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Great Falls International Airport

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Great Falls International Airport

(former Great Falls Army Airfield)
USGS 2006 orthophoto
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerGreat Falls International Airport Authority
ServesGreat Falls, Montana
Hub forCorporate Air Cargo (Secondary) [1]
Elevation AMSL3,680 ft / 1,122 m
Websitewww.gtfairport.com
Map
GTF is located in Montana
GTF
GTF
Location in Montana
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
3/21 10,502 3,201 Asphalt
16/34 5,722 1,744 Asphalt
7/25 4,294 1,309 Asphalt
Statistics (2011)
Aircraft operations41,591
Based aircraft108
Passenger boardings172,415
KGTF Airport Diagram
On final approach for Runway 3 at GTF International Airport.

Great Falls International Airport (IATA: GTF, ICAO: KGTF, FAA LID: GTF) is a public/military airport in city limits three miles southwest of central Great Falls in Cascade County, Montana.[2]

The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a primary commercial service airport.[3] Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 143,811 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008,[4] 146,438 in 2009 and 155,204 in 2010.[5]

Great Falls International Airport is home to Great Falls Air National Guard Base and the Montana Air National Guard's 120th Airlift Wing (120 AW), the "Vigilantes." An Air National Guard unit operationally-gained by the Air Mobility Command (AMC), the 120 AW transitioned from the F-15 Eagle to the C-130 Hercules in 2014, which it employs in medium airlift missions.

Malmstrom Air Force Base, home of the 341st Missile Wing (341 MW) of the Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC), is 10 miles (16 km) east of GTF, on the east side of Great Falls. With the transfer of its KC-135 aircraft in the 1990s, Malmstrom's 12,000-foot (3,700 m) runway is closed to fixed-wing traffic and open only to military helicopters, so Great Falls ANGB provides support for fixed-wing military aircraft visiting Malmstrom AFB.

History

Great Falls International Airport was initiated in November 1928. The airport was leased by the U.S. War Department during World War II and became a home for the 7th Ferrying Command of the U.S. Army Air Forces during the war. During the war years, more than 7,500 bombers and fighter aircraft passed through Great Falls on their way to Europe and the Pacific. The U.S. Army acquired an additional 740 acres (3.0 km2) and built many buildings and other facilities. The airport was under government control until June 1948 when the Department of Defense deeded it back to the City of Great Falls with the stipulation that the facility could revert to military control in a national emergency. The airport was released from this clause in 1961.

In 1975 the terminal was replaced and all runways, aprons, and taxiways updated. With Federal Aviation Administration matching funds, the Great Falls International Airport Authority performs annual operations, maintenance, and capital improvements.[6]

The award winning terminal was designed by Davidson-Kuhr Architects of Great Falls, Montana, with the lead architect being David S. Davidson.

Great Falls has had airline flights since the 1930s. For at least part of each year 1977–1981 it saw scheduled Northwest DC-10s EWR-DTW-ORD-BIL-GTF-GEG-SEA and back.

In 2011 the airport recorded the most boardings (172,415) in its history.[7] GTF was the fifth-busiest of the state's 15 major airports in 2011, behind Billings (407,960 enplanements), Bozeman (397,822), Missoula (292,530), and Kalispell (179,034).[8]

In early 2012 Frontier Airlines announced new flights to Great Falls from the Denver hub. Frontier is a low cost airline serving over fifty cities out of Denver. Frontier is among the lowest fare airlines in the U.S. measured by ticket price per average seat mile. The Airport Authority hopes to address rising ticket prices and a seasonal shortage of seats with the Frontier flights, however Frontier announced it was pulling out of Great Falls at the end of the year during its Denver hub restructuring in December 2014.

AvMax, a Calgary-based large jet maintenance and repair business, opened a large operation at GTF in 2006; they employ 150.

Facilities

The airport covers 2,113 acres (855 ha) at an elevation of 3,680 feet (1,122 m). It has three asphalt runways: 3/21 is 12,000 by 150 feet (3,201 x 46 m); 16/34 is 5,722 by 150 feet (1,744 x 46 m); 7/25 is 4,294 by 75 feet (1,309 x 23 m).[2]

In the year ending March 31, 2011 the airport had 41,591 aircraft operations, average 113 per day: 52% general aviation, 25% air taxi, 12% airline, and 11% military. 108 aircraft were then based at this airport: 61% single-engine, 17% military, 11.1% multi-engine, 8% helicopter, and 3% jet.[2]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

AirlinesDestinations
Alaska Airlines
operated by Horizon Air 		Seattle/Tacoma
Allegiant Air Las Vegas, Phoenix/Mesa
Seasonal: Los Angeles
Delta Connection Minneapolis/St. Paul, Salt Lake City
United Express Denver
Seasonal: Chicago–O'Hare (begins June 9, 2016)

Cargo carriers

Airline Destinations
FedEx Express Billings, Memphis

Statistics

Top destinations

Top ten busiest domestic routes out of GTF
(Dec 2014 - Nov 2015)[9]
Rank City Passengers Carriers
1 Salt Lake City, UT 41,000 Delta
2 Denver, CO 37,000 Frontier, United
3 Minneapolis/St Paul, MN 30,000 Delta
3 Seattle, WA 30,000 Alaska
5 Las Vegas, NV 23,000 Allegiant
6 Phoenix-Mesa, AZ 19,000 Allegiant

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.corporateair.net/location.htm
  2. ^ a b c d FAA Airport Form 5010 for GTF PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective November 15, 2012.
  3. ^ "2011–2015 NPIAS Report, Appendix A" (PDF, 2.03 MB). National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2010. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
  4. ^ "Enplanements for CY 2008" (PDF, 1.0 MB). CY 2008 Passenger Boarding and All-Cargo Data. Federal Aviation Administration. December 18, 2009. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
  5. ^ "Enplanements for CY 2010" (PDF, 189 KB). CY 2010 Passenger Boarding and All-Cargo Data. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2011. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
  6. ^ http://www.gtfairport.com/Airport_Main.html
  7. ^ Johnson, Peter. "Great Falls Airline Boardings Up." Great Falls Tribune. May 14, 2011.
  8. ^ Airport Boardings Study. Aeronautics Division. Montana Department of Transportation. January 2011, p. 2-7. Accessed May 15, 2011.
  9. ^ http://www.transtats.bts.gov/airports.asp?pn=1&Airport=GTF&Airport_Name=Great%20Falls,%20MT:%20Great%20Falls%20International&carrier=FACTS


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