Manhattan Regional Airport

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"Manhattan Airport" redirects here. For airports that serve New York City, see List of airports in the New York City area.
Manhattan Regional Airport
IATA: MHK – ICAO: KMHK
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator City of Manhattan
Location Manhattan, Kansas
Elevation AMSL 1,057 ft / 322.2 m
Coordinates 39°08′28″N 96°40′15″W / 39.14111, -96.67083
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
3/21 7,000 2,134 Concrete
13/31 3,800 1,158 Asphalt/Concrete

Manhattan Regional Airport (IATA: MHK, ICAO: KMHK, FAA LID: MHK) is a public airport located four miles (6 km) southwest of the central business district (CBD) of Manhattan, a city in Riley County, Kansas, USA. It serves Manhattan, Junction City and the Flint Hills areas of North Central Kansas. The airport covers 680 acres (275 ha) and has two runways. It is mostly used for general aviation, but is also served by one commercial airline. One runway is sufficiently long to allow full-sized commercial airplanes to land, in part so that nearby Fort Riley can use the airport when needed.

Contents

[edit] Airlines

Airline service is subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.

GLA currently offers 6 daily departures. Three direct to Kansas City, Two to Denver via Salina, and One to Denver via McCook. One more daily flight is planned and will commence sometime in July due to increased demand and full flights.

[edit] Service Expansion

Recently Air Midwest's parent company Mesa Air Group, opted to get out of the EAS contracts. Great Lakes Airlines, whose bid was only a little higher than Air Midwest's, will take over with two additional flights to Denver. An new, later flight was added via McCook, Nebraska to Denver due to increased area demand, according to the Manhattan Mercury, 5/17/08

Airport Management have been actively talking with different Airlines to provide additional service to the Flint Hills region. The driving factor of this expansion is Manhattan's role as a top-competitor in the NBAF bid, as accesibility was adressed as one of the major factors Manhattan may not get picked. Therefore, the Kansas State Legislature provided $2 Million to secure entice new service to the Airport, however airlines have been reluctant due to rising operating costs and risks associciated new service, as well as Manhattan being an unproved market. However, Service is still expected to begin in July or 2008 to a "hub with connecting international flights)

[edit] Historical service

[edit] Capitol Air Service

Headquartered in Manhattan until the company went out of business in the late 1980s after having twice been grounded by the FAA for multiple safety and records keeping violations, Capitol Air Service, Inc. provided point-to-point air service to cities throughout Northeastern Kansas.

During the 1970s Capital Air Service, operating as an air taxi service, suffered two crashes, each with fatalities. During the 1980’s the airline suffered having one of its aircraft tipped over by a gust of wind while waiting for take off clearance while another aircraft, a DCH-6 Twin Otter, clipped the side of a terminal building, both incidents occurring at Kansas City International Airport [MCI].

At the height of their operations Capitol Air served Manhattan, KS [MHK], Salina, KS [SLN], Topeka, KS [FOE], Lawrence, KS [LWC], and Kansas City, MO [MCI] using two 20-passenger deHavilland Canada DCH-6 Twin Otter turboprop aircraft and one or more smaller piston-engine aircraft.

[edit] Frontier Airlines

During the mid-to-late 1970s the original Frontier Airlines flew from Manhattan, KS [MHK] to Salina, KS [SLN], Topeka, KS [FOE], Wichita, KS [ICT] and Kansas City, MO [MKC] using 44-seat Convair CV580 turboprop aircraft. By the early 1980’s all of the cities served from Manhattan by turboprop aircraft had been dropped and replaced with a single daily non-stop flight to Denver, CO [DEN] using a Boeing 737-200. The original Frontier Airlines went out of business in 1986.

[edit] Air Midwest Airlines

[Eastern Airlines Express, Braniff Express]

During the mid-to-late 1980s through the early 1990s before their sale to Mesa Air Group in 1991, Wichita, KS based Air Midwest served Manhattan, KS [MHK] with flights to Salina, KS [SLN] and KansasCity, MO [MCI] using 19-passenger Fairchild Metroliner III turboprop aircraft.

