Gerald R. Ford International Airport

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Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR)
IATA: GRR - ICAO: KGRR
Summary
Airport type public
Operator Kent County Department of Aeronautics
Serves Grand Rapids, Michigan
Elevation AMSL 794 ft (242 m)
Coordinates 42°52′51″N, 85°31′22.1″W
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
8R/26L 10,000 3,048 Grooved Concrete
8L/26R 5,000 1,524 Grooved Concrete
17/35 8,501 2,591 Grooved Concrete

Gerald R. Ford International Airport (IATA: GRR, ICAO: KGRR) is a commercial airport located a few miles southeast of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Originally called Kent County Airport and later renamed Kent County International Airport, the airport was renamed for former United States President Gerald R. Ford in December 1999.

As of January 2007, the airport has the distinction of being the busiest U.S. airport without any service by a low-cost carrier.[citation needed]

Contents

[edit] History

Aviation first came to Kent County on September 10th of 1911, when a Wright Biplane landed at the Comstock Park State Fairgrounds.

The first regularly scheduled air service in the United States was between Grand Rapids and Detroit on a Ford-Stout monoplane named Miss Grand Rapids, which commenced July 26, 1926, from Grand Rapids' first airport which broke ground four miles from downtown in November of 1919.

In 1948, the airport was expanded across 44th Street, and for a time, movable gates were used to keep traffic off of the runway while it was in use.

In 1959, construction began on a new facility in Cascade Township, several miles east of the original location. The new airport was opened on November 23, 1963, and officially dedicated on June 6, 1964.

The first scheduled Boeing 737-200 flight was flown for United Airlines on April 28, 1968 from Chicago O'Hare to Grand Rapids. The aircraft, registration number N9022U, was named The Jet Mainliner City of Grand Rapids.

On January 27, 1977, Kent County Airport was renamed Kent County International Airport with the opening of a U.S. Customs Bureau Office in the main terminal building.

In 1997, the new 8,500-foot runway 17/35 was added to allow the airport to continue operations during the $32 million reconstruction of runway 8R/26L, completed in 2001. Also, the passenger terminal's renovation project was completed in 2000, at a cost of approximately $50 million.

In 2004, the airport served more the 2 million passengers for the first time in a single year.


[edit] Statistics

Statistics for Gerald R. Ford International Airport[1]
Year Total Passengers Total Aircraft Movements
2003 1,976,833 110,128
2004 2,150,125 116,455
2005 2,090,505 112,314
2006 2,015,846 112,608

[edit] Layout

Gerald R. Ford International Airport has two parallel east-west runways and one north-south runway. Along with cargo and general aviation facilities, the airport also has one passenger terminal, consisting of a two-level main terminal and two concourses, labelled A (with six gates) and B (with five gates). Security checkpoints for concourses A and B are independent of one another, so people moving from one concourse to another must clear security.

There are plans to build a 4800 car parking ramp and also to add gates to concourse B.

[edit] Main Terminal

The main terminal contains the ticketing lobbies, three baggage claim carousels, a gift shop, and a food court. Short term and long term parking are located in front of the terminal. The main terminal has 11 gates.

When new baggage screening regulations were introduced by the Transportation Security Administration, the airport was one of the first in the nation to conduct trials on the new screening machines. Due to their size, there was no room to locate the machines "behind the scenes." Instead, they were placed in the middle of the lobby.

[edit] Concourse A

[edit] Concourse B

Former carriers include ATA (Chicago Express/ATA Connection), US Airways Express, Air Canada, TWA Express. Former destinations include Chicago Midway, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Toronto, St. Louis, Tampa, and Las Vegas.

[edit] Cargo Carriers

[edit] Ground transportation

The airport is located at the intersection of 44th Street and Patterson Avenue. It is near I-96, M-6, and M-37.

The Interurban Transit Partnership, the public transit operator for the Grand Rapids area which brands itself as The Rapid, operates a weekday route to Rivertown Crossings Mall in Grandville. As of January 2006, The Rapid runs the Grand Rapids Air Porter from the airport to downtown hotels. There is also a parking shuttle.

[edit] Aircraft Spotting

The airport has two aircraft spotter friendly locations. There is an observation deck located on the mezzanine level of the passenger terminal building, which gives a relatively unobstructed view of the ramp area and runway 8R and 26L.

There is also a viewing area, situated on Kraft Avenue north of 52nd Street. The includes picnic tables litter barrels and a portable toilet. At the viewing area, radio station 1650 AM picks up air traffic controller's, pilot's, and GFIA airfield operations staff's radio transmissions. The airport viewing area is open daily from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm.

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../g/e/r/Gerald_R._Ford_International_Airport_f929.html"
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