Grand Forks International Airport

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Grand Forks International Airport
IATA: GFK - ICAO: KGFK
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		Grand Forks Regional Airport Authority
Serves		Grand Forks, North Dakota
Elevation AMSL		845 ft (257.6 m)
Coordinates		47°56′57.31″N, 97°10′34″W
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
8/26	4,206	1,282	Concrete
17L/35R	3,900	1,189	Concrete
17R/35L	7,349	2,240	Asphalt

Grand Forks International Airport (IATA: GFK, ICAO: KGFK) is a public airport located five miles (8 km) northwest of the city of Grand Forks in Grand Forks County, North Dakota, USA.

The airport is located on U.S. Highway 2 under four miles west of Interstate 29 and about five miles west of the City of Grand Forks, North Dakota. The airport is sometimes called Mark Andrews International Airport after Mark Andrews, a former US House Representative and Senator from North Dakota.

In 2004, the Grand Forks was the 44th busiest FAA Air Traffic Control Tower with a total of 266,000 airport operations. Approximately 94% of all airport operations at GFK are flights operated by the University of North Dakota's John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences which is based on the field.

Customs service is available for aircraft arriving from Canada and other countries. GFK has no scheduled passenger airline service out of the country but receives its international title (like many other airports) because of this customs service.

1 Airlines
2 Cargo
3 Passenger terminal
4 External links

[edit] Airlines

Northwest Airlines (Minneapolis/St. Paul)
- Northwest Airlink operated by Mesaba Airlines (Minneapolis/St. Paul, Devils Lake)
- Northwest Airlink operated by Pinnacle Airlines (Minneapolis/St. Paul)

FAA diagram of GFK

[edit] Cargo

FedEx (Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Sioux Falls, Winnipeg)
- Corporate Air (FedEx Feeder) (Minot, Bismarck, Dickinson, ND. Thief River Falls, Bemidji, MN)
Alpine Air Express (Bismarck)

[edit] Passenger terminal

The current passenger terminal at GFK was built in 1964. Outside security the terminal has a Northwest Airlines ticketing counter, a restaurant, a gift shop and a waiting area. After passing through security screening there is a small waiting area that serves the terminal's two passenger gates.

Recently there has been talk of upgrading or totally replacing the terminal as it has structural and safety problems and leaves little to no room for expansion. Findings from a study commissioned by the Grand Forks Regional Airport Authority were released in early 2005. The study, which was done by Ulteig Engineers, gave the Airport Authority options for the future of the passenger terminal.

One option is to keep the terminal as is and not perform any upgrades. The consulting group did not recommend this as the terminal has too many structural and safety problems. The list of problems include: mold growth, roof leakage, differential settlement, blocking runway line of sight, passenger boarding, potential equipment damage from basement flooding, outdated electrical and mechanical systems, no sprinkler system, code deficiencies, insufficient parking setback, and interior traffic circulation issues. The terminal could be rehabilitated for $18.3 million, however, that would leave many issues unresolved and leave no room for expansion.

The consulting group recommended that a brand new passenger terminal would the best solution to the current terminal's problems. Five locations for a new terminal were evaluated favoring a site between the cargo apron and general aviation apron. Building a new terminal here would cost an estimated $29 million for a terminal with surface parking. Adding a parking garage instead of a surface parking lot would cost approximately an extra $8.6 million.

Much of the price tag for a new passenger terminal would be eligible for federal funding, except for revenue generating parking areas. Even with the US government provided much of the required funding, the price tag for a new terminal is still quite high for a small airport like Grand Forks International. Another complication is the closing of the nearby landfill and construction of a fourth runway. Plans for a new runway would have to be completed before planning for a new terminal could begin due to environmental and safety regulations. The earliest a new terminal could be designed, funded, built and constructed by is estimated to be between 2010 and 2011.