For several years in the mid-1980s Air Midwest served as an Eastern Airlines codeshare partner and used 30-passenger Saab a340 turboprop aircraft in full Eastern Airlines livery to fly from Manhattan, KS [MHK] to Kansas City, MO. [MCI].

When, on the way to bankruptcy Eastern Airlines closed their Kansas City, Missouri [MCI] hub Air Midwest sold their Saab a340 aircraft and signed a new codeshare agreement with the second incarnation of Braniff Airlines [which had just established a small hub in Kansas City, Missouri [MCI] and began once again to use Fairchild Metroliner III turboprop aircraft on their Manhattan, Kansas [MHK] to Kansas City, Missouri [MCI] flights.

[edit] Mesa Air Group

[Air Midwest, U.S. Airways Express]

In 1991 Air Midwest sold their St. Louis, Missouri [STL] hub to TransStates Airlines and everything else they owned to the Mesa Air Group of Nevada. Currently Air Midwest [a Mesa Air Group subsidiary], acting under a codeshare agreement with U.S. Airways and operating as U.S. Air Express serves Kansas City, Missouri [MCI] from Manhattan, Kansas [MHK] with three daily flights using 19-passenger Beechcraft 1900D turboprop aircraft.

[edit] Facilities

[edit] Services

An 11,700-square-foot (1,090 m²) Passenger Terminal building located at 5500 Fort Riley Boulevard is home to US Airways Express, Hertz Rent-a-Car, Enterprise Car Rental, and other services. This facility has been operational since January 1997. The city has expanded its efforts to seek additional air service.

The FBO (fixed based operator) facility, adjacent to the Passenger Terminal, is occupied by Kansas Air Center, who has provided service to the Manhattan Airport since May 1989. It is fully functional with a variety of services provided, some of those services include: fuel, charter service, flight instruction, and aircraft rental.

An older 4,100-square-foot (380 m²) General Aviation Terminal building built in 1958 is now home to General Aviation Training & Testing Service, otherwise known as G.A.T.T.S. This facility is located at 1725 South Airport Road, 1 mile (2 km) east of the Passenger Terminal.

Heartland Aviation utilizes an 8,000-square-foot (700 m²) stone maintenance hangar, constructed in 1940, located next to the General Aviation Terminal Building for servicing and repairing aircraft. The Kansas State University Flying Club, an airport tenant for over 50 years, has office space in this facility for instruction and flight planning.

Airport facilities also include a fire station, 48 hangars, storage areas, fuel farm, and an air traffic control tower.

[edit] Airside description

The airside infrastructure includes two runways, five taxiways, and two parking aprons. This infrastructure normally supports aircraft equivalent in size to a DC-9 or Boeing 737, but it can also support the occasional use of commercial aircraft as large as the Boeing 727 or military C-17. Three air navigation systems and multiple lighting systems guide aircraft to the Airport. A city funded air traffic control tower, and two Aircraft Rescue and Fire-Fighting (ARFF) vehicles round out the airside support. Any aircraft with 30 passenger seats or more, or over 110,000 lb (50,000 kg). gross landing weight requires prior permission from the Airport Director to land at Manhattan. Boeing 757's and other larger commercial airliners land occasionally on behalf of the Kansas State University's sports teams.

[edit] Expansion

Expansion of the Manhattan Regional Airport is currently being decided. First, Expansion of the 7,000-foot (2,100 m) runway to 7,400-foot (2,300 m). Second Expansion of the 13/31 runway and parallel taxiway (E Taxiway)An Expansion of the apron to accommodate Fort Riley, General Aviation, and cargo. Re-Doing to interior of the old stone 1940's hangar that FBO Heartland Aviation Uses. And re-surfacing and painting of 13/31. After the expansion of runway 3/21 to 7,400 ft (2,300 m), The Airport will be able to accommodate Boeing 767 and 757-300 variant airliners.

A joint Military - Civil Aviation Apron expansion project is currently being constructed adjacent to the terminal.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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