Buffalo Niagara International Airport

Infobox Airport
name = Buffalo Niagara International Airport


IATA = BUF
ICAO = KBUF
FAA = BUF
type = Public
owner-oper = Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority
city-served = Erie County
location = Cheektowaga
elevation-f = 728
elevation-m = 222
coordinates = coord|42|56|26|N|078|43|56|W|type:airport
website = [http://www.buffaloairport.com/ www.buffaloairport.com]
r1-number = 5/23
r1-length-f = 8,827
r1-length-m = 2,690
r1-surface = Asphalt
r2-number = 14/32
r2-length-f = 7,161
r2-length-m = 2,183
r2-surface = Asphalt
stat-year = 2006
stat1-header = Aircraft operations
stat1-data = 137,518
stat2-header = Based aircraft
stat2-data = 37
footnotes = Source: Federal Aviation AdministrationFAA-airport|ID=BUF|use=PU|own=PU|site=14954.*A, effective 2007-12-20]

Buffalo Niagara International Airport Airport codes|BUF|KBUF|BUF is an airport located in the town of Cheektowaga in Erie County, New York. The airport is named after the Buffalo Niagara Falls Metro Region. The airport serves Buffalo, New York as well as Southwest Ontario Canada (Private land shuttle services make connections between Buffalo with Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario and John C. Munro International Airport in Hamilton, Ontario). It is the busiest airport in Upstate New York, and the third busiest in New York State by number of boardings.

There is currently a movement to rename Buffalo Niagara International to "Tim Russert Buffalo International Airport" after popular news commentator and Buffalo native Tim Russert, who died in 2008. [ [http://www.buffalonews.com/101/story/398031.html It's official: Road near stadium becomes Tim Russert Highway : Home : The Buffalo News ] ]

History

The Buffalo Municipal Airport (as it was then called) was built in 1926. However, the airport, which officially opened on May 11, 1939, was quickly outgrown, due to larger planes coming on the scene. A 1955 expansion helped remedy this problem. In 1959, after being acquired by the Niagara Frontier Port Authority, the name was changed to the Greater Buffalo International Airport. Another renovation in 1961 extensively remodeled the main terminal building and built a new control tower, as well as adding another concourse for American Airlines. Despite all this, the terminal again became outgrown. To address this problem, a second terminal (called the "West Terminal") was constructed in 1971, which was built to last only ten years. The original terminal, now called the "East Terminal", was heavily expanded between 1975 and 1977. However, no matter how many renovations or expansions the buildings went through, the buildings hadn't aged well. The West terminal, designed as a temporary structure, was nearly 20 years old. Plans began for a new airport in 1991 after it was found that it was no longer economical to keep renovating and expanding the aging terminals. Construction of the new building designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox began in 1995 in between the two existing buildings. While the new building was being constructed, the existing terminals remained open. The brand new airport (now renamed The Buffalo-Niagara International Airport) opened on November 3,1997. It had 14 gates. The old terminals were demolished almost immediately in order to allow any necessary expansion. The new building received an expansion in 1999, increasing the number of gates to 26. In 2006, the main runway was repaved and extended 750 feet, its first major upgrade since 1980. The secondary runway was extended 1,000 feet as well. In 2004, Buffalo/Niagara Int'l Airport hosted Air Force One. AFO was the first 747 to land in Buffalo. Southwest Airlines recently surpassed US Airways to become the largest carrier at BUF in terms of number of passengers. US Airways was bumped to second and jetBlue Airways ranked third.

