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Salt Lake City International Airport

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Salt Lake City International Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerSalt Lake City
ServesSalt Lake City, Utah
LocationSalt Lake City, Utah, USA
Hub forDelta Air Lines
Elevation AMSL4,227 ft / 1,288 m
Coordinates40°47′18″N 111°58′40″W / 40.78833°N 111.97778°W / 40.78833; -111.97778
Websitewww.slcairport.com
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
16L/34R 12,004 3,659 Asphalt
16R/34L 12,000 3,658 Concrete
17/35 9,596 2,925 Asphalt
14/32 4,892 1,491 Asphalt
Helipads
Number Length Surface
ft m
HB 60 18 Asphalt
HC 60 18 Asphalt
HF 60 18 Asphalt
Statistics (2008)
Passengers20,790,400
Aircraft movements389,321
Air Cargo (metric tonnes)156,319
Source: SLC Airport Authority[1] and FAA[2]

Salt Lake City International Airport (IATA: SLC, ICAO: KSLC, FAA LID: SLC) is a major public airport in Utah. A joint civil-military facility, it is located in western Salt Lake City, approximately four miles from the central business district. It is currently the only airport with commercial airline service in the Wasatch Front and its surrounding counties and is the closest commercial airport for more than 2.5 million people living in the area.[3] Additionally, the airport is within a 30 minute drive to nearly 1.3 million individual jobs.[4]

The airport is a hub for Delta Air Lines and Delta Connection carriers SkyWest Airlines and Mesaba Airlines with over 350 daily departures, accounting for a 74.14% market share in 2009. Following Delta and Delta Connection, the remaining of the top five largest carriers serving the airport are Southwest Airlines (12.78% market share), United Airlines and United Express (3.61% market share), American Airlines (2.77% market share), and JetBlue Airways (1.79% market share).[5]

A total of 20,790,400 passengers flew through Salt Lake City International Airport in 2008, representing a 5.7 % decrease from 2007.[1] The airport currently ranks as the twenty-third busiest airport in the United States in terms of total passengers.[6] There were 389,321 recorded aircraft operations (takeoffs and landings) in 2008, representing approximately 1,063 operations per day. The airport currently ranks fifteenth busiest airport in the United States and twenty fourth in the world based on aircraft operations.[7]

As of June 2009, there were over 450 scheduled airline departures per day to 109 nonstop destinations throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico, as well as daily nonstop service to Paris and Tokyo. The airport currently has nonstop service to all of the top 45 destinations based on the U.S. Department of Transportation origin and destination survey.[6]

Salt Lake City International ranked number one among U.S. airports in on-time departures and arrivals in 2006 through July 2007 and continues to be the number one on time airport in 2008 through August 2009. Salt Lake City International also had the fewest flight cancellations among U.S. airports.[8]

The airport is owned by Salt Lake City Corporation and is administered by the Salt Lake City Department of Airports. In addition, the city owns and operates two nearby airports, South Valley Regional Airport and Tooele Valley Airport.[9] The airport is financially self-sustaining with revenue generated from airline and passenger fees, concessions, vehicle parking, fuel, and leases for office and hangar space. It is the only major airport in the country with no outstanding debts.[10]

The airport began offering free Wi-Fi internet access in 2009.[11]

History

In 1911, a site for an air field was chosen in a location known as Basque Flats, named for Spanish-French sheep herders who worked the fields in the then desolate area of the Salt Lake Valley. A cinder-covered landing strip was created, far better than the small fields at the Utah State Fairpark, which had previously been used by aircraft visiting the city. The Great International Aviation Carnival was held the same year and brought aviation pioneers representing Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company and a team representing the Wright Brothers to Salt Lake City. World-famous aviator Glenn H. Curtiss brought his newly-invented Seaplane to the carnival, a type of airplane which had never been demonstrated to the public before. Curtiss took off from the nearby Great Salt Lake, awing the 20,000 spectators and making international headlines.[12]

For several years after its creation, the new field was used primarily for training and aerobatic flights rather than economic purposes. That would change in 1920, when the United States Postal Service began air mail service to Salt Lake City. The airport was expanded and hangars and other buildings began to appear. During the same year the airfield was given the name Woodward Field, named for John P. Woodward, a local aviator.[13]

In 1925, the postal service began awarding contracts to private companies. Western Air Express, the first private company to carry U.S. mail, began flying from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles via Las Vegas. Less than one year later, Western Air Express would begin flying passengers along the same route. Western Air Express later evolved into Western Airlines, which operated a large hub in Salt Lake City.[13]

Charles Lindbergh visited Woodward Field in 1927 drawing many spectators to see The Spirit of St. Louis. During the next few years, the airport would gain an additional runway, and would span over 400 acres (1.6 km²). In 1930, the airport was renamed Salt Lake City Municipal Airport.[citation needed]

