Palmdale Regional Airport

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LA/Palmdale Regional Airport

IATA: PMD - ICAO: KPMD
Summary
Airport type		public
Operator		Los Angeles World Airports & U.S. Air Force]]
Serves		Palmdale, California
Elevation AMSL		2,543 ft (775.1 m)
Coordinates		34°37′46″N, 118°05′04″W
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
7/25	12,002	3,658	Paved
4/22	12,001	3,658	Paved
72/252	6,000	1,829	Paved

LA/Palmdale Regional Airport (IATA: PMD, ICAO: KPMD), also United States Air Force Plant 42, is an airport in the city of Palmdale in Los Angeles County, California, United States.

This airport is situated on Plant 42 and is generally considered one of the largest civilian airports in the world due to the size of the 5,800 acres (23 km²) Plant 42 and the surrounding LAWA owned land. It serves predominantly as a manufacturing plant for aircraft used by the United States Military Forces. It is also planned for expanded commercial service.

1 Commercial service
2 Military usage and manufacturing
3 Airline and destination
4 Trivia
5 External links

[edit] Commercial service

The airport currently has a small commercial air terminal owned and operated by the Los Angeles World Airports department of the city of Los Angeles. Additionally, LAWA acquired several thousand acres of land around Plant 42 in 1966 to be developed into "Palmdale Intercontinental Airport," with the goal of surpassing the air traffic of LAX. LAWA has since over the decades not developed its Palmdale airport lands to the full potential it possesses. This is due to two main reasons: perceptions by the traveling public that Palmdale was too far away to suit their desires, and the inability for Los Angeles city government leaders to obtain the political will from the voting public to develop the airport. Only recently, since 2000, have steps been taken to actually work towards the construction of the larger terminal. The current terminal has been vacant July 2006 when Scenic Airlines discontinued scheduled service due to low passenger usage and high fuel costs. Convincing airlines of the marketability of the airport has thus far been difficult because of the perceived distance of the airport from Los Angeles basin population centers. While Palmdale may - offer the airline passenger a quicker ground transportation travel time from Sherman Oaks than the standard LAX airport car trip down the San Diego 405 freeway, so far the airport has been unable to convince passengers to try Palmdale as an alternative.

There is a longstanding desire by the City of Palmdale to attract more commercial carriers to the existing terminal. It is the desire of many Southern Californians to use this airport as an alternative to expanding LAX and Bob Hope Airport. Most of the communities surrounding those airports do not want the added traffic volume and noise to the area. Expansion of Palmdale Regional is also welcomed by a good number of Antelope Valley residents, and is seen by some Valley residents as the long awaited foundation for stabilizng the local economy.

However, those associated with Plant 42 aerospace contractors are in many cases apprehensive about a large airport becoming established, though they tend to support a small to mid sized operation. These aerospace engineers, mechanics, firefighters, and other skilled tradespeople see the entry of a large airport as the deathnell of what they have long strived to maintain - a secure environment away from prying eyes in which to develop, manufacture and flight test advanced aerospace projects and "black" projects which they see as vital to the national defense of the United States.^{[citation needed]} They point to what has happened at Burbank Airport (now renamed Bob Hope Airport) as a template for what could befall Plant 42 and its operational future. (There are presently no aerospace contractors manufacturing advanced or "black" projects working out of Bob Hope Airport.)