Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport

IATA: AVP - ICAO: KAVP
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		Luzerne and Lackawanna Counties
Serves		Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Elevation AMSL		962 ft (293.2 m)
Coordinates		41°20′18″N, 75°43′24″W
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
4/22	7,501	2,286	Asphalt
10/28	4,300	1,311	Asphalt

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport (IATA: AVP, ICAO: KAVP) is an airport located in Avoca, Pennsylvania, near the border of Luzerne County and Lackawanna County, halfway between the cities of Wilkes-Barre and Scranton.

Eight international airlines are capable of departing via Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International and since the spring of 2002, the airport introduced an expansive increase in the number of non-stop flights available across the nation. Air Force One has landed several times in Avoca for various presidential visits to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area. In 1990, AVP was surprisingly referenced in the hugely successful film, Home Alone when Catherine O'Hara's character gets stuck in the airport during a blizzard. The airport advertises itself as "your gateway to Northeastern Pennsylvania and the Pocono Mountains." Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport has just finished a major renovation on rebuilding an entirely new terminal. The new terminal has many conveniences such as jetways and a bigger waiting area and more gates. Despite the name international, as of August 2006, there are no international flights operating out of AVP. The reason behind Wilkes-Barre/Scraton International Airport being designated an international airport comes from it once having a flight to Canada. The airport was given this status, and has the right to keep it despite the flight no longer being on the charts. The international status was officially designated in 1975 under Federal Regulations of the U.S. Customs and Broder Protection when the airport / AVP area submitted and was approved as an U.S. Customs Port of Entry, thus allowing both cargo and / or passengers to clear U.S. Customs for either imports or exports.

Local people and passengers arriving at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport also have the convenience of renting a vehicle from a choice of four companies. These companies include Avis, Hertz, Budget, and National Alamo. There is also a limousine and courier service called Best Value. All of these companies are located in the baggage claim area of the terminal. AVP also has a restaurant and bar called Wings.