- Mobile Downtown Airport
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Mobile Downtown Airport 
USGS aerial image, 2002 IATA: BFM – ICAO: KBFM – FAA LID: BFM Summary Airport type Public Owner/Operator Mobile Airport Authority Serves Mobile, Alabama Elevation AMSL 26 ft / 8 m Coordinates 30°37′36″N 088°04′05″W / 30.62667°N 88.06806°W Website Runways Direction Length Surface ft m 14/32 9,618 2,932 Asphalt/Concrete 18/36 7,800 2,377 Asphalt/Concrete Statistics (2010) Aircraft operations 82,820 Based aircraft 34 Source: FAA[1] and airport website[2] Mobile Downtown Airport (IATA: BFM, ICAO: KBFM, FAA LID: BFM) is a public use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) south of the central business district of Mobile, a city in Mobile County, Alabama, United States.[1] It is also known as Brookley Field. The airport is part of the Brookley Complex, an industrial complex which lies on the western shore of Mobile Bay. It is owned and operated by the Mobile Airport Authority.[2] Prior to 1969, the airport was an active military installation known as Brookley Air Force Base.
According to the FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2009–2013, it is categorized as a general aviation facility.[3] This was a change from the 2007–2011 NPIAS Report, when it was categorized as a reliever airport.[4]
Contents
History
Military usage
Main article: Brookley Air Force BaseFacilities and services
Brookley is the largest industrial and transportation complex in the region with over 100 companies and 4000 employees on 1,700 acres (688 ha).[5] The complex is home to many aerospace industries and features direct connections with Mobile Bay via its own docks, CSX railway, and with Interstate 10.[6] The Brookley Complex is included in Mobile's Foreign Trade Zone 82,[7] a zone that provides special customs procedures to U.S. plants engaged in international trade-related activities.[8]
Brookley includes the largest private employer in Mobile County, ST Mobile Aerospace Engineering, a subsidiary of Singapore Technologies Engineering.[5] Brookley also serves as base of operations for Teledyne Continental Motors and the new Airbus Engineering Center.[5]
The airport has a control tower and has both a 9,600-by-150-foot (2,926 × 46 m) runway and a 7,800-by-150-foot (2,377 × 46 m) runway. Various instrument approaches to all runways are available, including an on-site VORTAC and instrument landing system (ILS). The complex is served by a 24-hour fixed base operator, the Downtown Air Center. In addition to the airport section, the complex is home to many aerospace industries and features direct connections with rail, road, and water transportation.[6]
For the 12-month period ending January 31, 2010, the airport had 82,820 aircraft operations, an average of 226 per day: 49% general aviation, 43% military, 5% air taxi, and 3% scheduled commercial. At that time there were 34 aircraft based at this airport: 65% single-engine, 18% multi-engine, 15% jet and 3% helicopter.[1]
Cargo and maintenance hub
The Brookley Complex is a maintenance facility for FedEx Express, US Airways, and United Airlines. FedEx Express also uses the complex for three daily cargo flights from Memphis, Tennessee. UPS Airlines has one daily cargo flight from Louisville, Kentucky. The complex is also utilized by ABX Air (DHL).
Expansion
Airbus North America selected the airport for the location of an engineering facility which opened in 2007.
On 29 February 2008, the United States Air Force announced that a partnership between Northrop Grumman and EADS (Airbus' parent company) had won the contract to produce the new KC-45 aerial refueling tanker to replace the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker. The contract would have worth up to $40 billion with 179 planes to be delivered over the next ten to fifteen years, with production of these aircraft will be at Brookley.[9] EADS also announced plans to move its A330-200F freighter assembly line from France to Mobile as well. However, the contract was later cancelled.
The KC-X program was later announced for re-competition. Although Northrop Grumman declined to bid (stating that it considered the RFP to be too heavily weighted in favor of Boeing and its planned Boeing 767 entry), on April 20, 2010, EADS announced it was re-entering the competition on a stand-alone basis, and intended to enter a bid with the KC-45 with final assembly at Brookley.[10]
See also
References
- ^ a b c FAA Airport Master Record for BFM (Form 5010 PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. Effective 29 July 2010.
- ^ a b "The People of Brookley Complex". Brookley Complex website. Archived from the original on 2007-10-23. http://web.archive.org/web/20071023201513/http://www.brookleycomplex.com/contact/index.php. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
- ^ National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2009–2013: Appendix A: Part 1 (PDF, 1.33 MB). Federal Aviation Administration. Updated 15 October 2008.
- ^ 2007–2011 NPIAS Report: Appendix A: Part 1 (PDF, 1.26 MB). Federal Aviation Administration. Updated 6 October 2006.
- ^ a b c "Mobile Airport Authority FAQs". "Mobile Airport Authority website". http://www.mobairport.com/info/. Retrieved 2007-12-06.[dead link]
- ^ a b "Infrastructure". "Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce". http://www.mobilechamber.com/infrastructure.asp. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
- ^ "FTZ Board Order Summary". "U.S. Foreign Trade Zones Board". http://ia.ita.doc.gov/Ftzpage/orders/ord1276-1360.html. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
- ^ "Foreign Trade Zones". "U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones Board". http://ia.ita.doc.gov/ftzpage/tic.html. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
- ^ "Northrop/EADS wins tanker contract". "al.com.". http://blog.al.com/live/2008/02/wsj_reports_northropeads_wins.html. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
- ^ "EADS North America intends to submit proposal for U.S. Air Force tanker ", EADS North America press release, April 20, 2010
External links
- Brookley Complex, official website
- Aviation Photos: Mobile - Downtown (Brookley Field / CGAS) from Airliners.net
- Aerial image as of 4 March 2002 from USGS The National Map
- FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective 20 October 2011
- FAA Terminal Procedures for BFM, effective 20 October 2011
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for KBFM
- ASN accident history for BFM
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KBFM
- FAA current BFM delay information
Categories:- Airports in Alabama
- Buildings and structures in Mobile, Alabama
- United States Coast Guard air stations
- Transportation in Mobile, Alabama
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