Memphis International Airport
| Memphis International Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||
| IATA: MEM – ICAO: KMEM – FAA LID: MEM | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Owner/Operator | Memphis–Shelby County Airport Authority | ||
| Serves | Memphis, Tennessee | ||
| Hub for | |||
| Elevation AMSL | 341 ft / 104 m | ||
| Coordinates | 35°02′33″N 089°58′36″W / 35.04250°N 89.97667°WCoordinates: 35°02′33″N 089°58′36″W / 35.04250°N 89.97667°W | ||
| Website | |||
| Maps | |||
 |
|||
 MEM
|
|||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 18C/36C | 11,120 | 3,389 | Concrete |
| 18L/36R | 9,000 | 2,743 | Concrete |
| 18R/36L | 9,320 | 2,841 | Concrete |
| 9/27 | 8,946 | 2,727 | Asphalt |
| Statistics (2009, 2011) | |||
| Aircraft operations (2009) | 349,448 | ||
| Based aircraft (2009) | 64 | ||
| Passengers (FY 2012) | 7,874,888 | ||
| Sources: FAA[1] & airport website[2] | |||
Memphis International Airport (IATA: MEM, ICAO: KMEM, FAA LID: MEM) is a civil-military airport seven miles (11.2 km) southeast of downtown Memphis, in Shelby County, Tennessee.
Memphis International Airport is home to the FedEx Express global "SuperHub", which processes many of their packages.[3] Nonstop FedEx destinations from Memphis include scores of cities across the continental U.S., plus Anchorage and Honolulu, as well as numerous Canadian, Mexican, and Caribbean cities. Intercontinental nonstops include: Cologne, Dubai, Paris, London, São Paulo (Campinas), Seoul and Tokyo. The airport has had aspirations to become an Airport City and aerotropolis.[4]
From 1993 to 2009 Memphis had the largest cargo operations of any airport worldwide. Memphis International Airport fell into second position in 2010, behind Hong Kong; it remained the busiest cargo airport in the United States. Major national and international distribution facilities for Flextronics, Hewlett-Packard, Nike, Sharp and many others have located in Memphis largely to be near the FedEx hub.[5]
Memphis is a hub for Delta Air Lines, with routes to cities across the United States. Memphis is the 41st busiest US airport by enplanements with 4,344,231 passengers using the airport in 2011, a 11.9% decrease from the previous year. Delta Air Lines has reduced flights at Memphis by 65% since its 2008 merger with Northwest Airlines. As of January 2013 Delta will reduce its flights at Memphis to an average of 94 per day, with 20 flights on Saturdays.[6]
Memphis was named the most expensive US airport to fly out of in late 2011, with an average fare of $476.22.[7]
Contents |
History [edit]
Memphis Municipal Airport opened on a 200-acre (81 ha) plot of farmland just over seven miles (10 km) from downtown Memphis. During its early years the airport had three hangars and an unpaved runway; passenger and air mail service was provided by American Airlines and Chicago and Southern Air Lines (acquired by Delta Air Lines in 1953). In 1939 Eastern Air Lines arrived; that March Eastern had one departure a day to Muscle Shoals and beyond, American had four east/west and C&S had four north/south.
During World War II the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command 4th Ferrying Group used Memphis while sending new aircraft overseas. In April 1951 the runways were 6000-ft 2/20, 6530-ft 9/27, 4370-ft 14/32 and 4950-ft 17/35 (the airport was all north of Winchester Rd during the 1950s-- 1956 airport diagram)
The April 1957 OAG shows 64 weekday departures: 25 on Delta, 18 American, 7 Southern, 5 Eastern, 4 Braniff, 3 Trans-Texas and 2 Capital. Nonstop flights didn't reach beyond Chicago, Washington DC, Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston and Ft Worth. The first scheduled jets were Delta 880s ORD-MEM-MSY and back, starting in July–August 1960; nonstops to LAX began in 1964 and to New York in 1965.
The current terminal was designed by Mann & Harrover and cost $6.5 million. It opened on June 7, 1963 and Memphis Municipal changed its name to Memphis International in 1969, but the airport had no non-stop international routes until 1985-86 when Republic Airlines began flights to Mexico. The terminal was expanded for $31.6 million in 1974, adding two new concourses and extending the others, which were designed by Roy P. Harrover & Associates.[8] The airport had no non-stop inter-continental flights until 1995 when KLM began service to Amsterdam. Flights to Amsterdam ended on September 3, 2012, part of Delta's cutback in Memphis,[9] so Cancun, Mexico is the only international passenger destination from Memphis, operated seasonally by Delta.
