McGhee Tyson Airport

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For the military use of this facility, see McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base. For the radio station formerly known as KTYS, see WBAP-FM.
McGhee Tyson Airport
McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base
McGhee Tyson Logo.png
IATA: TYS – ICAO: KTYS – FAA LID: TYS
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority
Serves Knoxville, Tennessee
Location Alcoa, Tennessee
Elevation AMSL 981 ft / 299 m
Coordinates 35°48′40″N 083°59′38″W / 35.81111°N 83.99389°W / 35.81111; -83.99389Coordinates: 35°48′40″N 083°59′38″W / 35.81111°N 83.99389°W / 35.81111; -83.99389
Website www.TYS.org
Map
TYS is located in Tennessee
TYS
Location of airport in Tennessee
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
5L/23R 9,005 2,745 Concrete
5R/23L 9,000 2,743 Asphalt
Statistics (2012)
Aircraft operations 101,779
Based aircraft 167
Passengers (2011) 1,688,882
Sources: FAA,[1] Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority[2]
Northwest Airlines ticket counter.
AirTran at McGhee Tyson Airport

McGhee Tyson Airport (IATA: TYS[3], ICAO: KTYS, FAA LID: TYS) is a public and military use airport serving the Knoxville metropolitan area. It is located 10 nautical miles (12 mi, 19 km) south of the central business district of Knoxville,[1] in Alcoa, Blount County, Tennessee, United States. It is named for United States Navy pilot Charles McGhee Tyson, lost on patrol in World War I.[4]

Owned by the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority,[1] it has commercial service is provided by several major airlines and connection carriers. The airport employs approximately 2,700 individuals.[5] It is a 30-minute commute to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.[6]

This airport is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a primary commercial service airport since it has over 10,000 passenger boardings (enplanements) per year.[7] As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 841,237 enplanements in 2011, an increase of 4.51% from 804,917 in 2010.[8]

The airport also serves as the home of McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, an air base for the 134th Air Refueling Wing (134 ARW) of the Tennessee Air National Guard.

Contents

History [edit]

In 1927 McGhee Tyson airport was opened in honor of Charles McGhee Tyson. Originally the airport was on a 60 acre stretch of land in West Knoxville. In 1935 the city purchased 351 acres of land in Blount County for development of the current airport. The land was being purchased for the development of a facility that would be used for air carrier traffic. The airport has constantly making improvements to it since the first terminal was built. In 1941 the city constructed a new air traffic control tower on the airport. Two years later the airport continued the development of with two 5,000-foot (1,500 m) runways.

The continued development of TYS helped the City of Alcoa diversify its economy and gain its economic independence from what is today Alcoa Inc., the world's third largest producer of aluminum.[9] Alcoa Inc. constructed one of its production plants in Alcoa due to the tributaries of the Little River which were utilized as a hydroelectric energy source for the production of aluminum [9]

In 1951 the United States Air Force constructed several facilities on the field along with a 7,500-foot (2,300 m) runway. The Federal aviation administration (FAA) added an Instrument Landing System to runways 4L and 22R in 1959. Then in 1961 the runway was lengthened again to its current length of 9,000 feet (2,700 m). The Tennessee Air National Guard financed the project. In 1968 McGhee Tyson constructed a new air cargo facility. Almost a decade after the new air cargo facility was built one of the first major construction projects was completed with a new passenger terminal facility in 1974. Four years later the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority (MKAA) was established, and the airport authority had the two parallel runways redesigned to become 5R and 23L and 5L and 23R in 1985.

In 1990 runway 5R and 23L was reconstructed to its current a length of 9,000 feet. The airport authority constructed a new air cargo facility in 1992. The Air Cargo Complex provided a 21-acre facility for Federal Express, UPS and Airborne Express the carriers were provided with building designs to meet their needs. 90 percent of the total air cargo operations at the Airport are operated between UPS and Federal Express. The total cost of the project was an estimated at $9.3 million. The new air cargo facility is located on the northern side of the air facility.

In 2000, construction was completed on the last major construction project with improvements to the passenger terminal. The cost of the project was $70 million dollars. The improvements, designed by HNTB,[10] included two new concourses, 12 new gates, ticket counters, and a Ruby Tuesday restaurant. Currently, 11 gates are in use, with gate 6 being the only one not in service.[11] In 2002, an aircraft maintenance facility was built for Northwest Airlines, serving as their primary CRJ MRO facility.[12] ExpressJet Airlines has also built a heavy maintenance hangar near the air cargo facilities for its fleet. In June 2009, a new food court was completed, featuring Starbucks, Quiznos, Cinnabon, and Zia locations.[13] The Zia location was replaced in April 2013 with an Uno Express Pizza.[14]

Air National Guard Base [edit]

Main article: McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base

The 134 ARW, which is operationally gained by the Air Mobility Command (AMC), operates KC-135R Stratotankers for both air mobility and aerial refueling of military aircraft. McGhee Tyson ANGB is also home to the I.G. Brown Air National Guard Training and Education Center and the former home of the Air National Guard's Academy of Military Science (AMS). Similar to U.S. Air Force (USAF) Officer Training School (OTS), AMS is an alternate commissioning source for USAF officers who are directly inputted into various units of the Air National Guard throughout the United States.[15][16]

Facilities and aircraft [edit]

McGhee Tyson Airport covers an area of 2,250 acres (911 ha) at an elevation of 981 feet (299 m) above mean sea level. It has two runways: 5L/23R is 9,005 by 150 feet (2,745 x 46 m) with a concrete surface and 5R/23L is 9,000 by 150 feet (2,743 x 46 m) with an asphalt surface.[1]

The fixed base operator (FBO) for the general aviation facility is TAC Air (formerly Knoxair and Cherokee Aviation).

