Tallahassee International Airport

Tallahassee International Airport (IATA: TLH, ICAO: KTLH, FAA LID: TLH) is a city-owned airport five miles southwest of downtown Tallahassee, in Leon County, Florida. It serves the state capital of Florida, and its surrounding areas; it is one of the major airports in north Florida, the others being Pensacola International Airport, Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, and Jacksonville International Airport. Despite its name, it does not yet service any international destinations.[3]

Tallahassee International Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerCity of Tallahassee
ServesTallahassee, Florida
Locationwithin Tallahassee city limits.
Elevation AMSL81 ft / 25 m
Coordinates30°23′48″N 084°21′01″W
Website
Map
TLH
Location of airport in Florida / United States
TLH
TLH (the United States)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
9/27 8,000 2,438 Asphalt
18/36 7,000 2,134 Asphalt
Statistics (2019)
Aircraft operations66,869
Based aircraft110
Total Passengers864,432
Air Florida DC-9 parked at Tallahassee Airport

History
Mayor Joe Cordell and the City Commission photographed at the new Tallahassee Municipal Airport on March 28, 1961.

The airport began as Tallahassee Municipal Airport with a ceremony on April 23, 1961. The flag of the United States was presented to the City of Tallahassee by Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, World War I fighter ace and Chairman of the Board of Eastern Airlines. An aerial demonstration was performed by U.S. Army aircraft from Fort Rucker, Alabama. Tallahassee Municipal replaced the city's first airport, Dale Mabry Field, which closed that year.

Eastern Airlines opened the airport by ferrying city, state and chamber of commerce officials. Aboard the flight were Tallahassee Mayor Joe Cordell, State Comptroller Ray Green, Tallahassee City Commissioners Davis Atkinson, George Taff, Hugh Williams, Tallahassee City Manager Arvah Hopkins, Tallahassee City Clerk-Auditor George White, Airport Manager Flagg Chittenden, and Ernest Menendez, Frank Deller, James Calhoun, John Ward and Jeff Lewis, all of the Tallahassee-Leon County Chamber of Commerce.

From the airport's opening until the early 1980s, the airport's primary runway was Runway 18/36, a 6,076-foot runway with an ILS approach, enabling all-weather approaches, and a USAF certified High TACAN approach for practice by Air Force aircraft based at Tyndall AFB, near Panama City. Runway 9/27 was 4,000 feet long and supported general aviation operations. By the 1970s, the airport had scheduled flights on Eastern Airlines, Delta Air Lines, National Airlines and Southern Airways, mainly on Boeing 727s, Boeing 737s and McDonnell Douglas DC-9s.

By the 1980s the terminal was becoming obsolete, and the 6,100 foot runway was too short for the Boeing 757 and Boeing 767 coming into service. Runway 9/27 was converted to a taxiway and a new Runway 9/27, 8,003 feet long with ILS, was built just to the south. A new passenger terminal was built just north of the new runway. On December 3, 1989, the city opened the $33 million terminal, and on February 20, 2000, the terminal was renamed the Ivan Munroe Terminal in honor of Tallahassee aviation pioneer Ivan Munroe. Munroe was the first man in Tallahassee to own a plane.

On July 20, 2002, a FedEx Flight 1478 crashed a half mile short of the Runway 9 while attempting to land. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the crash was due to a combination of pilot fatigue and pilot error. All three crewmembers survived.[4]

On June 26, 2015, Tallahassee Regional Airport was renamed Tallahassee International Airport. On June 29, 2015 the City of Tallahassee and the FAA announced the name change, though this does not mean that international passenger flights have come to the city or that the airport services any international locations. However, international passengers are allowed to exit the airport via Tallahassee International Airport due to the facility's full-service "service port" for U.S. Customs.[5] The change allows international cargo and general aviation flights to directly come to Tallahassee, which is the leading cargo handler in the Panhandle area of Florida. Tallahassee handles 9.5 million pounds of cargo a year, more than the next city, Pensacola, which handles around 6.8 million pounds.[6]

Facilities

The airport covers 2,485 acres (1,006 ha) at an elevation of 81 feet (25 m). It has two runways: 9/27 is 8,000 by 150 feet (2,438 by 46 m) and 18/36 is 7,000 by 150 ft. (2,134 by 46 m).[1] Helicopter operations are generally confined to the Runway 18/36 area, or direct approaches to the Million Air FBO ramp area.

In the year ending March 31, 2019, the airport had 74,004 aircraft operations, average 203 per day: 52% general aviation, 13% air taxi, 23% military and 12% airline. 98 aircraft were then based at this airport: 70 single-engine, 9 multi-engine, 7 jet and 12 helicopter.[1]

The terminal has two concourses, A & B. Delta Air Lines utilizes Gates B1 and B3, American Airlines uses Gates A1, A3, and A5. Silver Airways utilizes Gate A4.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger
AirlinesDestinations
American Eagle Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami, Washington–National[7]
Delta Air Lines Atlanta
Delta Connection Atlanta
Silver Airways Fort Lauderdale, Tampa
United Express Houston-Intercontinental (begins November 18, 2020)

Destinations map

Cargo
AirlinesDestinations
FedEx Express Memphis, Miami
FedEx Feeder Fort Lauderdale, Orlando

Statistics

Top destinations
Busiest domestic routes from TLH (June 2017 - May 2018)[8]
Rank Airport Passengers Carriers
1 Atlanta, Georgia 177,140 Delta
2 Charlotte, North Carolina 74,450 American
3 Miami, Florida 38,290 American
4 Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas 37,940 American
5 Fort Lauderdale, Florida 12,180 Silver
6 Tampa, Florida 11,760 Silver
7 Orlando, Florida 4,710 Silver
8 Washington–National, D.C. 4,190 American

See also

References
  1. FAA Airport Master Record for TLH (Form 5010 PDF), effective 2008-04-10
  2. "Traffic History Report". Tallahassee Regional Airport web site. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  3. "Tallahassee's airport goes international". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved 2018-08-14.
  4. Fatigued pilots' errors blamed in FedEx crash, St Pete Times, June 9, 2004.
  5. "Florida Airports with U.S. Customs". usatoday.com, World News. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  6. "Tallahassee Airport Soars to New Heights". Talgov.com, the Official Website of the City of Tallahassee. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  7. "TLH announces new daily flights to D.C." Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  8. "Tallahassee: Tallahassee International (TLH)". Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
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