Chicago/Rockford International Airport

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chicago/Rockford International Airport

IATA: RFD - ICAO: KRFD
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		Greater Rockford Airport Authority
Serves		Rockford, Illinois
Elevation AMSL		742 ft (226 m)
Coordinates		42°11′43″N, 089°05′50″W
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
7/25	10,004	3,049	Asphalt/Concrete
1/19	8,199	2,499	Asphalt

Chicago/Rockford International Airport or Greater Rockford Airport (IATA: RFD, ICAO: KRFD), is a general aviation and commercial airport located 4 miles (6 km) south of Rockford, in Winnebago County, Illinois, USA.

1 History
2 Facilities
3 Airlines
- 3.1 Passenger
- 3.2 Cargo
4 External links

[edit] History

RFD traces its history back to 1917, when Camp Grant - a U.S. Army Cavalry Camp was established during the First World War. During the events of the second World War, Camp Grant was made into a military training base and prisoner of war confinement center.

Following the war, the state of Illinois adopted the Airport Authority Act. The Greater Rockford Airport Authority was created in 1946. For more than forty years this airport was referred to as the Greater Rockford airport.

Owing to Rockford being about 90 miles from downtown Chicago, the airport's name was changed to Chicago/Rockford International Airport. The airport is marketed to residents of Rockford and surrounding areas as an alternative to Midway Airport and O'Hare International Airport, as well as limited service airports such as the one at Dubuque, Iowa. The airlines at RFD also often use their low fares and free airport parking as a selling point as well.

[edit] Facilities

Greater Rockford Airport covers 2,900 acres and has two runways both with an Instrument Landing System.

[edit] Airlines

[edit] Passenger

Allegiant Air (Las Vegas, Orlando-Sanford, St. Petersburg)
Apple Vacations (Cancún)
United Airlines
- United Express operated by SkyWest (Denver)
Festival Airlines (Destinations to be finalized in late 2006.)

Furthermore, the airport is courting airlines that travel to vaction destinations such as Florida and Mexico. According to an August issue of The Rockford Register Star, the airport could have destinations such as St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport,Southwest Florida International Airport, and Ft. Lauderdale International Airport. This mystery airline could possibly be USA 3000, a subsidiary of Apple Vacations. Allegiant Air recently announced service to St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport, PIE. The Rockford Register Star also reported that Jetblue Airways and Southwest Airlines have expressed some interest in the airport, but negotiations haven't led to any service announcements. It is also rumoured that United Airlines, via United Express, will announce another daily flight to Denver in the coming months.