Tunica Municipal Airport

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Tunica Municipal Airport
IATA: UTM – ICAO: KUTA – FAA: UTA
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner Tunica Airport Commission
Serves Tunica, Mississippi
Elevation AMSL 194 ft / 59 m
Coordinates 34°40′59″N 090°20′50″W / 34.68306, -90.34722
Website www.TunicaAirport.com
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
17/35 8,500 2,590 Asphalt
Statistics (2007)
Aircraft operations 11,730
Based aircraft 15
Sources: FAA[1] and airport web site[2]

Tunica Municipal Airport (IATA: UTM, ICAO: KUTA, FAA LID: UTA, formerly M97[3]) is a public-use airport located one mile (2 km) east of the central business district of Tunica, a town in Tunica County, Mississippi, United States.[1] It is owned by the Tunica Airport Commission.[2]

The airport is also known as Tunica Airport[2], not to be confused with the 10 acre privately-owned, public-use Tunica Airport (FAA LID: 30M) located 2 miles south of the center of town.[4]

Although most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the FAA and IATA, Tunica Municipal Airport is assigned UTA by the FAA and UTM by the IATA[5] (which assigned UTA to Mutare, Zimbabwe[6]).

Development and improvement of the facility, located in the southern portion of the Memphis Metropolitan Area, has increased dramatically since the 1990s. Tunica Municipal is considered as one of the multiple beneficiaries of sales tax revenue generated by the addition of casinos to the county, following approval by the Mississippi Legislature to introduce gaming houses. The growth of the Tunica Resorts region into the third largest gaming destination behind Las Vegas, Nevada and Atlantic City, New Jersey, aided efforts to expand air service beyond charter flights.

From March 21 to October 2006, the airport was served by Boston-Maine Airways under its Pan-Am Clipper Connection banner, with regular scheduled flights to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The Memphis Business Journal reported on August 29, 2007, that more than $6.1 million in funding would be made available from the Federal Aviation Administration for expansion at Tunica Municipal, amid its efforts to find a replacement carrier. The newly available funds were used to complete a 1,500-foot runway extension as well as a 35-foot taxiway extension.[7]

[edit] Facilities and aircraft

Tunica Municipal Airport covers an area of 71 acres (29 ha) and has one runway designated 17/35 with an asphalt surface measuring 8,500 x 150 ft. (2,590 x 46 m). For the 12-month period ending June 30, 2007, the airport had 11,730 aircraft operations, an average of 32 per day: 84% general aviation, 16% scheduled commercial and <1% military. At that time there were 15 aircraft based at this airport: 87% single-engine and 13% multi-engine.[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c FAA Airport Master Record for UTA (Form 5010 PDF), effective 2007-12-20
  2. ^ a b c Tunica Airport, official web site
  3. ^ Tunica Airport Information
  4. ^ FAA Airport Master Record for 30M (Form 5010 PDF), effective 2007-12-20
  5. ^ Great Circle Mapper: UTM / KUTA - Tunica, Mississippi (Tunica Municipal Airport)
  6. ^ Great Circle Mapper: UTA / FVMU - Mutare, Zimbabwe
  7. ^ "Tunica Airport receives $6.1M from federal government". Memphis Business Journal (www.bizjournals.com/memphis), August 29, 2007.

[edit] External links