburg/Clearwater |
| Delta Air Lines | Seasonal: Atlanta |
| Delta Connection operated by ExpressJet | Seasonal: Atlanta |
| Delta Connection operated by Pinnacle Airlines | Detroit |
| Direct Air operated by Xtra Airways | Seasonal: Fort Myers/Punta Gorda |
| United Airlines | Bus Service: Newark[5] |
| United Express operated by Colgan Air | Washington-Dulles |
| United Express operated by Expressjet | Chicago-O'Hare |
| United Express operated by SkyWest Airlines | Chicago-O'Hare |
| US Airways | Charlotte |
| US Airways Express operated by Air Wisconsin | Philadelphia |
| US Airways Express operated by Piedmont Airlines | Philadelphia |
| US Airways Express operated by PSA Airlines | Charlotte |
[edit] Statistics
| Rank | City | Passengers | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  O'Hare International Airport |
70,000 | United Express |
| 2 |  Charlotte Douglas International Airport |
62,000 | US Airways |
| 3 |  Orlando International Airport |
57,000 | AirTran |
| 4 |  Philadelphia International Airport |
47,000 | US Airways Express |
| 5 |  Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport |
46,000 | Delta Connection |
| 6 |  Washington Dulles International Airport |
34,000 | United Express |
| 7 |  Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport |
34,000 | Delta Connection |
| 8 | Orlando Sanford Airport |
27,000 | Allegiant Air |
| 9 | St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport |
19,000 | Allegiant Air |
| 10 | Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport |
9,000 | Air Tran (discontinued) |
[edit] Cargo
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| FedEx Express | Indianapolis, Memphis Seasonal: Manchester (NH) |
[edit] Incidents
On Sunday, November 16, 2008, US Airways Flight 4551, a US Airways Express deHavilland Dash-8 turboprop operated by Piedmont Airlines, took off from Lehigh Valley International Airport at 8:20am heading to Philadelphia International Airport, had to make an emergency landing. The flight crew indicated that the front nose gear had not come down, and the plane had to make a flyover the runway for confirmation. Of 35 passengers and 3 crew, there were no injuries.[7]
On Saturday, June 27, 2009, Allegiant Air Flight 746, a McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft made an emergency landing after flames were observed coming from the aircraft's left engine. The flight was bound for Orlando Sanford International Airport. During takeoff, one of the aircraft's tires had shredded and a piece of that tire was sucked into the engine, causing it to fail and momentarily catch on fire. The airliner landed safely minutes later with no injuries reported.[8]
[edit] References
- ^ Lehigh Valley International Airport, official website
- ^ a b FAA Airport Master Record for ABE (Form 5010 PDF), effective 2008-06-05
- ^ http://www.topix.net/content/trb/1514844050423993047825048859691193065044
- ^ "Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority urged to sell Queen City Airport". http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/breaking-news/index.ssf/2011/12/lehigh-northampton_airport_aut_6.html.
- ^ Karp, Gregory (May 4, 2010). "Airlines merger could halt bus flight". The Morning Call. http://articles.mcall.com/2010-05-04/news/all-a1_5airlines.7261946may04_1_continental-flight-continental-passengers-bus-service.. Archived 25 January 2011 at WebCite.
- ^ http://www.transtats.bts.gov/airports.asp?pn=1&Airport=ABE&carrier=FACTS
- ^ http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081116/ap_on_re_us/emergency_landing
- ^ "Plane makes emergency landing at Lehigh Valley International Airport". http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-a9_5plane.6944290jun28,0,6577708.story.
- Allentown 1762-1987 A 225-Year History, Volume Two, 1921-1987. Mahlon H. Hellerich, editor, Lehigh County Historical Society, 1987.
[edit] External links
- Lehigh Valley International Airport
- Pennsylvania Bureau of Aviation: Lehigh Valley International Airport
- FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective 12 January 2012
- FAA Terminal Procedures for ABE, effective 12 January 2012
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for KABE
- ASN accident history for ABE
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KABE
- FAA current ABE delay information
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