Rickenbacker International Airport

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Rickenbacker International Airport
IATA: LCK - ICAO: KLCK
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		Columbus Regional Airport Authority
Serves		Columbus, Ohio
Elevation AMSL		744 ft (227 m)
Coordinates		39°48′50″N, 82°55′40″W
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
05R/23L	12,102	3,689	Asphalt/Concrete
05L/23R	11,937	3,638	Asphalt

Rickenbacker International Airport (IATA: LCK, ICAO: KLCK) is a public airport located 10 miles (16 km) south of the city of Columbus in Franklin County, Ohio, USA.

It was originally opened in 1942 as Lockbourne Army Air Base (named after the nearby village of Lockbourne), and was home base to the famed Tuskegee Airmen after World War II. It was renamed Lockbourne Air Force Base on January 13, 1948, by Dept. of the Air Force General Order No. 2. Lockbourne AFB was redesignated Rickenbacker Air Force Base on May 18, 1974, by Dept. of the Air Force Special Order GA-11 of March 6, 1974, to honor Columbus native Eddie Rickenbacker, the leading American fighter pilot of World War I. The base was transferred from the Strategic Air Command to the Air National Guard and redesignated Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base on April 1, 1980, by Dept. of the Air Force Special Order GA-34 of May 20, 1980. It was realigned as Rickenbacker Air National Guard Station on September 30, 1994 by the 1991 Congressional Base Closure and Realignment Commission.

Today, Rickenbacker International is used primarily as a cargo airport for the city of Columbus, although the U.S. Air Force still maintains a presence there in the form of the Ohio Air National Guard, and a growing number of passenger charter carriers are using the airport as well.

It is managed by the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, which also includes Port Columbus International Airport and Bolton Field.

1 Rickenbacker Airport
2 Spaceport Facilities
3 Passenger Airlines & Destinations
4 Cargo Airline Service
5 Previous Passenger Service
6 Previous Military Tenants
7 External links

[edit] Rickenbacker Airport

Rickenbacker International Airport control tower.

Rickenbacker used to be run by the Rickenbacker Port Authority, until merging in 2003 with Port Columbus and Bolton field creating the Columbus Regional Airport Authority. As of July 2006, Rickenbacker is the world's 126th busiest cargo airport according to Air Cargo World [1]. Rickenbacker ranks as one of the worlds top 20 fastest growing cargo airports in July 2006 with 112,888 tons, a 15.3% increase from the previous year. This is mainly due to the transfer of AirNet Systems operations from Port Columbus International Airport to Rickenbacker. This number is expected to increase with the introduction of the new intermodal facility that is under construction. As of now it has scheduled service from FedEx along with contractors Mountain Air Cargo and CSA Air and UPS along with contractors Air Cargo Carriers. Multi-weekly 747 freighter service is operated by Evergreen International Airlines, Atlas Air, and Kalitta Air. Other airlines based at Rickenbacker are Snow Aviation and Air Tahoma. Rickenbacker International Airport was also the site for filming all aircraft exterior shots in the movie Air Force One starring Harrison Ford. Rickenbacker was recently chosen as the host airport for the 2007 Gathering of Mustangs and Legends air show.