Tucson International Airport

Infobox Airport
name = Tucson International Airport


IATA = TUS
ICAO = KTUS
FAA = TUS
type = Public
owner = Tucson Airport Authority
operator =
city-served =
location = Tucson, Arizona
elevation-f = 2,643
elevation-m = 806
coordinates = Coord|32|06|58|N|110|56|28|W|type:airport_region:US-AZ
website = [http://www.tucsonairport.org www.TucsonAirport.org]
r1-number = 3/21
r1-length-f = 7,000
r1-length-m = 2,134
r1-surface = Asphalt
r2-number = 11L/29R
r2-length-f = 10,996
r2-length-m = 3,352
r2-surface = Asphalt
r3-number = 11R/29L
r3-length-f = 8,408
r3-length-m = 2,563
r3-surface = Asphalt
stat-year = 2007
stat1-header = Aircraft operations
stat1-data = 257,191
stat2-header = Passenger boardings
stat2-data = 2,223,008
stat3-header = Passenger arrivals/departures
stat3-data = 4,429,905
footnotes = Source: FAAFAA-airport|ID=TUS|use=PU|own=PU|site=00816.*A] and airport website [http://www.tucsonairport.org/taa/releases/2008/jan2008/Passenger_Traffic.htm Tucson Airport Authority, Airport Activity Statistics, 2006] .]

Tucson International Airport Airport codes|TUS|KTUS|TUS is a joint civil-military public airport located six miles (10 km) south of the central business district of Tucson, a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States. It is owned and operated by the Tucson Airport Authority, which also operates Ryan Airfield. Tucson International is the second largest commercial airport in Arizona.

Presently, Tucson International Airport is not a hub or focus city for any major passenger airline company. International service to Tucson International Airport is provided by Aeroméxico Connect, the only airline that offers Tucson passengers service to and from Mexico (Hermosillo). However, the service ends on October 11, 2008.

The airport is completing a Concourse Renovation Project,the last phase in an extensive remodeling begun in 2000 that added convert|82000|sqft|m2|abbr=on. to ticketing and baggage claim. On March 19, 2008, the previous West/East concourses and gates were renumbered with the East Concourse becoming Concourse A: Gates A1 - A9, and the West Concourse becoming Concourse B: Gates B1 - B11. The international arrival area will also be moved to the main terminal in Concourse A, whereas before it existed in a separate terminal. [ [http://www.tucsonairport.org/taa/releases/2007/may07/amenities.htm Tucson Concourse Renovation Project] ] [ [http://www.tucsonairport.org/taa/releases/2008/mar2008/Concourse_gates.htm Tucson International Airport Renames Concourses] ]

History

In 1919, Tucson opened the first municipally-owned airport in the United States. Nine years later, in 1928, commercial air service began at Tucson with Standard Airlines (later American Airlines) in 1928. Regular airmail service started two years later. [ [http://www.tucsonairport.org/html/tia_tiafacts.html Tucson International Airport History] ]

During World War II the airfield was used by the United States Army Air Force Air Technical Service Command.

In 1948, the Tucson Airport Authority was created as a non-profit corporation to operate the airport. The airport was then moved to its current location and operated on the west ramp out of three hangars vacated by World War II military manufacturing companies.

In 1963 a new terminal facility was completed, housing six airlines and an international inspection station, earning the title, Tucson International Airport.

Airfield

Tucson International Airport covers an area of convert|8244|acre|km2|0 and contains three runways:
* Runway 11L/29R: 10,996 x 150 ft (3,352 x 46 m), air carrier runway, ILS equipped.
* Runway 11R/29L: 8,408 x 75 ft (2,563 x 23 m), air carrier runway, general aviation, & air taxi.
* Runway 3/21: 7,000 x 150 ft (2,134 x 46 m), general aviation & air taxi.

For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2007, the airport had 257,191 aircraft operations, an average of 704 per day: 59% general aviation, 17% scheduled commercial, 14% military and 10% air taxi.

tatistics

According to Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 2,223,008 commercial passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2007 and 2,121,813 enplanements in 2006, an increase of 4.77%. [ [http://www.faa.gov/airports_airtraffic/airports/planning_capacity/passenger_allcargo_stats/passenger/ FAA Passenger Boarding Data] ]

In 2007, Tucson International Airport set a new passenger record for the fourth consecutive year with 4,429,905 total arriving and departing passengers, an increase of 4.8% over the 2006 total. Of the average of the appx. 82 daily departures in 2007, Tucson's top ranked carriers included Southwest Airlines, with a 29% market share, American Airlines which had accounted for 20% of the total traffic, and US Airways which had a 11% market share.

Terminals, airlines, and destinations

Tucson International Airport has two terminals, one domestic and one international). The domestic, or Main Terminal is split into two concourses, Concourse A which contains 9 gates: A1 - A9, and Concourse B which contains 11 gates: B1 - B11. As of September 3, 2008, Tucson's 12 carriers offer over 65 daily non-stop departures to 19 destinations. [ [http://airtucson.com/service.htm Daily Flights from Tucson International Airport] ] Of those destinations, 18 of them are served year-round. Upcoming service changes at TIA will decrease the total destinations served from Tucson International Airport to 17. These changes include Southwest Airlines discontinuing service to Oakland, California on November 2, and US Airways discontinuing service to Charlotte, North Carolina on January 4, 2009.

