Williams Gateway Airport

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Williams Gateway Airport

IATA: CHD - ICAO: KIWA - FAA: IWA
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		Williams Gateway Airport Authority (WGAA)
Serves		Mesa, Arizona
Elevation AMSL		1382 ft (421.2 m)
Coordinates		33°18′28″N, 111°39′20″W
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
12C/30C	10,201	3,109	Asphalt/Concrete
12L/30R	9,301	2,835	Concrete
12R/30L	10,401	3,170	Concrete

FAA diagram of IWA

Williams Gateway Airport (IATA: CHD, ICAO: KIWA, FAA LID: IWA) is a commercial airport located in the southeastern area of Mesa, Arizona and 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Phoenix, in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA. The airport covers 3,020 acres and has three runways.

Although most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the FAA and IATA, Williams Gateway Airport is assigned IWA^[1] by the FAA and CHD^[2] by the IATA (which assigned IWA to Ivanova, Russian Federation (Russia)^[3]). The airport's ICAO identifier is KIWA^[2]^[4].

1 History
2 Airlines
- 2.1 Charter
3 Recreation
4 Training
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

Williams Gateway Airport was built in 1941 and inaugurated in 1942 by the United States military as Williams Air Base. It served as a flight training field during World War II for military pilots. Military forces established a pilot school there, and many war airplanes that are now considered to be classics were seen there on a daily basis.

In 1948, Williams became the first jet training base, and in 1976 it was the first site of the Undergraduate Pilot Training program. ^[5]

The 1991 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission recommended closing the base as its operating costs were too costly for the United States government; the base continued operating until 1993.

As the base was being shut down, it was decided that, with the growing traffic at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, an alternative airport would be needed in the area. The runway was expanded to accommodate jets, and the facility reopened in 1994 as Williams Gateway Airport. Bids began to be made for some airlines to begin flights almost immediately.

In 2004, charter airline Ryan International Airlines began offering MD-82 jet flights from there to Bullhead City International Airport in Bullhead City, Arizona, which is adjacent to Laughlin, Nevada and many resorts.

In recent years, the airport has again become a center of flight training. Several large flight schools now take advantage of the great flying weather in the Phoenix valley.