MidAmerica St. Louis Airport (IATA: BLV, ICAO: KBLV, FAA LID: BLV) is an airport co-located on the grounds of Scott Air Force Base. MidAmerica has operated as a Joint Use Airport since beginning operations in November 1997 and has not been served by any commercial airlines since Allegiant Air pulled out of the airport on January 3, 2009.[2][3]
[edit] History
MidAmerica St. Louis Airport was created to alleviate some crowding of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, but has never had service from any major airline and has been criticized as a pork barrel project.[4] Featured several times as a "Fleecing of America" segment on the NBC Nightly News, it was called a "Gateway to Nowhere" by Tom Brokaw, costing taxpayers $313 million.[5] Supporters credit MidAmerica's additional runway with saving Scott AFB from closure during BRAC 2005. They also describe MidAmerica as a "Gateway to the World", citing a new cargo terminal and customs facility designed to attract international cargo.[3] As of January 2010, one air cargo company uses the airport to import flowers from Colombia, totalling one flight each week,[6] although when it was originally constructed, FedEx seriously considered using it as a central hub for the midwest, but due to delays in its construction and governmental red tape, they ultimately decided on Memphis instead. Allegiant Air also offered flights to both McCarran Airport in Las Vegas and Orlando Sanford International Airport until 2009.
MidAmerica's construction has included creation of the 10,000-foot (3,000 m) 14L/32R (east) runway, adding 1,000 feet (300 m) to the existing west runway, adding passenger and cargo terminals on the east side of the facility and a 7,000-foot (2,100 m) taxiway connecting the two runways. A new air traffic control tower staffed by Air Force personnel was also constructed midway between the two runways.[7]
In CY2008, the dual-use facility was ranked 314 in the United States with 27,002 passenger enplanements. This placed it ninth in the state of Illinois.[8] By comparison, Lambert-St. Louis International Airport was ranked 31 with over 6.74 million enplanements. Congestion at Lambert-St. Louis has not been a problem since American Airlines reduced hub operations and a new billion-dollar runway opened. The civil operations are administered by St. Clair County, Illinois, which also pays the maintenance costs for the east runway. Over half of all air operations at the facility utilize the eastern runway.[3]
[edit] Facilities
MidAmerica St. Louis Airport covers 7,003 acres (2,834 ha) and has two runways:
- Runway 14L/32R: 10,000 x 150 ft (3,048 x 46 m), Surface: Concrete, ILS equipped.
- Runway 14R/32L: 8,001 x 150 ft (2,439 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt/Concrete, ILS equipped.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