The first official terminal and airport administration building was built in 1933 at a cost of $52,000. By then, United Airlines had also begun serving Salt Lake City as one of its stops between New York and San Francisco.[citation needed]

As air travel became more popular and the United States Air Force established a base at the airport during World War II, a third runway was added. A new terminal was also needed and work began on the west side of the airport to build Terminal 1, which was dedicated in 1960 after seven years of work and a cost of $8 million. In 1968, the airport was given its current name of Salt Lake City International Airport.[citation needed]

Once airline deregulation occurred in 1978, the need for hub airports became prevalent. Western Airlines, which had ties to Salt Lake City since its inception, naturally chose the airport as one of its hubs and took advantage of its geographical location to connect passengers throughout the country. Terminal 2 was built solely for Western and featured several murals by artist LeConte Stewart.[citation needed]

During the 1980s, the airport saw further expansion to both terminals as well as runway extension. In 1987, Western Airlines merged with Delta Air Lines. Salt Lake City would continue to serve as a major airline hub and would continue to grow.[citation needed]

In 1991, the airport opened a new short-term parking garage. The airport opened a new runway in 1995 along with the International Terminal and E concourse for SkyWest Airlines. A new 328-foot-tall (100 m) control tower, new approach control facility, and a new fire station were opened in 1999.[citation needed]

Concourse E was expanded in 2001 for additional gates. SkyWest Airlines opened its new maintenance hangar and training facility during the same year. In 2002, the airport saw heavy crowds as Salt Lake City welcomed over one million visitors for the Winter Olympics.[citation needed]

Recently, the airport has completed upgrading its main access roads and parking facilities in preparation for a new terminal. Additionally, the airport has completed several minor upgrades to the current airport terminals and concourses including the expansion of baggage claim facilities.[citation needed]

International service

In addition to domestic flights, Delta Air Lines and Frontier Airlines operate scheduled flights to cities in Canada, Mexico, Japan, and France. From 2006 through 2007, Air Canada operated by Air Canada Jazz offered nonstop service to Toronto. Aeromexico offered service from Salt Lake City to Hermosillo and Mexico City from 2002 through 2005. In November 2008, Aeromexico resumed nonstop service to Mexico City though service was once again unsuccessful. In June 2008, Delta Air Lines began daily nonstop service to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport. This marked the first scheduled transatlantic route from Salt Lake City. In November 2008, Delta announced nonstop service to Narita International Airport near Tokyo, Japan, mostly as a result of Delta's merger with Northwest Airlines. The service commenced on June 3, 2009.[14] The nonstop service makes Tokyo the first city in Asia to receive nonstop service from Salt Lake City.

Terminals, airlines and destinations

There are two passenger terminals at the airport consisting of five concourses with a total of 90 gates:

  • Terminal 1 houses Concourse A (gates A1-A8) and Concourse B (gates B1-B18).
  • Terminal 2 consists of Concourse C (gates C1-C13), Concourse D (gates D1-D13), and Concourse E (gates E60-E85). Facilities for the handling of international flights are located at gates D2, D4, and D6.

Various stores and restaurants are located throughout the terminals.[15][16]

