Panama City-Bay County International Airport

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For the main airport of Panama City, Panama, see Tocumen International Airport.
Panama City-Bay County International Airport
PC airport.png
IATA: PFN – ICAO: KPFN – FAA: PFN
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner Panama City-Bay County Airport and Industrial District
Serves Panama City, Florida
Elevation AMSL 20 ft / 6 m
Coordinates 30°12′44″N 085°40′58″W / 30.21222°N 85.68278°W / 30.21222; -85.68278
Website www.PCairport.com
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
14/32 6,308 1,923 Asphalt
5/23 4,884 1,489 Asphalt
Statistics (2007)
Aircraft operations 84,445
Based aircraft 133
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

Panama City-Bay County International Airport (IATA: PFN, ICAO: KPFN, FAA LID: PFN) is a public use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) northwest of the central business district of Panama City, in Bay County, Florida, United States. It is owned by the Panama City-Bay County Airport District.[1] Southwest Airlines will begin flying to the relocated airport from four cities in May 2010[2].

Contents

[edit] History

Panama City–Bay County International Airport (PFN) began as a private field owned by J.B. Atkinson, Jr., a citizen of Panama City. The facility consisted of 292 acres (1.2 km²) of land with grass landing strips. In 1932, Mr. and Mrs. Atkinson, Jr. donated the property to the Panama City Chamber of Commerce so that a city airport could be established. At that time the airport was named Atkinson Field. In 1938, Panama City and the Bay County Commissioners joined forces to develop the Airport through the construction of an airport terminal and extensive airfield expansion. The facility’s $604,000 development project included the construction of a small passenger terminal and two 4,000-foot (1,200 m) intersecting runways. After the expansion was completed, the Airport was renamed Fannin Field in honor of the Panama City mayor during this period.

Throughout World War II, the Airport was used as a Civil Air Patrol facility. In 1943, the Florida legislature approved the formation of an Airport Authority, the Panama City-Bay County Airport and Industrial District, to manage Fannin Field, or Panama City-Bay County Airport, as it became commonly known. In 1948, commercial operations at the airport commenced.

The Airport continued to be served by commercial airlines throughout the regulated period of airline history, until the passage of the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978. During the 1970’s and 1980’s, the Airport had many airlines serving the facility with jet aircraft. However, the flight service offered was mainly point-to-point, therefore there were few destinations offered, and, in turn, passenger enplanements were low.

In 1992, the Airport was designated as an international airport and renamed Panama City-Bay County International Airport. At this time, the Airport was equipped with on-call customs and immigrations facilities provided through the Port of Panama City. In addition, the Airport was also declared a Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ), a location which allows special customs procedures to be used. These procedures permit domestic activity involving foreign items to take place as though they were outside of a U.S. Customs territory.

In 1995, the Airport went through an extensive development program, demolishing their old terminal building and constructing a new 55,573-square-foot (5,162.9 m2) facility with six gate areas, two equipped with jetbridges. Additional enhancements to the terminal included concession areas, a passenger hold room, airline ticketing counters and office space, airport administration offices, public and rental car parking lots, and an expanded terminal apron.

[edit] Airport Relocation

Main article: Northwest Florida-Panama City International Airport

Currently a new airport is under construction to replace the existing airport due to it having no room to further expand. The new airport was originaly to be named Northwest Florida-Panama City International Airport but the name was changed to Northwest Florida Beaches International Airprt on November 10th 2009 because airlines that were considering using the facility wanted a more "regional name". The airport is to be named Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport currently the field has an 8,400'x150' foot runway but could possibly be extended to 10,000'. Plans also call for a 5000'x100' crosswind runway and a terminal with seven gates. At the time of its opening the terminal will have two jet bridges and the airport authority will add more as needed. The airport is due to open Memorial Day of 2010 at which time the current airport will be closed and redeveloped. The new airport was also designed to be eco friendly and easily expandable for possible future demand.

[edit] Facilities and aircraft

Panama City-Bay County International Airport covers an area of 745 acres (301 ha) at an elevation of 20 feet (6 m) above mean sea level. It has two asphalt paved runways: 14/32 measuring 6,308 x 150 ft (1,923 x 46 m) and 5/23 measuring 4,884 x 150 ft (1,489 x 46 m).[1]

For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2006, the airport had 88,059 aircraft operations, an average of 241 per day: 72% general aviation, 13% air taxi (11,080), 10% military and 5% scheduled commercial. At that time there were 160 aircraft based at this airport: 58% single-engine, 18% multi-engine, 9% jet and 15% helicopter.[1]

The Airport also boasts a 55,573-square-foot (5,162.9 m2) terminal complete with six gates. Two of the six gates are equipped with jet bridges, eliminating the need for air stairs for jet aircraft. Currently the six gates are assigned as follows:

[edit] Airlines and destinations

Airlines Destinations
Delta Connection operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines Atlanta
Delta Connection operated by Comair Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky [seasonal]
Delta Connection operated by Pinnacle Airlines Memphis
Southwest Airlines To start at new Panama City Airport in May 2010

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d FAA Airport Master Record for PFN (Form 5010 PDF), effective 2008-04-10
  2. ^ http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=92562&p=irol-newsArticle_pf&ID=1344724&highlight=

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_City-Bay_County_International_Airport"
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