Austin-Bergstrom International Airport

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Austin-Bergstrom International Airport
IATA: AUS - ICAO: KAUS - FAA: AUS
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator City of Austin
Serves Austin, Texas
Elevation AMSL 542 ft (165.2 m)
Coordinates 30°11′40″N, 97°40′12″W
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
17L/35R 9,000 2,743 Concrete
17R/35L 12,248 3,733 Concrete
Helipads
Number Size Surface
ft m
H1 60 18 Concrete
H2 60 18 Concrete

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (IATA: AUS, ICAO: KAUS, FAA LID: AUS) is a mixed-use commercial airport located five miles (8 km) southeast of the central business district (CBD) of Austin, a city in Travis County, Texas. It covers 4,242 acres and has two runways and two helipads.

The airport began passenger service on May 23, 1999. A total of 7,683,545 passengers traveled through the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in 2005, up 6 percent over the previous year and breaking the previous record of 7,658,671 set in 2000. Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, and Continental Airlines are the airport's top carriers.

Contents

[edit] History

Robert Mueller Municipal Airport, originally built on open farmland, served the air traffic needs of Austin starting October 14, 1930.

In 1942, the City of Austin purchased land and donated the land to the United States government for a military installation, with the stipulation that the city would get the land back when the government no longer needed it. This land became Bergstrom Air Force Base.

In the 1950s, developers began building residential areas beneath the flight paths of Mueller and, in parallel, the number of arrivals and departures at the airport increased dramatically because of the growth of the city. Citizens began to complain about the noise. Also, at 7,269 feet, the runway at Mueller was too short to handle new planes such as the 747.

The city began considering options for a new airport as early as 1971, when the Federal Aviation Administration proposed that Austin and San Antonio build a joint regional airport. That idea was rejected, as few Austinites supported driving half way to San Antonio to catch a flight.

In 1976, the city submitted a proposal to the United States Air Force for joint use of Bergstrom AFB. The Air Force rejected the proposal in 1978 as being too disruptive to its operations.

In the 1980s, neighborhoods around Mueller applied enough political pressure to force the city council to choose a site for a new airport from locations under consideration. On November 1, 1987, a voter referendum finally approved a site near Manor. The city began acquiring the land and fighting lawsuits from the Sierra Club and others concerned about the Manor location.

In 1991, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission selected Bergstrom AFB for closure and gave the nod to the city for it to be used as a civilian airport. The city council resolved to move the airport to the Bergstrom site in 1991 and received voter approval in 1993. Groundbreaking for the airport was November 19, 1994 and air cargo operations began on June 30, 1997. Bergstrom had the designator BSM until Mueller's final closure, when it took Mueller's IATA code of AUS.

[edit] Facilities

Main entrance to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport
Enlarge
Main entrance to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport

[edit] Terminal

Barbara Jordan Terminal was designed by University of Texas at Austin Architecture professor Larry Speck.[1] The terminal is 600,000 square feet (56,000 m²) with a total of 25 gates. Inside the terminal, many local restaurants are leased concession space so that visitors can get a "taste of Austin" as they come through. The terminal also has a live music stage on which local bands perform in keeping with the spirit of Austin's proclamation as "The Live Music Capital of the World." As of December 2006, three gates will be vacant — Gates 1 and 24–25. Starting January 1, 2007, American Airlines will lease gate 25, leaving gate 24 and the commuter hold room (gate 1) vacant.

Both American Airlines and Continental Airlines operate lounges at this airport for members of their executive lounge programs.

[edit] Runways

Runway 17R/35L, to the west of the terminal, is the original runway built and used by the Air Force. The 12,250 foot (3734 m) long runway was reconditioned when Austin-Bergstrom was built. The runway is dedicated to former President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Runway 17L/35R is a new 9,000 foot (2743 m) runway on the east side of the terminal and parallel with runway 17R/35L. This runway is dedicated to former Congressman J.J. "Jake" Pickle.

The runways are watched over by a new 20-story air traffic control tower. The tower used by the Air Force was demolished during construction.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

The following carriers currently serve Austin-Bergstrom International Airport:

[edit] References

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Larry Speck UTopia Profile The University of Texas. Accessed 23 June 2006.

[edit] External links

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