MBS International Airport

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MBS International Airport
IATA: MBS - ICAO: KMBS
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		MBS International
Serves		Saginaw, Michigan
Elevation AMSL		668 ft (203.6 m)
Coordinates		43°31′58.49″N, 84°04′46.73″W
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
5/23	8,002	2,439	Asphalt
14/32	6,400	1,951	Asphalt

MBS International Airport (IATA: MBS, ICAO: KMBS) is located in Freeland, Michigan, serving the nearby cities of Midland, Bay City, and Saginaw. It was formerly named Tri City Airport. The airport was renamed to MBS International Airport (representative of its IATA airport code) to prevent confusion with other airports named "Tri City Airport" across the United States.

The fourth busiest commercial airport in Michigan, it is a special municipal body owned by Bay County and the cities of Midland and Saginaw. The airports's name is an initialism formed from the names of the three owning communities. It is governed by a nine-member commission made up of three members from each of the owning communities.

1 Facilities
2 History
3 Current operations
- 3.1 Airlines
4 External links

[edit] Facilities

MBS International Airport covers 3,200 acres and has two runways:

Runway 5/23: 8,002 x 150 ft. (2,439 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt
Runway 14/32: 6,400 x 150 ft. (1,951 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt

[edit] History

During World War II, it was used to hold prisoners of war. Civilian control of the airport resumed in the mid 1940s.

On April 6, 1958, a Capital Airlines Vickers Viscount stalled and crashed on approach to MBS, resulting in 49 fatalities.

The 1980s and 1990s saw a lot of growth at MBS. During this time, airline service expanded and many airlines began serving MBS.

During the 1980s, Air Canada operated the Jetstream 31, linking MBS with Toronto, Canada.
American Eagle Airlines operated Shorts 360 turboprop aircraft between MBS and Chicago, Illinois, as well as Lansing, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, and Traverse City. American left MBS in the late 1980s.
Chicago Express, the now-defunct ATA Airlines carrier, served MBS in the early 1990s with daily service to Chicago Midway Airport using the Jetstream 31 turboprop aircraft.
Comair (the Delta Connection) briefly linked MBS with Cincinnati, Ohio, using Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia, a 32-seat turboprop. Comair left MBS and started service in Flint, where they still operate today.
Continental Airlines provided mainline service in the 1980s to Cleveland, Ohio. The airline used McDonnell Douglas DC-9 and Boeing 737 aircraft on this route. Mainline service was downgraded to Continental Express service in the late 1980s. Continental Express used Beechcraft 1900 turboprop aircraft. Service to Flint and Chicago Midway also existed in 1992. The airline left MBS in the mid-1990s and returned in 2002. Service was dropped to Cleveland again in 2003.
Republic Airlines served MBS in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The airline linked MBS with Detroit using the DC-9 aircraft. During this time, Republic Express provided turboprop service to Flint, Grand Rapids, and Traverse City. Republic stopped MBS service when they merged with Northwest Airlines in the 1980s. Northwest still serves MBS today.
Skyway Airlines (The Midwest Express Connection) served MBS in the 1990s with service to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, using the Beechcraft 1900 turboprop aircraft. Skyway also tried service to Toronto, Flint, and Grand Rapids in the late 1990s. The airline pulled out in the late 1990s.
United Airlines provided MBS with mainline service since commercial service was started. In the 1980s and 1990s, United linked MBS with Chicago using Boeing 737 and 727 aircraft. Service to Denver, Colorado, also existed in the 1980s. Mainline United left MBS in the late 1990s, and was replaced with United Express, which still serves MBS with service to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport using the 50 seat Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) aircraft.
US Airways began service to MBS in 1996, operating Fokker 100 and Boeing 737 aircraft to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Mainline service ended soon after, and US Airways Express assumed the Pittsburgh flights using the Beech 1900 and Saab 340 aircraft. US Airways suspended service to MBS just two days after entering Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in late 2002. At the time it was the only city for US Airways to drop. Since then, US Airways has also left Flint, Lansing, Kalamazoo, and Grand Rapids, leaving Detroit as the only Michigan destination served by US Airways.
Air Force One landed at the airport two times during the 2004 United States Election for nearby rallies in support of George W. Bush

[edit] Current operations

Once the third busiest airport in Michigan, MBS has fallen in air service and passenger numbers. One major reason for this is the low-cost competition at nearby Bishop International Airport in Flint, which offers cheaper airfares, more flights, more airlines, and more destinations. Devout MBS passengers still praise MBS for its ease and convenience.

In 2005, 314,512 passengers have flown in and out of MBS while 758,953 have flown from Flint, according to the MDOT Airport statistics for 2005.