Wichita Mid-Continent Airport
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| Wichita Mid-Continent Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
IATA: ICT – ICAO: KICT
 ICT
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| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | Wichita Airport Authority | ||
| Location | Wichita, Kansas | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 1,333 ft / 406.3 m | ||
| Coordinates | 37°38′59.8″N 97°25′59″W / 37.649944°N 97.43306°W | ||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 1L/19R | 10,301 | 3,140 | Concrete |
| 1R/19L | 7,301 | 2,225 | Concrete |
| 14/32 | 6,301 | 1,921 | Concrete |
Wichita Mid-Continent Airport (IATA: ICT, ICAO: KICT) is a commercial airport located in southwest Wichita, in Sedgwick County, Kansas, USA. It is the busiest airport in the state of Kansas (The larger Kansas City International Airport is located in Missouri). In 2008, passenger traffic continued to grow despite increased fuel prices and economic troubles, with 1,615,075 passengers passing through the airport.[citation needed] While mostly served by regional airliners, Allegiant Air and American Airlines operate McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft, Delta Airlines and United Airlines use Airbus A319 and Airbus A320 aircraft, AirTran Airways uses Boeing 717 aircraft.
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[edit] History
Wichita Mid-Continent Airport was first conceived in 1951 when the United States Air Force brought legal proceedings to condemn and acquire the Wichita Municipal Airport for what was to become McConnell Air Force Base. Wichita's park board quickly acquired 1,923 acres (778 ha) of land in southwest Wichita and the construction of a new "Wichita Municipal Airport" took about three and a half years. The new airport was dedicated on October 31, 1954, and was renamed Wichita Mid-Continent Airport in 1973 after Kansas City renamed its Mid-Continent Airport to Kansas City International Airport.
The airport's ICT designation is actually an abbreviation for Wichita. At the time the Federal Communications Commission prohibited airports to have radio call signs starting with "K" or "W." Naming conventions of the time then called for the second letter of the city to be used and then use any phonetics to make it easier to identify. Similarly, Kansas City could not get a KCI designation when it renamed its Mid-Continent International Airport to Kansas City International Airport in 1972 (and thus Kansas City still has MCI as its designation). Further, the IATA is very reluctant to change designations once they appear on navigational maps.
[edit] Current Airport Passenger Terminal
The current airport has one terminal with a total of eleven (11) boarding gates on two connected concourses: the East Concourse houses Gates 1 through 6 and the West Concourse houses Gates 7 through 12. Gates 7 and 11 are not being used by any airline at the present time. Gate 9 has not been utilized for several years, due to its smaller size (seating capacity) and lack of a boarding bridge. This gate hold area was converted into a "Home Team Sports Bar" in 2007. Currently 9 gates are used, on a daily basis, at Mid-Continent Airport. Gates 4, 7, 8 and 11 do not have boarding bridges (aka:jet bridge), passengers must walk outside of the airport terminal on the Tarmac to board or de-plane (departing or arriving) aircraft.
[edit] New Mid-Continent Terminal Information
The new terminal building will be located immediately west of the existing terminal. The new two-story, 272,000 sq ft (25,300 m2). terminal will be a state-of-the-art modern architectural design expressing flight and Wichita’s globally prominent position in the aviation industry. Special aviation themed exhibits will be an integral element in the terminal’s design. Major elements of the project include:[1]
- New terminal roadway and covered curb with separate lanes for private and commercial vehicles.
- Terminal building with enlarged ticketing and baggage claim on the main entry level.
- Upper level concourse with departure lounges, concessions and expanded passenger security screening.
- 12 boarding gates, each equipped with a passenger boarding bridge. Up to 16 boarding bridges in total.
- Passenger baggage handling systems with inline explosives detection security screening.
- Enhanced pre-security and post-security concessions and passenger services.
- Consolidated rental car facility counters, plus close-in parking and car return located in the covered garage.
- Covered daily, short and long term parking in a multi-level garage directly across from the new terminal.
- Short-term and long-term public parking plus a new expanded Park & Ride shuttle parking lot.
- Parking with a total of at least 3,000 spaces.
- New communications, life safety and security systems.
- New aircraft apron to accommodate the relocated terminal and gates.
