Grand Forks International Airport

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Coordinates: 47°56′57″N 097°10′34″W / 47.94917, -97.17611

For the airport near Grand Forks, British Columbia, Canada, see Grand Forks Airport.
Grand Forks International Airport
IATA: GFK – ICAO: KGFK – FAA: GFK
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Grand Forks Regional Airport Authority
Location Grand Forks, North Dakota
Elevation AMSL 845 ft / 258 m
Website www.GFKairport.com
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
8/26 4,206 1,282 Concrete
17L/35R 3,901 1,189 Concrete
17R/35L 7,351 2,240 Asphalt
Statistics (2006)
Aircraft operations 224,942
Sources: FAA[1] and airport web site[2]

Grand Forks International Airport (IATA: GFK, ICAO: KGFK, FAA LID: GFK) is a public airport located five miles (8 km) northwest of the central business district of Grand Forks, a city in Grand Forks County, North Dakota, United States. It is owned by the Grand Forks Regional Airport Authority[1] and located on U.S. Highway 2, under four miles (6 km) west of Interstate 29.

The airport is sometimes called Mark Andrews International Airport after Mark Andrews, a former U.S. House Representative and U.S. Senator from North Dakota. 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.

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.

Contents

[edit] Facilities

FAA diagram of GFK
FAA diagram of GFK

[edit] 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.

[edit] Runways

Grand Forks International Airport covers an area of 1,618 acres (655 ha) which contains three runways:[1]

  • Runway 8/26: 4,206 x 100 ft. (1,282 x 30 m), Surface: Concrete
  • Runway 17L/35R: 3,901 x 75 ft. (1,189 x 23 m), Surface: Concrete
  • Runway 17R/35L: 7,351 x 150 ft. (2,241 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt

[edit] Aircraft

For the 12-month period ending December 30th, 2007, the airport had 223,546 aircraft operations, an average of 612 per day: 68% general aviation, 30% air taxi, 2% scheduled commercial and <1% military.

[edit] GFK Flight Support

GFK Flight Support, the fixed base operator at the airport, began construction of a new $4.5 million dollar facility in September 2007. Expected to be completed sometime in April 2008, this 45,000-square-foot (4,200 m²) facility will increase GFK Flight Support's heated hangar and aircraft support space to 130,000 square feet (12,000 m²) making it the largest aircraft service center in North Dakota. Their old facilities are now used by wing of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, housing a number of government aircraft and helicopters. [3]

[edit] Airlines and destinations

[edit] Cargo

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c FAA Airport Master Record for GFK (Form 5010 PDF), effective 2007-12-20
  2. ^ Grand Forks International Airport, official web site
  3. ^ GFK Flight Support To Build State-Of-The-Art Corporate Jet Center. press release. Grand Forks International Airport (2007-08-27).

[edit] External links


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