Southern Airways was an important regional carrier at Memphis in the 1960s; it merged into Republic Airlines in 1979. Republic established Memphis as a hub in 1985 before merging into Northwest Airlines in 1986.[10] In 2008 Delta Air Lines bought Northwest.
Federal Express (now FedEx Express) began operations in Memphis in 1973. It opened its current "SuperHub" facility on the north side of the airport in 1981.
In 2008 the airport began expanding its control tower and parking garages. The new tower cost $72.6 million and is 336 feet tall, more than double the old tower height. Upon completion in 2011 it was the third-tallest control tower in the United States [11] An $81 million, 7-story parking garage is under construction replacing two surface lots and adding 6,500 parking spaces. $11 million was spent on a covered moving walkway between the garages and the terminal.[12]
Since 2009 the airport has been a small hub for small regional airline, SeaPort Airlines which has single-engine flights to communities in Arkansas through the Essential Air Service program. SeaPort Airlines is based at the private aviation terminal, not the main passenger terminal.[citation needed]
On April 4, 2013 a new carrier based in Memphis called Southern Airways Express announced operations at the airport starting May 21, 2013 to eight Southern states and five cities non-stop from Memphis. Routes will be announced later.[13]
Facilities and aircraft [edit]
Memphis International Airport covers an area of 3,900 acres (1,600 ha) which contains four paved runways:[1]
- Runway 18C/36C: 11,120 ft × 150 ft (3,389 m × 46 m), Surface: Concrete
- Runway 18L/36R: 9,000 ft × 150 ft (2,743 m × 46 m), Surface: Concrete
- Runway 18R/36L: 9,320 ft × 150 ft (2,841 m × 46 m), Surface: Concrete
- Runway 9/27: 8,946 ft × 150 ft (2,727 m × 46 m), Surface: Asphalt.
Runway 9/27[14] reopened for traffic on 30 November 2009 after nine months of resurfacing. The new runway has a more durable concrete surface, and opened in time for the peak of the FedEx shipping season.
For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2006, the airport had 392,883 aircraft operations, an average of 1,076 per day: 57% scheduled commercial, 34% air taxi, 9% general aviation, and <1% military. There are 110 aircraft based at this airport: 46% jet, 26% multi-engine, 19% single-engine, and 8% military.[1]
The Memphis Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) is located on the airport grounds at 3229 Democrat Road, TN 38118.
Terminals, airlines, and destinations [edit]
- Terminal A contains 23 gates: A1-A12, A14, A16, A18-A21, A25, A27, A29, A31 and A33.
- Terminal B contains 42 gates: B1-B20, B22-B43. Terminal B serves all international arrivals and requires travelers to pass through a TSA security checkpoint after clearing customs. This is required because the customs hall exits into the concourse instead of the main lobby. Delta operates a Delta Sky Club lounge in Terminal B.
- Terminal C contains 18 gates: C1-C5, C7-C11, C12A/C12B, C14A/C14B, C16, C18, C20 and C22.
Private Terminal [edit]
SeaPort Airlines is based out of the Signature Air FBO.
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| SeaPort Airlines | El Dorado, Harrison, Hot Springs, Jackson (TN), Kansas City, Salina, Nashville |
Top destinations [edit]
| Rank | City | Passengers | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlanta, GA | 483,000 | AirTran, Delta |
| 2 | Charlotte, NC | 194,000 | Delta, US Airways |
| 3 | Chicago, IL (ORD) | 140,000 | American, Delta, United |
| 4 | Dallas/Fort Worth, TX | 139,000 | American, Delta |
| 5 | Orlando, FL | 136,000 | Delta |
| 6 | Los Angeles, CA | 127,000 | Delta |
| 7 | Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN | 126,000 | Delta |
| 8 | Las Vegas, NV | 115,000 | Delta |
| 9 | Washington-National | 110,000 | Delta, US Airways |
| 10 | Detroit, MI | 106,000 | Delta |
Cargo airlines [edit]
Military [edit]
The 164th Airlift Wing of the Tennessee Air National Guard is based at the co-located Memphis Air National Guard Base, operating the large C-5A transport aircraft.[17]
Accidents and incidents [edit]
- On April 7, 1994 – FedEx Flight 705, that took off a few minutes before experiencing an attempted hijacking. FedEx employee Auburn Calloway tried to hijack the plane, but the crew fought him off and returned to Memphis.