For the 12-month period ending March 31, 2012, the airport had 101,779 aircraft operations, an average of 278 per day: 40% general aviation, 31% air taxi, 20% military, and 9% scheduled commercial. At that time there were 167 aircraft based at this airport: 35% single-engine, 25% multi-engine, 21% military, 18% jet, and 1% helicopter.[1]

Airport terminal layout [edit]

McGhee Tyson Airport has two levels. The top level is accessed via the curbside drop off and the parking garage. The top level is used for ticket counters, security, gates, restaurants, and shops. It is designed with a Smoky Mountain theme, complete with faux waterfalls and wood carvings of bears. The bottom level is used for car rental counters, two baggage claims, and airline offices.

Airlines and destinations [edit]

The following airlines offer scheduled passenger service:

Airlines Destinations
Allegiant Air Fort Lauderdale, Orlando-Sanford, St. Petersburg /Clearwater (FL), Fort Myers/Punta Gorda
American Eagle Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth
Delta Air Lines Atlanta
Delta Connection operated by ExpressJet Atlanta
Delta Connection operated by Pinnacle Airlines Atlanta, Detroit, Memphis, New York-LaGuardia
Delta Connection operated by SkyWest Airlines Seasonal: Minneapolis/St. Paul
Frontier Airlines Seasonal: Denver
United Express operated by ExpressJet Chicago-O'Hare, Denver, Houston Intercontinental, Newark, Washington-Dulles
United Express operated by SkyWest Airlines Chicago-O'Hare, Denver
US Airways Express operated by PSA Airlines Charlotte, Philadelphia, Washington-National

Statistics [edit]

Carrier shares for October 2011 – September 2012[17]
Carrier   Passengers (arriving and departing)
ExpressJet
385,000(22.71%)
PSA
326,000(19.26%)
Pinnacle
284,000(16.77%)
American Eagle
201,000(11.87%)
Allegiant
194,000(11.44%)
Other
304,000(17.96%)
Top domestic destinations (October 2011 – September 2012)[17]
Rank City Airport Passengers
1 Atlanta, GA Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) 185,170
2 Charlotte, NC Charlotte/Douglas International (CLT) 114,750
3 Chicago, IL O'Hare International (ORD) 99,260
4 Dallas/Fort Worth, TX Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) 53,000
5 Detroit, MI Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County (DTW) 44,200
6 Memphis, TN Memphis International (MEM) 43,030
9 Houston, TX George Bush Intercontinental (IAH) 39,610
8 Denver, CO Denver International (DEN) 39,000
9 Washington, D.C. / Virginia Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA) 30,730
10 Sanford, FL Orlando-Sanford International (SFB) 30,070

Cargo airlines [edit]

Incidents [edit]

  • On August 6, 1962, an American Airlines Lockheed L-188 Electra veered off the runway on landing, striking the raised edge of an under-construction taxiway with the landing gear, causing it to collapse. All 72 passengers and crew survived.
  • On March 12, 1992, a USAir Express Jetstream 31 crashed on landing after the pilot failed to lower the landing gear. There were no passengers aboard, however the 2 crew members were killed.[18]

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e FAA Airport Master Record for TYS (Form 5010 PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. Effective November 15, 2012.
  2. ^ "McGhee Tyson Airport, December 2010" (PDF). December 2010. 
  3. ^ "IATA Airport Code Search (TYS: Knoxville / McGhee Tyson)". International Air Transport Association. Retrieved December 27, 2012. 
  4. ^ "History of the Airport". McGhee Tyson Airport. Archived from the original on May 13, 2008. 
  5. ^ "About McGhee Tyson Airport". Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority. 
  6. ^ City of Alcoa, official website
  7. ^ "2011–2015 NPIAS Report, Appendix A" (PDF, 2.03 MB). National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2010. 
  8. ^ "Enplanements for CY 2011" (PDF, 1.7 MB). CY 2011 Passenger Boarding and All-Cargo Data. Federal Aviation Administration. October 9, 2012. 
  9. ^ a b City of Alcoa, TN
  10. ^ "McGhee Tyson Airport Renovation". HNTB.com. 
  11. ^ "Knoxville McGhee Tyson Airport". KAYAK.com. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. 
  12. ^ "Investor Relations - Corporate Profile". Pinnacle Airlines Corp. 
  13. ^ Marcum, Ed (June 6, 2009). "Airport's food court opens". Knoxville News Sentinel. 
  14. ^ "Uno Express Pizza Opens". April 12, 2013. 
  15. ^ Pike, John. "McGhee-Tyson ANGB". GlobalSecurity.org. 
  16. ^ "McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base". Archived from the original on February 5, 2007. 
  17. ^ a b "Knoxville, TN: McGhee Tyson (TYS)". Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), U.S. Department of Transportation. September 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2013. 
  18. ^ "Knoxville-McGhee Tyson Airport". Aviation Safety Network. 

External links [edit]

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=McGhee_Tyson_Airport&oldid=551851421"