Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport
| Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport | |||
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IATA: AVP – ICAO: KAVP – FAA LID: AVP
 AVP
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| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Owner | Luzerne and Lackawanna Counties | ||
| Serves | Wilkes-Barre – Scranton | ||
| Location | Pittston Township, Pennsylvania | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 962 ft / 293 m | ||
| Coordinates | 41°20′18″N 075°43′24″W / 41.33833°N 75.72333°W | ||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 4/22 | 7,501 | 2,286 | Asphalt |
| 10/28 | 4,300 | 1,311 | Asphalt |
| Statistics (2006) | |||
| Aircraft operations | 78,937 | ||
| Based aircraft | 30 | ||
| Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport (IATA: AVP, ICAO: KAVP, FAA LID: AVP) is an airport located in Pittston Township, Pennsylvania, near the border of Luzerne County and Lackawanna County, halfway between the cities of Wilkes-Barre and Scranton. The airport advertises itself as "your gateway to Northeastern Pennsylvania and the Pocono Mountains".
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[edit] History
Decades ago, the airport had flights carrying cargo to and from Canada, which was enough to be granted "international" status. These flights no longer exist, however, the "international" status, granted in 1975, remains because the airport has a full time U.S. Customs office.
Besides hosting regional airline service to major hubs, the airport has had many special visitors over the past decade. Air Force One has landed with Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama for fundraisers and campaign trips throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania. A charter plane carrying Hillary Clinton also used the airport during her presidential run in 2008.
In May 2006, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport completed an $80 million construction project on an entirely new terminal and parking garage. The new terminal has many conveniences such as jetways, a bigger waiting area, more gates, and a shopping and dining area.
The airport was once home to a Hooters Air non-stop flight to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and it currently hosts seasonal Southwest Airlines non-stop chartered flights to Orlando. Also, in May 2008, Southern Skyways was planning to introduce a non-stop seasonal flight to Myrtle Beach. However, Myrtle Beach Direct Air operated those flights until leaving the airport in August 2008 in favor of serving Allentown Airport.
The name "Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport" was coined by Congressman Daniel J. Flood of Wilkes-Barre. He had a love of the city, so he said Wilkes-Barre should be first, although Scranton is the larger city, and that Scranton comes first alphabetically.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport has seen major changes to its route map between 2001 and 2011. Continental stopped service to its Cleveland hub and chose to begin to Newark-Liberty in the hopes of attracting international travelers. Delta quickly followed suit by stopping its Atlanta service in preference of serving its new hub of Detroit. The Airport Director Barry Centini claimed he was surprised that Delta stopped the Atlanta route especially because the route seemed very popular amongst local residents. With the Atlanta route cut, US Airways service to Charlotte was the airport's only convenient connection to points south. To correct this problem, Centini has been talking to the recently merged AirTran/Southwest in an attempt to land a low-cost carrier to serve either Atlanta or Orlando. Southwest already provides charter service through Boscov's Travel Agency to Orlando but has said it is too soon to announce expansion destinations.[2] In December 2010, US Airways announced it would be adding a second daily flight to Charlotte in the afternoon using both PSA Airlines and Air Wisconsin. On top of that, US Airways is increasing during the winter by using Embraer 170 aircraft. This brings the daily number of seats to and from Charlotte up from 70 to between 120 and 136.[3] In July 2011, Delta announced that they would be resuming their Atlanta service with one daily flight. Atlantic Southeast Airlines will operate the route using CRJ-700 aircraft. However, unlike the previous Atlanta flights, the new flight will depart Atlanta in the afternoon and depart Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the early evenings.
As of November 2011 the airport has service to six airports on four airlines: Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport, Charlotte International Airport, Chicago-O'Hare, Detroit Metro Airport, Philadelphia International Airport, and Newark Liberty Airport. All service is on regional jets and props ranging from 30 to 86 seats.
Another project that was completed in late 2011 was the construction of a brand new control tower and Tracon facility. The old tower had a blocked view of the second runway due to the new terminal and was due to be replaced anyway. The project cost 18.8 million dollars and is being funded by the federal stimulus package. The tower is expected to be completed in mid 2012 with all 25 current controllers staying on to work in the new facility.[2]
[edit] Facilities and aircraft
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport covers an area of 905 acres (366 ha) which contains two asphalt paved runways:
- 4/22 measuring 7,501 × 150 ft (2,286 × 46 m)
- 10/28 measuring 4,300 × 150 ft (1,311 × 46 m).[1]
For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2006, the airport had 78,937 aircraft operations, an average of 216 per day: 71% general aviation, 28% scheduled commercial, 1% military and <1% air taxi. There are 30 aircraft based at this airport: 60% single engine, 20% multi-engine, 13% jet aircraft and 7% helicopters.[1]
General aviation on the field is serviced by FBO (Fixed Base Operator) Saker Aviation Services, formerly FirstFlight.
[edit] Airlines and destinations
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Delta Connection operated by ExpressJet | Atlanta, Detroit |
| Delta Connection operated by Pinnacle Airlines | Atlanta, Detroit |
| United Express operated by CommutAir | Newark |
| United Express operated by Expressjet | Chicago-O'Hare |
| US Airways Express operated by Air Wisconsin | Charlotte, Philadelphia |
| US Airways Express operated by Piedmont Airlines | Philadelphia |
| US Airways Express operated by PSA Airlines | Charlotte |
| US Airways Express operated by Republic Airlines | Charlotte |
[edit] References
- ^ a b c FAA Airport Master Record for AVP (Form 5010 PDF), effective 2007-07-05
- ^ a b Merger May Help Airport Boost Service timesleader. com
- ^ US Airways Second Daily to Charlotte timesleader. com
[edit] External links
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport (official site)
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport at Pennsylvania DOT Bureau of Aviation
- FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective 8 March 2012
- FAA Terminal Procedures for AVP, effective 8 March 2012
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for KAVP
- ASN accident history for AVP
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KAVP
- FAA current AVP delay information
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