- On August 11, 1984, Douglas C-47 N70003 of Aviation Enterprises crashed shortly after take-off from Memphis International Airport on a domestic non-scheduled passenger flight to O'Hare International Airport, Chicago. All three people on board were killed.[18] A missing spark plug on the port engine caused a loss of power. Maintenance involving the removal of the spark plugs had been performed the previous day.[19]
References [edit]
- ^ a b c FAA Airport Master Record for MEM (Form 5010 PDF), effective 2007-10-25
- ^ Memphis International Airport (official site)
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ MEMPHIS: AMERICA’S AEROTROPOLIS AND AIRPORT CITY RECEIVES $1.2 MILLION. October 29, 2010. Mayor A.C. Wharton's Wordpress site.
- ^ globalairportcities.com
- ^ Sells, Toby. "Delta Air Lines plans additional cuts to service at Memphis International". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved 2013-04-30.
- ^ Seamons, Kate. "Most Expensive US Airport to Fly Out of Is...". newser.
- ^ Clute, Eugene; Fenimore, Russell; Reid, Kenneth (1973). Progressive Architecture 54. Reinhold Publishing Corporation. p. 46. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
- ^ "Delta Air Lines scratches Amsterdam from Memphis - Memphis Business Journal". Bizjournals.com. 2012-10-30. Retrieved 2013-04-30.
- ^ "Memphis Airport history". Mscaa.com. June 14, 1929. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
- ^ Andy Ashby (7 November 2011). "Memphis airport unveils new tower, third tallest in U.S.". Memphis Business Journal.
- ^ Trey Heath (27 April 2008). "Airport begins $81 million construction project". Memphis Business Journal.
- ^ "New Carrier Announces Memphis Air Service". Memphis Daily News. Retrieved 2013-04-30.
- ^ "Memphis International Airport Notes". Memphisairport.org. Retrieved 2011-11-08.
- ^ a b c "Southwest Airlines adds flights at MEM - Action News 5 - Memphis, Tennessee". Wmctv.com. Retrieved 2013-04-30.
- ^ "RITA | BTS | Transtats". Transtats.bts.gov. Retrieved 2011-11-08.
- ^ TennANG 164th Airlift Wing Official Site. Accessed 22 Sep 07.
- ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
- ^ "NTSB Identification: ATL84FA251". National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
External links [edit]
 Aircraft photos from Memphis International (MEM) at airliners.net |
|
| FedEx Jets @ MEM Photo |
External images
Media related to Memphis International Airport at Wikimedia Commons- Memphis International Airport (official site)
- FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective May 2, 2013
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for KMEM
- ASN accident history for MEM
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KMEM
- FAA current MEM delay information
Media related to 
|
|||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Accidents and incidents [edit]
- On April 7, 1994 – FedEx Flight 705, that took off a few minutes before experiencing an attempted hijacking. FedEx employee Auburn Calloway tried to hijack the plane, but the crew fought him off and returned to Memphis.
- On August 11, 1984, Douglas C-47 N70003 of Aviation Enterprises crashed shortly after take-off from Memphis International Airport on a domestic non-scheduled passenger flight to O'Hare International Airport, Chicago. All three people on board were killed.[1] A missing spark plug on the port engine caused a loss of power. Maintenance involving the removal of the spark plugs had been performed the previous day.[2]
References [edit]
 |
This article uses bare URLs for citations. (November 2011) |
- ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
- ^ "NTSB Identification: ATL84FA251". National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
External links [edit]
| Aircraft photos from Memphis International (MEM) at airliners.net |
|
| FedEx Jets @ MEM Photo |
- Media related to Memphis International Airport at Wikimedia Commons
- Memphis International Airport (official site)
- FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective May 2, 2013
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for KMEM
- ASN accident history for MEM
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KMEM
- FAA current MEM delay information
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