Low Fare Service

Upstate New York (specifically the Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Albany and airports) used to be ranked high among the most expensive airports to fly out of in the country. "For way too long, Upstate air travelers have been at the mercy of the major carriers," said Senator Charles Schumer. [ [http://www.senate.gov/~schumer/SchumerWebsite/pressroom/press_releases/PR00490.html Schumer Outlines Measures to Expand Upstate Air Service and Increase Competition] ] Schumer is credited for jump starting the upstate New York economy with low fare airlines. He is also credited with bringing JetBlue Airways to New York and helping JetBlue obtain slots at JFK. JetBlue's began service between Buffalo and JFK six days after their inaugural flight (JFK-FLL). Thanks to Schumer's efforts, JetBlue Airways started service to Buffalo, Syracuse and Rochester, Southwest Airlines has come to Buffalo and Albany and Airtran Airways started service to Buffalo and Rochester. Due to this "Southwest Effect," Buffalo Niagara International Airport exceeded the 5,000,000 passenger mark for 2006. Previous estimates by the NFTA had projected 3.8 million passengers for 2006 and that it would be until 2020 before the 5 million plateau would be reached. [ [http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2006/12/25/daily20.html BNIA passenger count tops 5M] ] BUF has more than double the traffic of any other upstate New York airport.

Canadian Travelers

The proximity of Buffalo Niagara International Airport to the 8.1 million residents of Ontario's Golden Horseshoe region, makes it a very popular airport for Canadians travelling to US destinations. In fact, 25% of all passengers utilizing the airport are from Canada. Airfares from Canadian airports to the US are generally higher due to multiple issues which include: fewer competing airlines in Canada, higher taxes, customs and immigration surcharges imposed on international flights, higher operating costs, and airport improvement fees imposed on travellers at Canadian airports. Additionally, air travel between Canada and the US requires that Canadian and US citizens be in possession of a valid passport, while the land borders can still be crossed with other documents that prove citizenship. This generally makes it easier to clear Customs and Immigration at a land border crossing rather than at an airport. There are many shuttles between the airport and cities throughout Southern Ontario.

Airlines and destinations

*AirTran Airways (Atlanta, Orlando, Fort Myers)
*American Airlines
**American Eagle (Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth)
*Continental Airlines
**Continental Connection operated by Colgan Air (Newark)
**Continental Connection operated by CommutAir (Cleveland)
**Continental Express operated by Chautauqua Airlines (Cleveland)
**Continental Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines (Cleveland, Newark)
*Delta Air Lines (Atlanta)
**Delta Connection operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines (Atlanta)
**Delta Connection operated by Chautauqua Airlines (Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky)
**Delta Connection operated by Comair (Atlanta, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, New York-JFK)
**Delta Connection operated by Freedom Airlines (New York-JFK)
**Delta Connection operated by Pinnacle Airlines (Atlanta)
*JetBlue Airways (Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, New York-JFK, Orlando)
*Northwest Airlines (Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul [seasonal] )
*Southwest Airlines (Baltimore/Washington, Chicago-Midway, Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Orlando, Phoenix, Tampa)
*United Airlines (Chicago-O'Hare)
**United Express operated by Chautauqua Airlines (Washington-Dulles)
**United Express operated by Mesa Airlines (Chicago-O'Hare)
**United Express operated by Shuttle America (Chicago-O'Hare) [begins December 18] [http://ua.flightlookup.com/drilldown.php3?RQID=18492cac0507a3043ed94322a78cda44609079a606094e55&NUMBER=6&HostIP=66.211.137.174&Port=8000]
*US Airways (Charlotte, Philadelphia, Washington-Reagan)
**US Airways Express operated by Air Wisconsin (Boston, New York-LaGuardia, Washington-Reagan)
**US Airways Express operated by Colgan Air (Albany (NY), Rochester (NY))
**US Airways Express operated by Piedmont Airlines (New York-LaGuardia, Philadelphia)
**US Airways Express operated by Republic Airlines (Boston, Philadelphia, Washington-Reagan)

Facilities

US Airways operates a US Airways Club near Gate 6.

ee also

* New York World War II Army Airfields

References

External links

* [http://www.nfta.com/airport/ Buffalo Niagara International Airport] , official site
*PDFlink| [https://www.nysdot.gov/portal/page/portal/divisions/operating/opdm/aviation/repository/air_dir/buf.pdf New York State DOT Airport Diagram]
*FAA-diagram|00065
*FAA-procedures|BUF
*US-airport|BUF