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MidAmerica St. Louis Airport

Coordinates: 38°32′43″N 089°50′07″W / 38.54528°N 89.83528°W / 38.54528; -89.83528
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For the military use of this facility, see Scott Air Force Base.
MidAmerica St. Louis Airport

Scott Air Force Base
USGS 1998 orthophoto
Summary
Airport typePublic / Military
OwnerSt. Clair County & USAF
ServesBelleville, Illinois
Elevation AMSL459 ft / 140 m
Coordinates38°32′43″N 089°50′07″W / 38.54528°N 89.83528°W / 38.54528; -89.83528
Websitewww.FlyMidAmerica.com
Map
BLV is located in Illinois
BLV
BLV
Location of airport in Illinois/United States
BLV is located in the United States
BLV
BLV
BLV (the United States)
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
14L/32R 10,000 3,048 Concrete
14R/32L 8,011 2,442 Asphalt/Concrete
Statistics (2010)
Aircraft operations21,508
Based aircraft35

MidAmerica St. Louis Airport (IATA: BLV, ICAO: KBLV, FAA LID: BLV) is a public use airport co-located on the grounds of Scott Air Force Base. It is located 14 nautical miles (16 mi, 26 km) east of the central business district of Belleville, in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States.[1]

The airport is the secondary domestic passenger airport for the St. Louis, Missouri metropolitan area. Lambert-St. Louis International Airport is the largest and main domestic and international airport for the region. MidAmerica has operated as a joint use airport since beginning operations in November 1997 and is currently served by Allegiant Air with direct flights to Orlando Sanford International Airport, McCarran International Airport, St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport, Punta Gorda Airport, Jacksonville International Airport, and Destin–Fort Walton Beach Airport.

Per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 32,589 passenger enplanements in 2015[2] (63,000 total passengers[3]). It was included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a primary commercial service airport based on enplanements in 2008 (more than 10,000 per year).[4]

History

MidAmerica St. Louis Airport was created to alleviate some crowding of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, but has never had service from any major airline and has been criticized as a pork barrel project.[5] Featured several times as a "Fleecing of America" segment on the NBC Nightly News, it was called a "Gateway to Nowhere" by Tom Brokaw, costing taxpayers $313 million.[6] Supporters credit MidAmerica's additional runway with saving Scott AFB from closure during BRAC 2005. They also describe MidAmerica as a "Gateway to the World", citing a new cargo terminal and customs facility designed to attract international cargo.[7] Congestion at Lambert-St. Louis has not been a problem since American Airlines reduced hub operations by fifty percent in 2003 and a new billion-dollar runway opened in 2006.[8][9]

Passenger airlines

Four passenger airlines have started operations at MidAmerica. While the first three went out of business or closed operations at the airport,[10] Allegiant Airlines currently offers six destinations:

Passenger facilities

The passenger terminal was planned as an expandable facility that will provide passenger accommodations for the initial opening of the MidAmerica Airport. The passenger terminal is located in a 250-foot-wide by 700-foot long terminal building expansion envelope, bounded by a runway and parking lot. In the initial build-out, the terminal provides two upper level departure gates (both have jet bridges) with additional ground-level gates to serve smaller commuter aircraft.

Airline and destinations

The following airline offers scheduled passenger service:

AirlinesDestinations
Allegiant Air Fort Walton Beach, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Orlando/Sanford, Punta Gorda/Fort Myers, St. Petersburg/Clearwater

Cargo airlines

Between late 2009 and August 2010, one air cargo company, LAN Cargo, used the airport to import flowers from Bogota, Colombia, totaling one flight each week until the county abruptly ended the flights.[14][15]

Both Boeing Aerospace and Northbay Produce currently have facilities on site. With Northbay Produce mainly shipping blueberries from Michigan and Chile into the airport and using a completely refrigerated warehouse for packaging and distribution. Boeing uses the facility at MidAmerica for sub-assemblies to multiple military aircraft.

Boeing and Northbay have recently constructed additions to their facilities at MidAmerica Airport.

Cargo facilities

  • Dual Category II Instrument Landing Systems
  • Simultaneous instrument approaches
  • Runway 14L/32R, 10,000 feet
  • Runway 14R/32L, 8,011 feet
  • Unconstrained Air Traffic Control and air space environment
  • Immediate Interstate access via I-64, I-44, I-55 and I-70
  • Air cargo facility development sites ranging from 10 to 200+ acres
  • An initial air cargo ramp of 258,000 square feet or 5.9 acres
  • An air cargo terminal site adjacent to the ramp
  • Air rescue and fire Index C facility, capable of adjustment, as operational requirements dictate
  • New state-of-the-art control tower, 24-hours daily, seven days a week
  • New fuel farm
  • Aircraft handling services
  • Foreign Trade Zone
  • Enterprise Zone

Runways

MidAmerica St. Louis Airport covers 7,003 acres (2,834 ha) and has two runways:

  • Runway 14L/32R: 10,000 by 150 feet (3,048 x 46 m), Surface: Concrete, ILS equipped.
  • Runway 14R/32L: 8,011 by 150 feet (2,442 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt/Concrete, ILS equipped.

