Rochester International Airport

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the airport in New York, see Greater Rochester International Airport.

Rochester International Airport

IATA: RST - ICAO: KRST
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		City of Rochester
Serves		Rochester, Minnesota
Elevation AMSL		1,317 ft (401.4 m)
Coordinates		43°54′30″N, 92°30′00″W
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
13/31	9,033	2,753	Concrete
2/20	7,300	2,225	Concrete

Rochester International Airport (IATA: RST, ICAO: KRST) is a nonhub primary airport located seven miles (11 km) southwest of the central business district (CBD) of Rochester, a city in Olmsted County, Minnesota, USA. The airport has covers 2,400 acres and has two runways: a 9,033 x 150 ft (2,743 x 46 m) concrete primary runway (13-31) and a 7,300 x 150 ft (2,225 x 46 m) concrete secondary runway (02-20). Commercial air service is provided by American Airlines and Northwest Airlines. The airport also has a large FedEx terminal built recently, a small DHL station, as well as a general aviation terminal.

1 History
2 Future
3 Airlines
4 Rochester Aviation
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

Rochester International Airport was founded in 1928 by the Mayo Foundation as a way to get patients from far-flung locations to the Mayo Clinic. It originally was located in what is now southeast Rochester and occupied 285 acres (1.2 km²). The following year, 'Rochester Airport' was officially dedicated, and the Rochester Airport Company was founded as a subsidiary of the Mayo Foundation. Northwest Airlines began running Ford Trimotors to Rochester from its hub in St. Paul. Rochester was one of the first destinations from the Twin Cities in Northwest Airlines history, behind Chicago, Winnipeg, Green Bay, and Fargo. In 1940, the existing runways were paved, and additional land was acquired, bringing the airport's total area to 370 acres (1.5 km²). During World War II, the Army Air Corps conducted training operations from the airport. In 1945, the Mayo Foundation gave the airport to the city of Rochester, but the Rochester Airport Company continued to operate the field under an agreement with the city. The airport was renamed Lobb Field in 1952. In the 1940s through the 1960s, the airport was served by Braniff Airways, North Central Airlines, Ozark Airlines, and other small air carriers in addition to Northwest. In 1960, the airport moved to its current location 8 miles south of downtown Rochester, and its name was changed to the Rochester Municipal Airport. American Airlines began service to Chicago O'Hare sometime in 1991. 1995 saw the addition of a US Customs post and it became the Rochester International Airport. TWA operated flights to St. Louis in early 2001, but these routes were dropped very soon due to the merger with American Airlines. On September 15, 2005, the primary runway was lengthened to 9,033' from 7,533'.

[edit] Future

Here are some facts about Rochester Airport's future:

On March 2nd, 2006, air service to and from Dallas/Fort Worth was dropped, citing bad yields and loads for dropping the route, as well as the need for that particular aircraft for American Airlines' campaign to fly out of Dallas Love Field. City officials are desperately attempting to regain the service, however, other service is being sought after as well.
Sometime in 2009, an Instrument Landing System is slated to be added to runway 2/20. This would make all runways at the airport able to handle landings in almost any weather.
In 2006, another jetway is slated to be added to the terminal, bringing the number of gates to 5.
The Master Plan for the airport is scheduled to be redone sometime in 2006 or 2007.
A long-term prediction for Rochester International outlines plans for a new runway and terminal. A new runway, 13L/31R, parallel to the airport's primary runway, is planned on being created about 2500' southwest of the primary runway. A new midfield terminal would be built between the two runways and just east of runway 2/20.

[edit] Airlines

American Airlines
- American Eagle (Chicago-O'Hare)
Northwest Airlines (Minneapolis/St. Paul)
- Northwest Airlink operated by Mesaba Airlines (Minneapolis/St. Paul)
- Northwest Airlink operated by Pinnacle Airlines (Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul)
The airport sees almost monthly charters operated by Sun Country Airlines to either Las Vegas or Laughlin, Nevada.
Federal Express (Grand Forks, Memphis, Wausau, Duluth, Indianapolis)
DHL (Wilmington OH, Sioux Falls)

[edit] Rochester Aviation

Rochester Aviation is the general aviation terminal at the airport. It is owned and operated by Hiawatha Aviation, Inc. The terminal provides line services, refueling services, and caters largely towards business aviation. RARE Aircraft, Ltd, operates the General Aviation side. On April 1, 2006, the ownership of Rochester Aviation will be passed onto Regent Aviation of St. Paul.