AirlinesDestinationsConcourse
American Airlines Dallas/Fort Worth A
American Eagle Chicago-O'Hare A
Continental Airlines Houston-Intercontinental B
Continental Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines Houston-Intercontinental B
Delta Air Lines Anchorage, Atlanta, Baltimore, Boise, Boston, Cancún [seasonal], Chicago-O'Hare [seasonal], Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, Dallas/Fort Worth [seasonal], Detroit, Fairbanks [seasonal], Fort Lauderdale [seasonal], Guadalajara [seasonal], Honolulu, Indianapolis [seasonal], Jackson Hole [seasonal], Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Memphis, Mexico City, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Nashville [seasonal], New Orleans [seasonal], New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia, Newark, Oakland, Ontario [seasonal], Orange County, Orlando, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland (OR), Puerto Vallarta [seasonal], Reno/Tahoe, Sacramento, St. Louis, San Diego, San Francisco [seasonal], San Jose (CA) [seasonal], San José del Cabo [seasonal], Seattle/Tacoma, Spokane, Tampa [seasonal], Tokyo-Narita [seasonal], Washington-Dulles, Washington-Reagan B, C, D
Delta Connection operated by Mesaba Airlines Austin, Boise, Denver, Detroit, Kansas City, Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Omaha, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Jose (CA), Seattle/Tacoma, Spokane C
Delta Connection operated by SkyWest AirlinesAlbuquerque, Aspen [seasonal], Austin, Bismarck, Billings, Boise, Bozeman, Burbank, Butte, Calgary, Casper, Cedar City, Chicago-O'Hare, Cody, Colorado Springs, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Elko, Eugene, Fargo, Fresno, Gillette, Grand Junction, Great Falls, Guadalajara [seasonal], Gunnison/Crested Butte [seasonal], Hayden/Steamboat Springs [seasonal], Helena, Houston-Intercontinental, Idaho Falls, Indianapolis [seasonal], Jackson Hole, Kalispell, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Lewiston, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Medford, Memphis, Minot, Missoula, Montrose [seasonal], Nashville, New Orleans, Oakland, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Ontario, Orange County, Palm Springs, Pasco, Phoenix, Pocatello, Portland (OR), Puerto Vallarta [seasonal], Rapid City, Redmond/Bend, Reno/Tahoe, Rock Springs, Sacramento, St. George (UT), St. Louis, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose (CA), Santa Barbara, Seattle/Tacoma, Sioux Falls, Spokane, Sun Valley, Tucson, Tulsa, Twin Falls, Vancouver, West Yellowstone [seasonal] B, E
Frontier Airlines Cancún [seasonal], Denver A
Frontier Airlines operated by Republic Airlines Denver A
JetBlue Airways Long Beach, New York-JFK A
Southwest Airlines Albuquerque, Baltimore, Boise, Chicago-Midway, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Oakland, Phoenix, Portland (OR), Reno/Tahoe, Seattle/Tacoma, Spokane B
United Airlines Denver B
United Express operated by Shuttle America Chicago-O'Hare, Denver B
United Express operated by SkyWest Airlines Chicago-O'Hare, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco B
US Airways Phoenix A
US Airways Express operated by Mesa Airlines Phoenix A

Other airport information

The airport spans over 7,700 acres (3,116 ha) and has four runways. The runways are generally oriented in a NNW/SSE magnetic direction due to consistent prevailing winds in this direction.

Cargo operations

The airport handled 156,319 metric tonnes of cargo in 2008.[1]

Scheduled Cargo Operators:

General aviation

Despite being the nineteenth busiest airport in the world in terms of aircraft operations[7], the airport still maintains a large general aviation presence. In 2008, 19% of aircraft movements at the airport came from general aviation traffic.[1] This is in contrast to most large airports, which encourage general aviation aircraft to use smaller or less busy airports in order to prevent delays to commercial traffic. The airport is able to effectively handle both commercial and general aviation traffic largely in part to the airport's layout and airspace structure. Nearly all general aviation operations are conducted on the east side of the airport, away from commercial traffic. Additionally, smaller and relatively slower general aviation aircraft arrive and depart the airport in ways which generally do not hinder the normal flow of arriving or departing commercial aircraft.

2007 data shows there are 388 general aviation aircraft based at the airport.[2] The airport has two Fixed Base Operators, both located on the east side of the airport. The airport has facilities for Air Ambulance, Law Enforcement, as well as state and federal government aircraft. Additionally, the airport is home to several flight training facilities, including one operated by Westminster College.

Military facilities

The Utah Air National Guard operates Salt Lake City Air National Guard Base on the east side of the airport. The host wing for the installation is the 151st Air Refueling Wing (151 ARW), an Air Mobility Command (AMC)-gained unit operating the KC-135R Stratotanker.

Additional facilities

An aerial view of Salt Lake International Airport and Wingpointe.

Wingpointe, an 18 hole golf course, is located on the south end of the airport.[17]

Delta Air Lines has a maintenance facility at the airport where heavy-duty maintenance and inspections are performed. Delta also operates a call center for reservations and sales as well as regional corporate offices.

SkyWest Airlines opened a new maintenance and training facility at the airport in 2001 where the company has its largest maintenance base. It is also where training is conducted for pilots, flight attendants, and other employees.

Continental Airlines operates a call center located near the airport.

The airport and Salt Lake City Fire Department operate an Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) training facility located on the airport. The training facility has been used to train and certify thousands of fire fighters from departments all over the world, including Antarctica.

In addition to the 328-foot-tall (100 m) Air Traffic Control Tower, TRACON is also located on the airport with the Salt Lake Air Route Traffic Control Center located adjacent to the airport. The Salt Lake ARTCC covers the largest geographical area in the continental United States and controls airspace as far north as the Canadian border.[18]

Financial

Salt Lake City International airport is directly responsible for the employment of over 13,000 people and indirectly provides over 100,000 jobs generating a $2.7 billion payroll. The airport contributed a $5.34 billion economic impact in 2004.[4]

April 30, 2008 marked a significant date for the airport, as it is now the only large hub airport in the U.S. to be debt free, having retired its remaining bonds, for a payout of nearly US$50 Million. This was done in response to spiking interest rates, but also put the Salt Lake Dept. of Airports in an excellent position for future expansion plans.[19]

