Rochester International Airport

Infobox Airport
name = Rochester International Airport
nativename =
nativename-a =
nativename-r =


image-width =
caption =
IATA = RST
ICAO = KRST
type = Public
owner =
operator = City of Rochester
city-served =
location = Rochester, Minnesota
elevation-f = 1,317
elevation-m = 401.4
coordinates = Coord|43|54|30|N|92|30|00|W|type:airport_region:US
website =
metric-elev =
metric-rwy =
r1-number = 13/31
r1-length-f = 9,033
r1-length-m = 2,753
r1-surface = Concrete
r2-number = 2/20
r2-length-f = 7,300
r2-length-m = 2,225
r2-surface = Concrete
stat-year =
stat1-header =
stat1-data =
stat2-header =
stat2-data =
footnotes =

Rochester International Airport Airport codes|RST|KRST is a nonhub primary airport located seven miles (11 km) southwest of the central business district of Rochester, a city in Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States.

The airport covers convert|2400|acre|ha|0|lk=on and has two runways: a 9,033 x 150 ft (2,743 x 46 m) concrete primary runway (13-31) and a 7,300 x 150 ft (2,225 x 46 m) concrete secondary runway (02-20).

Commercial air service is provided by American Airlines, Northwest Airlines and Allegiant Air. The airport also has a large FedEx Express terminal built recently, a small ABX Air station, as well as a general aviation terminal.

History

Rochester International Airport was founded in 1928 by the Mayo Foundation as a way to get patients from far-flung locations to the Mayo Clinic. It originally was located in what is now southeast Rochester and occupied 285 acres (1.2 km²). The following year, 'Rochester Airport' was officially dedicated, and the Rochester Airport Company was founded as a subsidiary of the Mayo Foundation. Northwest Airlines began running Ford Trimotors to Rochester from its hub in St. Paul. Rochester was one of the first destinations from the Twin Cities in Northwest Airlines history, behind Chicago, Winnipeg, Green Bay, and Fargo. In 1940, the existing runways were paved, and additional land was acquired, bringing the airport's total area to 370 acres (1.5 km²). During World War II, the Army Air Corps conducted training operations from the airport. In 1945, the Mayo Foundation gave the airport to the city of Rochester, but the Rochester Airport Company continued to operate the field under an agreement with the city. The airport was renamed Lobb Field in 1952. In the 1940s through the 1960s, the airport was served by Braniff Airways, North Central Airlines, Ozark Airlines, and other small air carriers in addition to Northwest. In 1960, the airport moved to its current location convert|8|mi|km|0 south of downtown Rochester, and its name was changed to the Rochester Municipal Airport. American Airlines began service to Chicago O'Hare sometime in 1991. 1995 saw the addition of a US Customs post and it became the Rochester International Airport. TWA operated flights to St. Louis in early 2001, but these routes were dropped very soon due to the merger with American Airlines. On September 15, 2005, the primary runway was lengthened to 9,033' from 7,533'.

Future

Here are some facts about Rochester Airport's future:
*On March 2nd, 2006, air service to and from Dallas/Fort Worth was dropped, citing bad yields and loads for dropping the route, as well as the need for that particular aircraft for American Airlines' campaign to fly out of Dallas Love Field. City officials are desperately attempting to regain the service, however, other service is being sought after as well.
*Sometime in 2009, an Instrument Landing System is slated to be added to runway 2/20. This would make all runways at the airport able to handle landings in almost any weather.
*In 2008, another jetway is slated to be added to the terminal, bringing the number of boarding bridge gates to 5.
*The Master Plan for the airport is scheduled to be redone sometime in 2006 or 2007. More information on the Airport Master Plan can be found at http://rstoperations.50webs.com/ampabout.htm
*A long-term prediction for Rochester International outlines plans for a new runway and terminal. A new runway, 13L/31R, parallel to the airport's primary runway, is planned on being created about 2500' southwest of the primary runway. A new midfield terminal would be built between the two runways and just east of runway 2/20.

Airlines and destinations

* Allegiant Air (Las Vegas)
* American Airlines
** American Eagle (Chicago-O'Hare)
* Northwest Airlines (Minneapolis/St. Paul)
** Northwest Airlink operated by Mesaba Airlines (Minneapolis/St. Paul)
** Northwest Airlink operated by Pinnacle Airlines (Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul)

* The airport sees almost monthly charters operated by Sun Country Airlines to either Las Vegas or Laughlin, Nevada.
* FedEx Express (Grand Forks, Memphis, Wausau, Duluth, Indianapolis)
* ABX Air (Wilmington OH, Sioux Falls)

Rochester Aviation

Rochester Aviation is the general aviation terminal at the airport. It is owned and operated by Hiawatha Aviation, Inc. The terminal provides line services, refueling services, and caters largely towards business aviation. RARE Aircraft, Ltd. provided flight instruction and aircraft rental up through August, 2006. On April 1, 2006, the ownership of Rochester Aviation was passed onto Regent Aviation of St. Paul. In November 2007, Regent Aviation in turn sold its ownership stake in Rochester's general aviation terminal to Signature Flight Support, a worldwide fixed base operator provider. Also as of November 2007, aircraft rental and flight instruction at RST is available through Legacy Aviation, operating two Cessna 172 aircraft with a group of Certified Flight Instructors.

References

*FAA-airport|ID=RST|use=PU|own=PU|site=10950.1*A
* [http://www.rochesterintlairport.com/ Rochester International Airport] (official web site)

External links

*PDF| [http://www.dot.state.mn.us/aero/avoffice/ops/airdir/pdf/rochester.pdf Minnesota Airport Directory: Rochester International Airport] |320 KiB
*FAA-diagram|05041