| Albuquerque International Sunport Albuquerque |
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| IATA: ABQ – ICAO: KABQ – FAA LID: ABQ
ABQ
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| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | City of Albuquerque | ||
| Serves | Albuquerque, New Mexico | ||
| Hub for | |||
| Elevation AMSL | 5,355 ft / 1,632 m | ||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 3/21 | 10,000 | 3,048 | Concrete |
| 8/26 | 13,793 | 4,204 | Concrete |
| 12/30 | 6,000 | 1,829 | Concrete |
| 17/35 | 10,000 | 3,048 | Asphalt/Concrete |
| Statistics (2006, 2010) | |||
| Aircraft operations (2006) | 192,520 | ||
| Based aircraft (2006) | 322 | ||
| Passengers (2010) | 5,801,641 | ||
| Sources: airport website[2] and FAA[3] | |||
Albuquerque International Sunport (IATA: ABQ, ICAO: KABQ, FAA LID: ABQ) is a public airport located 3 miles (5 km) southeast of the central business district of Albuquerque, a city in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States.[3] It is the largest commercial airport in the state, handling 5,888,811 passengers in 2009.[4] The airport serves Albuquerque and Santa Fe (also served by Santa Fe Municipal Airport).
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Albuquerque in the 1930s was served by two private airports, West Mesa Airport and Oxnard Field. Around 1935 it was suggested that the city build a new public airport using WPA money. Having secured $520,500 USD in funding, Governor Clyde Tingley broke ground for the project on February 28, 1937. Albuquerque Municipal Airport opened in 1939 with two paved runways, a Pueblo Style terminal building designed by Ernest Blumenthal, and a massive hangar designed to accommodate the new Boeing 307.[5]
The Sunport took on a new role in 1940 when it was designated Albuquerque Army Air Base, the precursor to today's Kirtland Air Force Base. The airport continues to share its runways with Kirtland, which also handles rescue and firefighting operations.
The April 1957 OAG shows 31 weekday departures: 13 on Continental, 12 TWA and 6 Frontier.
The present terminal was constructed in 1965 on a site just east of the original terminal. It has since been expanded twice, first in the late 1980s and most recently in 1996. The old terminal has been restored and currently houses offices of the Transportation Security Administration. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
The Airport Master Plan drafted in 2002 lays out intermediate- and long-term projects at the Sunport, including the removal of Runway 17/35 and the construction of a second terminal. The second terminal will be built by demand of increasing traffic. The runway closure recommendation is based on a number of factors, including safety, noise abatement, and the cost of continued upkeep. Because 17/35 intersects all three of the other runways, it has the highest risk of runway incursions; therefore air traffic control prefers not to use the runway unless absolutely necessary. The prevailing winds are from the west, and even during strong winds, the other runways can cover departure and landing. Currently, most of the runway's use is general aviation.
In the longer term, the plan calls for a new terminal to be built to the northeast of the existing terminal. A people mover system will connect the terminal with parking facilities and the existing terminal.[6]
A major new part of Albuquerque called Mesa del Sol is being developed 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Albuquerque International Sunport and is planned to house 100,000 inhabitants by 2055.[7]
Albuquerque International Sunport Airport covers an area of 2,039 acres (825 ha) which contains four runways. For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2006, the airport had 192,520 aircraft operations, an average of 527 per day: 41% scheduled commercial, 23% air taxi, 23% general aviation and 16% military. There are 322 aircraft based at this airport: 33% multi-engine, 30% single-engine, 18% military, 13% jet and 7% helicopter.[3] ABQ's terminal, which was expanded to its present size in the late 1980s and again in 1996, encompasses 574,000 sq ft (53,300 m²). of space. The airport has a Pueblo Revival style passenger terminal which houses two concourses and an area for commuter airline gates. The count of passengers at the Sunport has seen an average per year increase of 2% over the last 15 years.[4]
The largest passenger aircraft normally scheduled into the Albuquerque International Sunport is the Boeing 757, operated by Delta Air Lines on flights to and from Atlanta during the spring and summer months, and during the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in October; Delta also uses the 757 to Minneapolis during this time.[8] United also uses a 757 on the first flight of the day to Denver during Thanksgiving time. The largest overall aircraft the Sunport usually sees is a UPS Airbus A300 to Louisville and Ontario. In the past, however, the airport has seen regularly scheduled Lockheed L-1011 service operated by Trans World Airlines.
More recent data from the FAA shows the annual operations for the five year period from 2005-2009 are:
2005: 196,699; 2006: 192,241; 2007: 190,780; 2008: 180,553; 2009: 158,529 [9]
The airport's freight center moved 67,000 tons of cargo in 2008.[4]
Albuquerque International Sunport has a single terminal with 25 gates in three concourses, including a concourse for commuter airline gates. Concourse A has 13 gates: A1 - A12, A14. Concourse B has 9 gates: B1, B3-B10 (Gate B2 was removed during the security hall and low B gate bathroom expansion). Concourse E has 2 gates: E1 & E2. Concourse C consisted of three gates (C1, C2, & C3). It was mostly used by Trans World Airlines. It was closed in the early 2000s and has mostly been converted to office space. Concourse D was a ground-level commuter aircraft concourse that was used by Great Plains Airlines and Rio Grande Air. It was closed in 2004 after Great Plains Airlines liquidated due to insolvency.
| Airlines | Destinations | Concourse |
|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | Dallas/Fort Worth | B |
| American Eagle | Chicago-O'Hare, Los Angeles | B |
| Delta Air Lines | Atlanta, Minneapolis/St. Paul | B |
| Delta Connection operated by SkyWest Airlines | Salt Lake City | B |
| Frontier Airlines | Denver | B |
| Great Lakes Airlines | Clovis, Silver City | E |
| New Mexico Airlines[10] | Alamogordo, Carlsbad, Clovis[11] | E |
| Southwest Airlines | Baltimore, Chicago-Midway, Dallas-Love, Denver, El Paso, Houston-Hobby, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, Oakland, Orlando, Phoenix, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma, Tucson Seasonal: Portland (OR) [12] |
A |
| United Airlines | Denver, Washington-Dulles | B |
| United Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines | Denver, Houston-Intercontinental | B |
| United Express operated by Shuttle America | Chicago-O'Hare, Denver, Houston-Intercontinental | B |
| United Express operated by SkyWest Airlines | Denver, Houston-Intercontinental, Los Angeles, San Francisco | B |
| US Airways Express operated by Mesa Airlines | Phoenix | B |
| US Airways Express operated by SkyWest Airlines | Phoenix | B |
| Rank | City | Passengers per 12 months |
Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phoenix, AZ | 356,000 | Southwest, US Airways |
| 2 | Denver, CO | 311,000 | Frontier, Southwest, United |
| 3 | Dallas/Fort Worth, TX | 290,000 | American |
| 4 | Dallas, TX (Love Field) | 183,000 | Southwest |
| 5 | Las Vegas, NV | 156,000 | Southwest |
| 6 | Los Angeles, CA | 150,000 | American, Southwest, United |
| 7 | Atlanta, GA | 136,000 | Delta |
| 8 | Salt Lake City, UT | 116,000 | Delta, Southwest |
| 9 | Houston, TX (IAH) | 99,000 | United |
| 10 | Oakland, CA | 78,000 | Southwest |
Support for Private, Corporate and General Aviation aircraft pilots and passengers are handled by two Fixed-Base Operators at Albuquerque International Sunport: Atlantic Aviation and Cutter Aviation. Both are located on the Southeast section of the airport off Clark Carr Loop.