Airport expansion

A revised master plan was released in May 2006 for the airport and is available for the public to view at the airport's website. Future plans call for runway 17/35 to be realigned to more precisely parallel runways 16L/34R and 16R/34L. Plans also call for runway 16L/34R to be lengthened to 15,100 feet (4,600 m). Plans for a fourth parallel runway west of current 16R/34L are also shown but is more than fifteen years away.[20] In June of 2010, the airport asked for public comments on the airport expansion as well as announcing the the start of an enviromental study of the master plan which will have public hearings in the summer of 2011. The current terminals use a horseshoe-and-spokes configuration and would be demolished in favor of a central terminal with two parallel concourse rows.[21]

In addition to runway reconfigurations, the airport will construct a new terminal and two new concourses. Plans call for a single terminal with an attached concourse consisting of 31 mainline gates and an additional paralleling satellite concourse consisting of 15 mainline gates and 44 regional jet gates. The two concourses would be attached with an underground automated train. The existing terminal and concourses would be demolished and would leave room for additional expansion onto the two new concourses in the future.

Other plans call for a new parking garage and expanded cargo facilities. Construction of the Airport Line of the UTA TRAX light rail system from the airport to downtown began in October 2008.

Notable incidents

  • On November 11, 1965, United Airlines Flight 227, operated with a Boeing 727, crashed just short of the runway at Salt Lake City International Airport, killing 43 of the 91 people on board.
  • On December 17, 1977, United Airlines Flight 2860, a cargo flight operated with a Douglas DC-8 crashed into a mountain near Kaysville while in a holding pattern prior to landing at Salt Lake City Int'l Airport. The crew was trying to figure out an electrical problem, and did not realize they were adjacent to a mountain. All three people on board were killed in the accident.
  • On January 15, 1987, SkyWest Airlines Flight 1834, operated with a Fairchild Metro collided with a Mooney aircraft while on final approach to Salt Lake City International Airport. All ten people on board the SkyWest aircraft as well as the student and flight instructor aboard the Mooney were killed.
  • On October 14, 1989, Delta Air Lines Flight 1554, operated with a Boeing 727, caught fire during the boarding process for a flight to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada while the aircraft was parked at a gate. Of the twenty three people who were on the aircraft at the time, five sustained minor injuries. All passengers and crew evacuated, however the aircraft was destroyed. An investigation determined the fire started due to a malfunction with the passenger oxygen system.[23]

The 1974 film Airport 1975 was filmed at Salt Lake City International Airport.

In the 1994 comedy film Dumb and Dumber, Lloyd Christmas, portrayed by Jim Carrey, is seen running to gate B2 and falling off the jetway at Salt Lake City International Airport. Lloyd is also seen sliding across the floor to recover the brief case, at this point you can see the world map on the floor that is located in front of the security check point in terminal one.

Portions of the 2006 film Unaccompanied Minors were filmed at Salt Lake City International Airport's International Terminal, as well as the Salt Lake City Library.

See also

References

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

  1. ^ a b c d 2008 Salt Lake City International Airport Statistics Retrieved on 2009-02-24.
  2. ^ a b FAA Airport Form 5010 for SLC PDF, effective 2009-02-24
  3. ^ 2006 population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
  4. ^ a b Utah Continuous Airport System Plan - Executive Summary http://www.udot.utah.gov/main/uconowner.gf?n=947118327175611311
  5. ^ Salt Lake City International Airport Traffic Statistics Retrieved on 2010-04-26.
  6. ^ a b Salt Lake City Department of Airports Fast Facts Retrieved on 2009-02-24.
  7. ^ a b World's busiest airports by traffic movements
  8. ^ U.S. Department of Transportation Bureau of Statistics Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
  9. ^ [1] Department of Airports 2008-2009 budget.
  10. ^ [2] Airport Retires Debt. Press release dated 4/30/2008
  11. ^ [3] Airport Services.
  12. ^ "Curtiss Flies At Salt Lake". New York Times. April 9, 1911. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
  13. ^ a b Carma Wadley (December 4, 2003). "100 years of flight". Deseret Morning News. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
  14. ^ [4]
  15. ^ Airport Stores
  16. ^ Airport Restaurants
  17. ^ Wingpointe Golf Course
  18. ^ Image:Tfrmap.jpeg - Air Route Traffic Control Centers in the United States.
  19. ^ http://www.slcairport.com/pdf/press_release/2008/Bonds_Retired.pdf
  20. ^ Salt Lake City International Airport Revised Master Plan (2006)
  21. ^ [5]
  22. ^ [6] 737 Lands at wrong airport. Deseret news article dated Dec. 3 1974
  23. ^ [7] NTSB report
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