Columbia Metropolitan Airport

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Columbia Metropolitan Airport


Columbia Metropolitan Airport at night
IATA: CAE – ICAO: KCAE – FAA: CAE
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner Richland-Lexington Airport Commission
Serves Columbia, South Carolina
Elevation AMSL 236 ft / 72 m
Coordinates 33°56′20″N 081°07′10″W / 33.93889, -81.11944
Website www.columbiaairport.com
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
5/23 8,001 2,439 Asphalt/Concrete
11/29 8,601 2,622 Asphalt
Helipads
Number Length Surface
ft m
H1 50 15 Concrete
Statistics (2006)
Aircraft operations 98,239
Based aircraft 100
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

Columbia Metropolitan Airport (IATA: CAE, ICAO: KCAE, FAA LID: CAE) is the main airport for Columbia, South Carolina, located in the suburb of West Columbia. The airport lies five miles (8 km) southwest of Columbia's central business district, in Lexington County.[1]

Passenger service is provided by seven scheduled airlines, with commercial cargo service being handled by three scheduled airlines and numerous air freight operators. Two fixed-base operators also serve the Metro facility with various charter flights. The airport maintains a newly dedicated air cargo terminal, the Columbia Airport Enterprise Park (CAE Park) and Foreign Trade Zone #127. Columbia Metropolitan Airport recently completed a $45 million terminal expansion and renovation. Annually, the airport serves more than 1.2 million passengers and processes more than 168,000 tons of air cargo.

Contents

[edit] History

The airport was constructed in the early 1940's as Lexington County Airport. The current terminal was built in 1965 and renovated in 1997. It replaces a terminal built in the early 1950's which, itself, is a replacement of a terminal built several years earlier in the early 1950's. [2]

The airport served as the primary training site for crews learning to fly the United States Army Air Forces's B-25 during World War II including those who went on the Doolittle Raid of Japan on April 18, 1942. It has also served as the hub for the abortive low-cost carrier Air South and is currently a hub for United Parcel Service. Since the late 1980s, capital improvements have been undertaken, including a renovated and expanded terminal, a new parking garage (completed in 2003), the lengthening of the runways, and better interstate access.

[edit] Facilities and aircraft

Columbia Metropolitan Airport covers an area of 2,600 acres (1,052 ha) which contains two runways: 11/29 measuring 8,601 x 150 ft. (2,622 x 46 m) and 5/23 measuring 8,001 x 150 ft. (2,439 x 46 m). It also has a 50 x 50 ft. (15 x 15 m) helipad.[1]

For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2006, the airport had 98,239 aircraft operations, an average of 269 per day: 47% air taxi, 38% general aviation, 11% scheduled commercial and 4% military. At that time there were 100 aircraft based at this airport: 60% single-engine, 25% multi-engine, 14% jet and 1% military.[1]

[edit] Services

The Airport hosts several services. A chapel, a gift shop, a Columbia City Police police precinct restaurants and bars inside the terminal and an eatery.

[edit] Airlines and Destinations

[edit] UPS Southeastern Regional Hub

In August 1996, United Parcel Service opened an $80 million Southeastern Regional Hub at the airport. The hub offers next day, second day and third day air service. The buildings encompass 352,000 square feet and the 44-acre ramp is large enough to hold 22 DC-8 aircraft. The hub can process 42,000 packages an hour. Other major air cargo companies serving the airport include Airborne Express and Federal Express.

[edit] Assorted Information

  • The airport's two airplane runways measure 8,000 feet and 8,600 feet in length, respectively.
  • The airport runways can accommodate an airplane of any size, including the Boeing 747 and the military C-5A.
  • The airport contains its own police department, fire station, and post office.
  • Decorative and semi-natural ponds bordering the sides of the airport terminal can be used by the airport fire department to put out fires.
  • The Columbia Metropolitan Airport's two moving sidewalks are each 200 feet long, the first in South Carolina.
  • The air traffic control tower is 105 feet tall.
  • More than 1.1 million passengers travel through Columbia Metropolitan Airport each year.
  • More than 1,400 people work at the airport.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d FAA Airport Master Record for CAE (Form 5010 PDF), effective 2007-12-20
  2. ^ http://www.columbiaairport.com/ airport section, history subsection

[edit] External links

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