International Terminal

Note: All International Arrivals are handled in the International Terminal

In addition to handling all international arrivals at TUS, the International Terminal also houses U.S. Customs, Immigration, and Naturalization. International departures take place in the Main Terminal.

The International Terminal has 2 Gates: 1 - 2
*Aeroméxico
** Aeroméxico Connect Gate 2 (Hermosillo) [ends October 11 2008]

Main Terminal

All ticketing occurs at the ticketing level and all baggage claim is located at the baggage level. The terminal's third level contains a full service restaurant, Jet Rock Bar & Grill.

Concourse A

Prior to March 2008, Concourse A was known as the East Concourse

Concourse A has 9 Gates: A1 - A9
* American Airlines Gates A7 and A8 (Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth)
* Frontier Airlines Gate A3 (Denver)
* Southwest Airlines Gates A2, A4 and A6 (Albuquerque, Chicago-Midway, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Oakland [ends November 2] , San Diego)
* Sun Country Airlines Gate A3 (Minneapolis/St. Paul) [seasonal]

"* Due to American Airlines' operations at Gates A7 and A8, Gate A9 cannot support airline operations"

Concourse B

Note: International Arrivals are handled in the International Terminal

Prior to March 2008, Concourse B was known as the West Concourse

Concourse B has 11 Gates: B1 - B11
*Aeroméxico Gate B9
** Aeroméxico Connect (Hermosillo) [ends October 11, 2008]
* Alaska Airlines Gate B3 (Seattle/Tacoma)
* Continental Airlines Gates B8 and B9 (Houston-Intercontinental)
** Continental Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines (Houston-Intercontinental)
* Delta Air Lines Gates B2 and B3 (Atlanta)
** Delta Connection operated by SkyWest Airlines (Salt Lake City)
* Northwest Airlines Gate B11 (Minneapolis/St. Paul)
* United Airlines Gates B4 - B6 (Denver)
** United Express operated by SkyWest Airlines (Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco)
* US Airways Gates B8 and B10 (Charlotte [ends January 4] , Phoenix [seasonal] )
** US Airways Express operated by Mesa Airlines (Phoenix)

Baggage Claim

Tucson International Airport has 7 baggage claims, located on the baggage claim level of the main terminal:

"A" Baggage

*Baggage Claim 5: Southwest Airlines
*Baggage Claim 6: Frontier Airlines, Sun Country Airlines
*Baggage Claim 7: American Airlines

"B" Baggage

*Baggage Claim 1: Northwest Airlines
*Baggage Claim 2: Continental Airlines, US Airways
*Baggage Claim 3: United Airlines
*Baggage Claim 4: Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines

Cargo Terminal

There are two air freight facilities located east of the Main Terminal, off Airport Drive. Air carriers providing air freight include:

Air Carriers

*American Airlines
*Delta Air Lines
*Southwest Airlines

Cargo Carriers

*ABX Air (Albuquerque, Phoenix)
*Air Cargo Transit
*Cargo Force, Inc.
*EGL-Eagle Global Logistics
*FedEx Express (Memphis)
*Matheson Flight Extenders, Inc.
*UPS Airlines (Hermosillo, Louisville)

Rental Car Center

Tucson International Airport is serviced by all seven major rental car companies (listed below from north end to the south end of the building):
*Alamo
*National
*Budget
*Avis
*Hertz
*Enterprise
*Dollar

Military Facilities

Tucson International Airport also hosts Tucson Air National Guard Base, a 92 acre complex on the northwest corner of the airport that is home to the 162d Fighter Wing (162 FW), an Air Education and Training Command (AETC)-gained unit of the Arizona Air National Guard. The largest Air National Guard fighter unit in the United States, the 162 FW operates over 70 F-16C/D/E/F aircraft in three operational fighter squadrons. The wing provides training on the F-16 Fighting Falcon, augmenting the active Air Force's 56th Fighter Wing (56 FW) at Luke AFB, Arizona as a Formal Training Unit (FTU) for training Regular Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, Air National Guard and NATO/Allied/Coalition F-16 pilots.

The wing also hosts the Air National Guard / Air Force Reserve Command (ANG AFRC) Command Test Center as a tenant unit, which conducts operational testing on behalf of the Air Reserve Component. The 162 FW also hosts "Snowbird" operations during the winter months for Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, and Air National Guard F-16 and A-10 units from northern tier bases in the continental United States, as well as Canadian Forces and Royal Air Force flying units. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/162d_Fighter_Wing] [http://www.aatc.ang.af.mil/] [http://www.162fw.ang.af.mil/]

During its history at TUS, the 162nd has operated the F-86 Sabre, F-100 Super Sabre, F-102 Delta Dagger, A-7 Corsair II and F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/162d_Fighter_Wing] . Not counting students or transient flight crews, the instalation employs over 1,700 personnel, over 1,100 of whom are full-time and the remainder traditional part-time Air National Guardsmen. Although an AETC organization, the 162nd also maintains an F-16 Alert Detachment at nearby Davis-Monthan AFB in support of Operation Noble Eagle.

ee also

* Arizona World War II Army Airfields

References

External links

* [http://www.tucsonairport.org/ Tucson International Airport] (official web site)
* [http://www.airtucson.com/ AirTucson.com] (official air service web site)
* [http://www.azdot.gov/aviation/airports/airports_list.asp?FAA=TUS Tucson International Airport] at Arizona DOT web site
*coord|32.1161|-110.941|type:airport_region:US-AZ|display=title
*FAA-diagram|00430
*US-airport|TUS