Houston Gulf Airport
Houston Gulf Airport | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Serves | Houston, Texas | ||||||||||
| Location | League City, Texas | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 21 ft / 6.4 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 29°30′30″N 095°03′05″W / 29.50833°N 95.05139°W | ||||||||||
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| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2002) | |||||||||||
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Houston Gulf Airport (IATA: SPX, ICAO: KSPX, FAA LID: SPX) was a single-runway airport located in eastern League City, Texas, United States.[2] Its FAA code was SPX[3] and its IATA code was also SPX.[4]
History
The airport opened in 1967 as the Spaceland Airport, a name related to the Johnson Space Center, located about 4 miles north of the airport.[3]
A businessperson named James R. Bath purchased the airport on behalf of Salem bin Laden in 1977. Bath received a 5 percent interest in the companies that own and operate the airport.[5] Salem bin Laden owned the airport for six years before his death in 1988.[6] After Salem bin Laden died, the airport, now owned by his estate, was for sale.[6][7]
The airport was scheduled to close on April 1, 2002. A coalition of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and some local pilots created a campaign asking for the City of League City to acquire the airport from its owner.[8] The airport's land was sold and the land became a string of houses along Texas State Highway 96.[9] The group of houses are part of a 2,000-house community called Tuscan Lakes.[10]
References
- ^ "KSPX - Houston Gulf Airport". Federal Aviation Administration, via AirNav.com. 2002-02-21. Archived from the original on 2002-03-08.
- ^ Ward, Mike. "Bin Laden relatives have ties to Texas." Austin American-Statesman. November 9, 2001.
- ^ a b "Spaceland Airport / Houston Gulf Airport (SPX), League City, TX". Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
- ^ "SPX - Houston-Spaceland Airport, Texas". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
- ^ Thompson, Alastair. "George W. Bush And Harken Oil - Recovered History." Scoop. Thursday 7 March 2002.
- ^ a b "Ampersand!." The Signal & Urbanite. October 30, 2001. News Page Three.
- ^ Romei, Stephen. "Bin Laden family firm feels heat - WAR ON TERROR." The Weekend Australian. Saturday September 29, 2001.
- ^ "AOPA works to save Houston Gulf Airport." Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Retrieved on November 19, 2008.
- ^ Rendon, Ruth. "Fees could slow growth / Developers expected to balk at League City plan." Houston Chronicle. Sunday November 2, 2003. A29 MetFront.
- ^ Bivins, Ralph. "Galveston County will get new community." Houston Chronicle. Sunday January 18, 2004. Business 6.
