Palm Springs International Airport

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Palm Springs International Airport
Palm Springs Army Airfield
Palm Springs International Airport - USGS topo.jpg
US Geological Survey orthophoto
IATA: PSPICAO: KPSPFAA LID: PSP
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator City of Palm Springs
Serves Palm Springs / Inland Empire
Location Palm Springs, California
Elevation AMSL 477 ft / 145.4 m
Coordinates 33°49′47″N 116°30′24″W / 33.82972°N 116.50667°W / 33.82972; -116.50667
Website Palm Springs International Airport
Map
KPSP is located in California
KPSP
Location of Palm Springs International Airport
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
13R/31L 10,001 3,048 Asphalt
13L/31R 4,952 1,509 Asphalt

Palm Springs International Airport (IATA: PSPICAO: KPSPFAA LID: PSP) is a public airport two miles (3 km) east of Palm Springs, California. The airport covers 940 acres (380 ha) and has two runways. The airport is highly seasonal, with most flights during the winter.

Contents

Airlines and destinations [edit]

Airlines Destinations
Alaska Airlines San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma
Seasonal: Portland (OR)
Alaska Airlines operated by Horizon Air Sacramento, San Jose (CA)
Allegiant Air Eugene
Seasonal: Bellingham, Oakland
American Airlines Dallas/Fort Worth
Seasonal: Chicago-O’Hare
Delta Air Lines Seasonal: Minneapolis/St. Paul
Delta Connection operated by SkyWest Airlines Salt Lake City
Frontier Airlines Seasonal: Denver
Sun Country Airlines Seasonal: Minneapolis/St. Paul
United Airlines Seasonal: Chicago-O’Hare, Denver
United Express operated by SkyWest Airlines Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco
Seasonal: Houston-Intercontinental
US Airways Phoenix
US Airways Express operated by Mesa Airlines Phoenix
US Airways Express operated by SkyWest Airlines Phoenix
Virgin America Seasonal: New York-JFK, San Francisco
WestJet Calgary
Seasonal: Edmonton, Toronto-Pearson, Vancouver, Winnipeg

Top Destinations [edit]

Top ten busiest domestic routes out of PSP
(November 2011 - October 2012) [1]
Rank City Passengers Carriers
1 California San Francisco, CA 131,000 Alaska, United, Virgin America
2 Texas Dallas, TX 100,000 American
3 Washington (state) Seattle, WA 98,000 Alaska
4 Arizona Phoenix, AZ 94,000 US Airways
5 Colorado Denver, CO 64,000 United, Frontier
6 California Los Angeles, CA 50,000 United
7 Illinois Chicago O’Hare, IL 37,000 American, United
8 Utah Salt Lake City, UT 35,000 Delta
9 Washington (state) Bellingham, WA 32,000 Allegiant
10 Oregon Portland, OR 28,000 Alaska

History [edit]

PSP was built as a United States Army Air Corps emergency landing field in 1939 on land owned by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians due to its clear weather and its proximity to March Field and the Los Angeles area.

In March 1941 the War Department certified improvements to the existing airport in Palm Springs as essential to National Defense. The airport was approved to serve as a staging field by the Air Corps Ferrying Command 21st Ferrying Group in November 1941. Land was acquired to build a major airfield one half miles from the old airfield site. The new airfield, Palm Springs Army Airfield[2] was completed in early 1942, and the old air field was then used only as a backup. (Aerial pic of the old airfield at 33°49′37″N 116°31′59″W / 33.827°N 116.533°W / 33.827; -116.533, looking ENE)

Many of the field's Air Transport Command 560th Army Air Forces Base Unit personnel stayed at the comfortable Lapaz Guest Ranch nearby. Training conducted at the airfield was by the 72d and 73d Ferrying Squadrons in long-distance over-water flying and navigation. Later, training was also provided to pursuit pilot training by IV Fighter Command 459th Base Headquarters and Air Base Squadron. Training was in P-51 Mustangs, P-40 Warhawks and P-38 Lightnings.

On June 1, 1944 training moved to Brownsville Army Airfield, Texas and the airfield was used for Army and Navy transport flights until the end of April 1945. The auxiliary field or backup field was declared surplus on May 12, 1945, and the main airfield was declared excess and transferred to the War Assets Administration for disposal in 1946 and it was sold to private buyers. The City of Palm Springs purchased the land in 1961 and converted it to Palm Springs Municipal Airport.

Western Airlines flights began in 1945-46 and Bonanza Airlines in 1957-58; American appeared in winter 1967-68 and TWA in 1978-79. Scheduled nonstops didn't reach beyond southern California, Las Vegas and Phoenix until winter 1969-70 when American started a Chicago nonstop. In the 1970s American started Douglas DC-10 wide body flights, the largest airliner ever scheduled to PSP.

On December 30, 2006 a U.S. Air Force Presidential Boeing VC-25 (the USAF military version of the Boeing 747), departed Palm Springs International Airport with the body of the 38th President of the United States, Gerald R. Ford and delivered to Washington, D.C. for memorial services.

Palm Springs International Airport

See also [edit]

References [edit]

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

  1. ^ Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) (22 December 2011). "Palm Springs, CA: Palm Springs International (PSP) Scheduled Services except Freight/Mail". U.S. Department of Transportation (US DOT). Retrieved 22 December 2011. 
  2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Palm Springs Army Air Field (historical)

External links [edit]