Palm Beach International Airport

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Palm Beach International Airport is a public airport located 3 miles (5 km) west of West Palm Beach, Florida and serves Palm Beach County. The airport is operated and maintained by Palm Beach County Department of Airports. Road access to the airport is available directly from I-95, Southern Boulevard, and Congress Avenue. The airport is bordered to the west by Military Trail.

History

Palm Beach International Airport (PBIA) began operations as Morrison Field in 1936. Morrison Field was named in honour of Miss Grace K. Morrison who was a key participant in the planning and organization of the airfield. The first flight departing the field was a New York bound Eastern Air Lines DC-2 in 1936. The airport was officially dedicated on December 19, 1936.

In 1937 the airport was expanded beyond an airstrip and an administration building when the Palm Beach Aero Corporation obtained a lease, built hangars and the first terminal on the south side of the airport. The new terminal became known as the Eastern Air Lines Terminal. The field was used by the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, commencing in 1941. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor Morrison field was used as a base for the allied invasion of France, many planes took off from Morrison for the D-Day invasion of Normandy.

In 1947 the Army Air Corps moved to Mobile, Alabama and commercial services by Eastern and National Airlines resumed from Morrison Field. On August 11, 1948, the name of the airport was changed to Palm Beach International Airport. The airport was once again used by the military in 1951. Renamed Morrison Air Force Base the facility was used to train nearly 23,000 airmen during the Korean War. On March 1953 the county opened the airport's second passenger terminal on the south side of the field. Following the War, the federal government attempted to make the airport a permanent military base, however the County fought the move and took over airport operations in 1959. Delta Air Lines began scheduled service in 1959 and was followed by Capital Airlines in 1960. Jet-powered flights were introduced by Eastern Airlines in 1959 with the Lockheed L-188 Electra.

On October 1966 a jet-age eight-gate Main Terminal Building was opened on the northeast quadrant of the airport. In 1974, Delta Air Lines moved into its own six-gate unit terminal which featured the airport's first jetways. The FAA built a new ATC Control Tower on the south side of the airport during this period.

On October 23, 1988, the 25-gate David McCampbell Terminal, named for World War II naval flying ace, Medal of Honor winner and Palm Beach County resident David McCampbell, was officially dedicated. The 550,000 square foot (51,000 m²) terminal was designed with expansion in mind and can be doubled in size when required.

In 2003 its terminal was voted among the finest in the nation by the readers of Conde Nast Traveler Magazine. In that same year, a new landscaped and state of the art I-95 interchange was built to decrease traffic on Southern Blvd (US 98) extending Turnage Boulevard (the road around the perimeter of the concourse).

Annual passenger counts, enplaning and deplaning combined

2005 - 7,014,237
2004 - 6,537,263
2003 - 6,010,820
2002 - 5,483,662
2001 - 5,934,904
2000 - 5,842,594
1999 - 5,742,634
1998 - 5,899,482
1997 - 5,813,361
1996 - 5,680,913
1995 - 5,418,831
1994 - 5,588,540
1993 - 5,074,132
1992 - 5,023,963
1991 - 5,077,573
1990 - 5,691,410

Facilities

Palm Beach International Airport covers 2,120 acres and has three runways:

Runway 09L/27R: 10,008 x 150 ft. (3,050 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt
Runway 09R/27L: 3,213 x 75 ft. (979 x 23 m), Surface: Asphalt
Runway 13/31: 6,931 x 150 ft. (2,113 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt

Helicopter operations typically use 09R/27L or its parallel taxiways, or make a direct approach to either Customs or the Galaxy Aviation ramp. Palm Beach County Sherriff Office maintains its air division from a hangar at the southwest corner of the airport. General Aviation FBO's and hangers are located along the southern edge of the airport, with entrance access available by the Jet Aviation FBO.

A new ATC tower is scheduled to be built sometime in late 2006 or early 2007.

Airlines

The following airlines fly to Palm Beach International Airport:

Concourse A

Continental Airlines
* Continental Connection operated by Gulfstream International Airlines (Freeport, Marsh Harbour, Nassau, Tampa)

Concourse B

Air Canada (Toronto [seasonal])
Continental Airlines (Cleveland, Houston-Intercontinental, Newark)
* Continental Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines (Houston-Intercontinental)
JetBlue Airways (Boston, Newark, New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia)
Laker Airlines (Freeport)
Northwest Airlines (Detroit)
Southwest Airlines (Baltimore/Washington, Long Island/Islip, Philadelphia, Tampa)
Spirit Airlines (Detroit, Atlantic City [seasonal])
US Airways (Charlotte, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington-Reagan)

Concourse C

American Airlines (Chicago-O'Hare (seasonal), Dallas/Ft. Worth)
AirTran Airways (Atlanta, White Plains)
Bahamasair (Nassau)
CanJet (Montréal)
Delta Air Lines (Atlanta, Boston, Hartford, New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia)
* Delta Connection operated by Comair (Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky)
United Airlines (Chicago-O'Hare)
WestJet (Toronto - starts October 29)

Trivia

Palm Beach International Airport was used in [[Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach]]. It is speculated that the filmmakers used PBIA for logistical purposes; the airport is only about 70 miles from Miami, the focal point of the film. This fact is proven in the film as a floor mat with the large letters 'PBIA' printed upon it can be plainly seen.

Controversies

In conjunction with the slated construction of a new ATC tower at PBIA, the FAA will be transferring all of PBIA's air traffic controllers who's assigned sector is between 5 and 40 miles from the airport to a remote facility at Miami International Airport. Ground traffic controllers, and approach controllers who's sector is within 5 miles of the runway will remain at PBIA. The FAA cites the move as a cost cutting measure, but critics say that it creates a risk to South Florida air traffic if the Miami facility is damaged in a hurricane, or terrorist attack. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association opposes the move. The remote facility at Miami International Airport currently houses air traffic controllers for both Miami and Fort Lauderdale international airports.

Reference

[The History Of Palm Beach International Airport]

External links

[Palm Beach International Airport] (official site)
[Terminal Map with airlines]
[Palm Beach International Airport 1966-1988]

Resources for this airport:
* AirNav [airport information for KPBI]
* FlightAware [airport information] and [live flight tracker]
* NOAA/NWS [current] and [historical] weather observations
* SkyVector [aeronautical chart for KPBI]
* FAA [current PBI delay information]
[Maps and aerial photos] Coordinates: [26.683161° -80.095589°]
* Street map from [Google Maps] or [Yahoo! Maps]
* Topographic map from [TopoZone]
* Aerial image or topographic map from [TerraServer-USA]
* Satellite image from [Google Maps] or [Microsoft Virtual Earth]

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