Great Falls International Airport

Great Falls International Airport
On final approach for Runway 3 at GTF International Airport.
IATA: GTF – ICAO: KGTF GTF Location in Montana
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		Great Falls International Airport Authority
Serves		Great Falls, Montana
Location		Great Falls, Montana
Elevation AMSL		3,680 ft / 1,121.7 m
Coordinates		47°28′55.20″N 111°22′14.46″W / 47.482°N 111.3706833°W / 47.482; -111.3706833
Website		http://www.gtfairport.com
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 (2010)
Enplanements			159,287UNIQ3b366f1,042,756d57-ref-00,000,000-QINU
Tower operations			40,762UNIQ3b366f1,042,756d57-ref-00,000,003-QINU

Great Falls International Airport (IATA: GTF, ICAO: KGTF) is a joint civil-military public airport located within city limits, three miles (5 km) southwest of central Great Falls in Cascade County, Montana, USA. GTF serves the Great Falls area, as well as other communities throughout central Montana.

Great Falls International Airport is also home to Great Falls Air National Guard Base and the Montana Air National Guard's 120th Fighter Wing (120 FW), the "Vigilantes." An Air National Guard unit operationally-gained by the Air Combat Command (ACC), the 120 FW transitioned from the F-16C Fighting Falcon to the F-15C Eagle in January 2009, which it employs in the air defense and air dominance missions.^[3]

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

History

Great Falls International Airport was initiated in November 1928 following a recommendation from the U.S. Department of Commerce. 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 the war fronts in Europe and the Pacific. While using the airport as an air base, the U.S. Army acquired an additional 740 acres (3.0 km²) of land and built many buildings and other facilities. The airport remained under government control until June 1948, at which point the newly-established Department of Defense deeded the airport back to the City of Great Falls with the stipulation that the facility could revert to military control in the event of a national emergency. The airport was released from this clause in 1961.

In 1975, the terminal at Great Falls International Airport was replaced and all runways, aprons, and taxiways updated. With the use of Federal Aviation Administration matching funds, the Great Falls International Airport Authority performs annual operations, maintenance, and capital improvements.^[4]

In 2005, the airport recorded the most enplanements in its history (160,887), primarily due to deployment of local U.S. Air Force and Montana National Guard troops overseas.^[5] In 2010, the airport recorded the second-highest level number of boardings (159,287) in its history.^[1] It was the fifth-busiest of the state's 15 major airports in 2010, behind Billings (389,401 enplanements), Bozeman (365,210), Missoula (288,807), and Kalispell (174,795).^[6] As of April 2011, the airport was on track for another record-setting year, having boarded more than 50,200 individuals—a 7 percent increase over the 2010 record levels^[1]

Members of the Great Falls Chamber of Commerce created a fund to subsidize (for a short period of time) new passenger airline flights to the airport.^[7] Airport officials had hoped Frontier Airlines would begin service in 2011.^[7] But the airline, which previously said it would be expanding in seven markets in 2011, said it would not begin service in Great Falls due to uncertainty about oil prices.^[7]

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Alaska Airlines operated by Horizon Air	Helena, Seattle/Tacoma
Allegiant Air	Las Vegas, Phoenix/Mesa
Delta Connection operated by Compass Airlines	Minneapolis/St. Paul
Delta Connection operated by SkyWest Airlines	Salt Lake City
United Express operated by SkyWest Airlines	Denver

Cargo Carriers

• Alpine Air
• Ameriflight
• Empire Air
• FedEx Express

See also

• Montana World War II Army Airfields
• List of airports in Montana

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Johnson, Peter. "Great Falls Airline Boardings Up." Great Falls Tribune. May 14, 2011.
2. ^ Airport Boardings Study. Aeronautics Division. Montana Department of Transportation. January 2011, p. 1. Accessed 2011-05-15.
3. ^ AIR FORCE Magazine (ISSN 0730-6784), July 2009 (Vol. 92, No. 7), pp. 34-41
4. ^ http://www.gtfairport.com/Airport_Main.html
5. ^ Mangan, Jeff. "Bozeman, Great Falls Airports Saw a Busy 2010." Montana Business. January 14, 2011. Accessed 2011-05-15.
6. ^ Airport Boardings Study. Aeronautics Division. Montana Department of Transportation. January 2011, p. 2-7. Accessed 2011-05-15.
7. ^ ^{a b c} Black, Jo Dee. "Frontier Airlines Won't Be Landing Here This Year." Great Falls Tribune. March 13, 2011.

External links

• Great Falls International Airport (official site)
• FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective 20 October 2011
• Montana Air National Guard
• Resources for this airport:
  • AirNav airport information for KGTF
  • ASN accident history for GTF
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart for KGTF
  • FAA current GTF delay information