Construction began in late Summer 2009, with a completion date estimated for early (first quarter) 2014. Portions of the existing terminal will be demolished (in stages) as the new terminal becomes fully operational. A flyover of the new terminal can be found on the Airport's website.
[edit] Airlines and destinations
| Airlines | Destinations | Gate |
|---|---|---|
| Allegiant Air | Las Vegas, Los Angeles [resumes May 17, 2012], Phoenix/Mesa | 6 |
| American Airlines | Dallas/Fort Worth | 5 |
| American Eagle | Chicago-O’Hare | 5 |
| Delta Airlines | Atlanta | 2 |
| Delta Connection operated by ExpressJet | Atlanta | 2, 4 |
| Delta Connection operated by SkyWest Airlines | Minneapolis/St. Paul | 2, 4 |
| Frontier Airlines operated by Republic Airlines | Denver | 1 |
| Southwest Airlines operated by AirTran Airways | Atlanta | 12 |
| United Airlines | Denver | 8, 10 |
| United Express operated by ExpressJet | Chicago-O’Hare, Denver, Houston-Intercontinental | 3, 8, 10 |
| United Express operated by SkyWest Airlines | Denver | 8, 10 |
[edit] Passenger Enplanements
A study of the most recent 5 years of aircraft activity at Wichita’s Mid-Continent Airport shows that passenger enplanements declined slightly from 2005-2006 after an increase of 4.4 percent in 2004 but rose again sharply by 9.48 percent in 2007 and continued to increase in 2008 by 1.23 percent. In 2004 Wichita enplaned 749,416 passengers; 2005, 742,363; 2006, 726,619; 2007, 795,535 and in 2008, 805,286 passengers. Through August 2010, Wichita Mid-Continent has enplaned a total of 494,757 passengers. These are broken up by airline as follows. Air Tran (42,776), Allegiant Air (43,904), American Eagle (32,018), American Airlines (80,319), ExpressJet operating as Continental Express/and United (62,864), Atlantic Southeast Airlines operating as Delta (61,023), Pinnacle operating as Delta Air Lines (50,574), SkyWest operating as United and Delta (56,726), Republic Airways operating as Frontier (18,596), and United Airlines (31,708). [2]
| Rank | Airport | Passengers | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Atlanta, Georgia |
173,000 | AirTran, Delta |
| 2 |  Denver, Colorado |
149,000 | Frontier, United |
| 3 |  Dallas, Texas |
123,000 | American |
| 4 |  Chicago, Illinois |
100,000 | American, United |
| 5 | Houston, Texas |
58,000 | United |
| 6 |  Minneapolis, Minnesota |
39,000 | Delta |
| 7 |  Las Vegas, Nevada |
34,000 | Allegiant |
| 8 |  Memphis, Tennessee |
27,000 | Delta |
| 9 |  Phoenix, Arizona |
18,000 | Allegiant |
| 10 |  Los Angeles, California |
10,000 | Allegiant |
[edit] Key Airport Management
- Victor D. White, A.A.E. - Executive Director of Airports & CEO
- E. Bradley Christopher, A.A.E. - Assistant Director of Airports & COO
- Pat McCollom - New Terminal Program/Construction Manager
- John Oswald, P.E. - Airport Engineering & Planning Manager
- Jean Zoglman, CPA - Airport Finance Manager & CFO
- Valerie Wise - Air Service, Marketing & Business Development Manager
- Traci Nichols - Properties & Contracts Manager
- Greg Martens - Chief of Airport Public Safety (Police & Fire)
- Jorge Munevar - Airport IT Manager
- Charles Fletcher - Immediate Past Chairman, Wichita Airport Advisory Board
- Dwight Greenlee - Chairman, Wichita Airport Advisory Board
[edit] References
- ^ "New Terminal Information". http://www.flywichita.com/new-terminal-info.php. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
- ^ Origin Passengers: All Carriers. (2010, November). Retrieved November 25, 2010, from RITA: http://www.transtats.bts.gov/Data_Elements.aspx?Data=1
- ^ "Wichita, KS: Wichita Mid-Continent Airport (ICT)". Bureau of Transportation Statistics. January 14, 2012. http://www.transtats.bts.gov/airports.asp?pn=1&Airport=ICT&Airport_Name=Wichita,%20KS:%20Wichita%20Mid-Continent&carrier=FACTS. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
[edit] External links
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