MidAmerica's construction has included creation of the 10,000-foot (3,000 m) 14L/32R (east) runway, adding 1,000 feet (300 m) to the existing west runway, adding passenger and cargo terminals on the east side of the facility and a 7,000-foot (2,100 m) taxiway connecting the two runways. A new air traffic control tower staffed by Air Force personnel was also constructed midway between the two runways.[16]

Maintenance and operations

The civil operations are administered by St. Clair County, Illinois, which also pays the maintenance costs for the east runway. Over half of all air operations at the facility utilize the eastern runway.[7]

Statistics

USDOT's most current data indicates 130,000 passengers at BLV between September 2015 and August 2016[3] and the airport was ranked 255 in the United States. FAA's Calendar Year 2015 data indicated 32,589 enplanements[2] (63,000 total passengers[3]), nearly double the 2014 total. In calendar year 2014, the airport was ranked 363 in the United States with 16,328 passenger enplanements. This was a 20.57% increase over 2013.[17] In calendar year 2013, the dual-use facility was ranked 373 in the United States with 13,542 passenger enplanements. This placed it ninth in the state of Illinois.[18] By comparison, Lambert-St. Louis International Airport was ranked 31 in the United States with over 6.21 million enplanements.

For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2010, the airport had 21,508 aircraft operations, an average of 58 per day: 66% military, 34% general aviation, and <1% scheduled commercial. At that time there were 35 military aircraft based at this airport.[1]

Busiest domestic routes out of BLV (Sep 2015 – Aug 2016)[3]
Rank Airport Passengers Carrier
1 Sanford, FL: SFB 19,460 Allegiant
2 St. Petersburg, FL: PIE 17,500 Allegiant
3 Las Vegas, NV: LAS 11,570 Allegiant
4 Punta Gorda, FL: PGD 8,380 Allegiant
5 Destin, FL: VPS 5,480 Allegiant
6 Jacksonville, FL: JAX 3,270 Allegiant

Total Passengers (BLV)

(U.S. Flights, in thousands)[3]

Public transportation

Light rail

Shiloh-Scott St. Louis MetroLink rail station links Scott Air Force Base with direct trains to downtown St. Louis on MetroLink's Red Line. One-ride and all-day tickets can be purchased from vending machines on the platforms. MetroLink lines provide direct or indirect service to St. Louis, the Clayton area, and Illinois suburbs in St. Clair County.

MetroBus

Five MetroBus lines serve Scott Air Force Base via Shiloh–Scott (St. Louis MetroLink) station.

  • 12 O'Fallon Fairview Heights
  • 15 Belleville Shiloh Scott
  • 17X Lebanon – Mascoutah Express
  • 21 Main & East Base Shuttles
  • 512 Metrolink Station Shuttle

References

  1. ^ a b c FAA Airport Form 5010 for BLV PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective April 5, 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Final Enplanements at All Commercial Service Airports (by Rank)" (PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. September 28, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d e "RITA | BTS | Transtats". www.transtats.bts.gov. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
  4. ^ "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)
  5. ^ Tom Brokaw. MidAmerica St. Louis Airport was featured several times on a "Fleecing of America" segment on the NBC evening news.January 5, 1998. May 27, 1999. August 16, 2000.
  6. ^ Marson, Barrett (1998-01-05). "NBC 'Fleecing' Telecast Snipes At MidAmerica Airport". Belleville News-Democrat. Archived from the original on November 10, 2006. Retrieved 28 December 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ a b Imbs, Christine (March 2006). "Gateway to the World". St. Louis Commerce Magazine. Retrieved December 28, 2009.
  8. ^ http://www.slfp.com/071603BIZp.htm
  9. ^ http://www.stlrcga.org/x1820.xml
  10. ^ http://www.bnd.com/2012/02/22/2068650/business-has-failed-to-take-off.html#storylink=misearch
  11. ^ a b "TransMeridian Airlines to Finish Year at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport". Belleville News Democrat, Distributed by the Associated Press. April 6, 2005.
  12. ^ "Pan Am Will Stop Flying To MidAmerica". St Louis Post-Dispatch (MO). November 2, 2001.
  13. ^ "Final airline departing MidAmerica airport". UPI.com. November 17, 2008.
  14. ^ Louis, St. (October 3, 2011). "MidAmerica Airport's flower flights cost taxpayers millions".
  15. ^ NBC Nightly News, January 12, 2009
  16. ^ Grandone, Jim (February 2000). "Emerging Roles of Scott Air Force Base & MidAmerica". St. Louis Commerce Magazine. Retrieved 28 December 2009.
  17. ^ "Enplanements at All Commercial Service Airports, 2014". Federal Aviation Administration. September 22, 2015.
  18. ^ "Commercial Service Airports CY2013 Enplanements" (PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. December 17, 2013. Retrieved December 28, 2013.


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