General Mitchell International Airport

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General Mitchell International Airport
IATA: MKE - ICAO: KMKE
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Milwaukee County
Serves Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Elevation AMSL 723 ft (220.4 m)
Coordinates 42°56′50″N, 87°53′48″W
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
01L/19R 9,690 2,954 Asphalt/Concrete
01R/19L 4,183 1,275 Asphalt/Concrete
07L/25R 4,800 1,463 Asphalt/Concrete
07R/25L 8,012 2,442 Asphalt/Concrete
13/31 5,868 1,789 Asphalt/Concrete
"Mitchell Field" redirects here. For the athletic complex in New York, see Mitchel Field.

General Mitchell International Airport (IATA: MKE, ICAO: KMKE) is an airport located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US. It is named after United States Army Air Service General Billy Mitchell, who was raised in Milwaukee and often regarded as the father of the United States Air Force. The airport is the main hub of Midwest Airlines.

Mitchell International has sometimes been described as Chicago's third airport, as many Chicago travellers seek to avoid O'Hare International Airport or Midway Airport. [1] It is also used by travellers throughout Wisconsin and Northern Illinois as an alternative to other local airports. Mitchell is primarily thought of as a regional airport, as few international carriers serve it; but it does have direct service to Toronto via Air Canada Jazz and Midwest Connect. It also offers charter service to some non-domestic destinations. An Amtrak railway station opened at the airport in 2005, which provides daily round trip service to and from Chicago.

In October, 2006 Condé Nast Traveler ranked Milwaukee County’s General Mitchell International Airport as best in the nation in the following categories: Ease of Connections, Customs/Baggage and Safety/Security. Mitchell garnered the most first-place rankings in individual categories, and finished fifth overall among U.S. airports.

The original airfield was established in 1920 as Hamilton Airport, by business owner Thomas Hamilton. Milwaukee County purchased the land on October 19, 1926 for the Milwaukee County Airport. Kohler Aviation Corporation began providing passenger service across Lake Michigan on August 31, 1929. A passenger terminal was later constructed in 1940, and on March 17, 1941 the airport was renamed "General Mitchell Field" after Milwaukee's military airpower advocate, Brigadier General William "Billy" Mitchell. [2] On January 4, 1945 Mitchell Field was leased to the War Department for use as a World War II prisoner-of-war camp. Over 3,000 prisoners and 250 enlisted men stayed at the work camp. Escaped German prisoners were often surprised to find a large German and Polish population just beyond the fence. [3] The present terminal was opened in 1955 and was expanded significantly between 1984-1990. On June 19, 1986, the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors officially renamed Mitchell Field General Mitchell International Airport.

Of interest is the Mitchell Gallery of Flight, a non-profit museum located at the concession level; and a small branch of Renaissance Books which is believed to be the world's first used book store in an airport. An observation lot along the northern edge of the airport is open to the public, and tower communications are rebroadcast using a low power FM transmitter for visitors to tune in on their car radios. A Wisconsin Historical Marker documenting the airport's history is also located there.

Contents

[edit] Airlines

General Mitchell International Airport has three concourses:

[edit] Concourse C

[edit] Concourse D

  • Midwest Airlines (Atlanta, Boston, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers [seasonal], Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-LaGuardia, Newark, Omaha, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco [seasonal], Tampa, Washington-Reagan)
    • Midwest Connect operated by Skyway Airlines (Appleton, Baltimore/Washington, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Des Moines, Escanaba, Flint, Grand Rapids, Green Bay, Hartford, Indianapolis, Iron Mountain, Louisville, Madison, Marquette, Muskegon, Nashville, Omaha, Pittsburgh, Rhinelander, St. Louis, Toronto-Pearson, Wausau)
  • US Airways

[edit] Concourse E

[edit] Expansion

Mitchell is currently undergoing an expansion process. This expansion includes an extension with 10 new gates on Concourse C (completion in July 2007), new rampside boarding gates for Midwest Connect in Concourse D (after which, US Airways will be moved to Concourse C, leaving all of D for Midwest Airlines and Midwest Connect), and renovation of the Concourse E stem.

There is also a "Master Plan" idea to significantly increase terminal area by either stretching the existing terminal (in some cases, to almost double the size) or begin construction of an entirely separate terminal. Nearly all cases will involve major reconstruction on the airport itself, and will have a huge impact on the airport's future traffic.

[edit] The 440th Airlift Wing To Relocate

On May 13, 2005, The Base Realignment and Closure commission recommended that the United States Air Force Reserve (440th Airlift Wing) based at this airport be closed. The State of Wisconsin appealed the recommendation, and ultimately lost the battle to keep the unit in the state.[4]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Mitchell Offers Delay-Weary Chicago Travelers Timely Alternative, Mitchell Memo, September 2004.
  2. ^ General Mitchell Field, Wisconsin Historical Marker text, retrieved October 4, 2006.
  3. ^ Betty Cowley. Stalag Wisconsin: Inside WW II prisoner-of-war camps. Oregon, Wisconsin: Badger Books, 2002.
  4. ^ Wisconsin loses battle for 440th, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, August 26, 2005.

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../g/e/n/General_Mitchell_International_Airport_c76d.html"
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