University of Illinois Willard Airport

University of Illinois Willard Airport
IATA: CMI – ICAO: KCMI – FAA LID: CMI
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Serves		Champaign-Urbana, Illinois
Location		Tolono Township, Illinois
Elevation AMSL		754 ft / 230 m
Coordinates		40°02′21″N 88°16′41″W / 40.03917°N 88.27806°W / 40.03917; -88.27806Coordinates: 40°02′21″N 88°16′41″W / 40.03917°N 88.27806°W / 40.03917; -88.27806
Maps
Location of Champaign County in Illinois
CMI Location of airport in Champaign County
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
4/22	6,500	1,981	Concrete
14L/32R	8,100	2,469	Concrete
14R/32L	3,817	1,163	Asphalt
18/36	5,299	1,615	Concrete
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

University of Illinois Willard Airport (IATA: CMI, ICAO: KCMI, FAA LID: CMI) is an airport owned and operated by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign located south of Savoy in Tolono Township, Champaign County, Illinois. It serves the greater Champaign-Urbana Metropolitan Area in East Central Illinois. Willard Airport is named for former University of Illinois president Arthur Cutts Willard, and home to the University of Illinois Institute of Aviation, which is a major research facility at the university.

Recently, the airport has faced several challenges in terms of its competitiveness. No international flights are offered due to the lack of U.S. immigration and customs facilities. The additional price airlines charge to fly to regional airports compared to a major hub like Chicago's O'Hare International Airport often encourages budget-minded travelers to use surface transport to reach Champaign County instead. Major airlines have chosen to serve Central Illinois only via the Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington-Normal instead. Finally, with the University of Illinois Institute of Aviation scheduled to close in 2014, the number of flights at the airport will drastically decrease, which could lower Willard's importance in the region as well as the amount of FAA funding it receives.^[2]

History

The airport was dedicated on 26 October 1945. The first scheduled commercial flights began in 1954.^[3] The terminal building constructed in 1960^[4] was used until the present terminal was completed in 1987.^[5] By 1969, Willard had become the second-busiest airport in the state of Illinois.^[4] After the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, however, many airlines found service to a regional airport to be inefficient, the price differential to airfares from major hub airports such as Chicago O'Hare grew, which limited the growth of demand for tickets from Willard, lowered the market share within the state, and caused airlines to discontinue service in the ensuing decades.

Willard Airport received its 15 minutes of fame on January 28, 1998. President Bill Clinton was in Champaign-Urbana for a speaking engagement at Assembly Hall and arrived at Willard Airport on Air Force One. Due to the breaking story, news media descended on Champaign-Urbana. After the engagement, just prior to takeoff, the Boeing 707 acting as Air Force One got stuck in the mud, the taxiway not being designed for aircraft as wide as the Boeing 707. After about an hour of being stuck, a backup Air Force One descended upon Willard Airport. The backup was SAM26000, which was the same 707 that took John Kennedy to Dallas. The trip on SAM26000 marked the last time it carried a sitting president. Several months later it was retired to the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson. Many news broadcasts that evening carried live video feed of the Presidential aircraft stuck at Willard Airport. ^[6]

Facilities

Willard Airport covers 1,799 acres (728 ha) and has four runways:

• Runway 4/22: 6,500 x 150 ft. (1,981 x 46 m), Surface: Concrete
• Runway 14L/32R: 8,100 x 150 ft. (2,469 x 46 m), Surface: Concrete, ILS equipped.
• Runway 14R/32L: 3,817 x 75 ft. (1,163 x 23 m), Surface: Asphalt
• Runway 18/36: 5,299 x 150 ft. (1,615 x 46 m), Surface: Concrete

The terminal is made of five gates, numbers 1 through 5.

Airlines and destinations

Terminal building at Willard Airport

Airlines	Destinations
American Eagle	Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth
Vision Airlines	Seasonal: Fort Myers/Punta Gorda [begins December 19][7]

Currently, American Eagle operates one daily flight to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on 50-seat ERJ - jets, and six daily (five on weekends) flights to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on 50-seat ERJs.

Delta Air Lines ceased service to Willard Airport on August 31, 2010.^[8]

Ground transportation

The airport is served by buses from the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District, which connect with intercity buses and with Amtrak. Several car rental agencies have offices in the terminal building. The airport is reached from U.S. Route 45, five miles south of downtown Champaign. The nearest expressway exit is Exit 229 (Monticello Road) on Interstate 57, about a four mile drive west-southwest from the terminal building. In addition to the curbside loading zone and the rental car parking lot, parking facilities include a paid parking lot ($5/day).^[9]

References

1. ^ FAA Airport Master Record for CMI (Form 5010 PDF). Federal Aviation Administration.
2. ^ http://www.aopa.org/training/articles/2011/110722universitiy_illinois_votes_to_close_aviation_program.html
3. ^ "Airport History". University of Illinois Willard Airport. http://www.flycmi.com/about/history/. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Urbana Courier clipping file
5. ^ University Office for Facilities Planning and Programs: Willard Airport
6. ^ "President's Plane Gets Stuck In The Mud". AllPolitics. CNN.com. January 28, 1998. http://edition.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/01/28/wheel/. 
7. ^ Dodson, Don. Airline offers service between Willard and Fort Myers, The News Gazette, October 5, 2011, Retrieved 2011-10-05
8. ^ Dodson, Don (June 30, 2010). "Delta to end service at Willard on Aug. 31". The News-Gazette. http://www.news-gazette.com/news/transportation/2010-06-30/delta-end-service-willard-aug-31.html. 
9. ^ "Parking". University of Illinois Willard Airport. http://www.flycmi.com/parking/. 

External links

• Willard Airport, official website
• FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective 20 October 2011
• FAA Terminal Procedures for CMI, effective 20 October 2011
• Resources for this airport:
  • AirNav airport information for KCMI
  • ASN accident history for CMI
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart, Terminal Procedures for KCMI