| Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: ECP – ICAO: KECP – FAA LID: ECP
ECP
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| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Owner | Panama City-Bay County Airport and Industrial District | ||
| Serves | Panama City, Florida | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 69 ft / 21 m | ||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 16/34 | 10,000 | 3,048 | Concrete |
The Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (IATA: ECP, ICAO: KECP, FAA LID: ECP) is an international airport located north of Panama City Beach, Florida near West Bay. It is a relocation of the former Panama City-Bay County International Airport, also known as Fannin Field (PFN), which was located in Panama City, Florida. The airport opened for commercial flights on May 23, 2010 and is the first international airport designed and constructed since the September 11 attacks. Though the moniker "international" was included in the airport's name, it is not expected that the airport will have scheduled international flights. The airport was originally to have been called Northwest Florida-Panama City International Airport, but its name was changed because the airport authority was asked to change it to a more regional name by airlines that are considering using the new airport.
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Starting in the late 1990s, the Panama City-Bay County Airport and Industrial District (Airport Authority) started looking for options to increase the air service in the Panama City area. Proposed ideas included utilizing the current airport property and extending the current short runways either into St. Andrews Bay or into residential neighborhoods, relocation of the airport to a new site, or collocation with Tyndall AFB. With strong opposition to extending the current runways into an environmentally sensitive bay or into neighborhoods, the airport authority began to search for suitable relocation sites. The authority received a tentative approval to relocate the airport to northwestern Bay County in 2001. In 2005-2007 the authority obtained the needed permits.[1]
The relocation of the airport was controversial in Bay County.[2] The county commission chose to proceed with building a new airport and closing down Fannin Field despite a majority of voters in a non-binding 2004 referendum voting against the plan. Some felt that the St. Joe Company, which owned the land the airport would be based on, would derive an unfair benefit at the taxpayer's expense. Suits were filed against the airport on environmental grounds but were not successful in halting its construction.[3] Construction was completed in May 2010.
This is the primary and currently only runway at Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport. It is concrete/grooved, 10,000 feet long (3,048 meters) and 150 feet wide (45.7 meters). There are plans to build one crosswind and one parallel runway as traffic demand increases.
The elevation for Runway 16 is 68.6 ft (20.9 meters). Runway 16 is the primary runway for landing and departure. The runway has a 4-aligned PAPI light system (glideslope: 2.83°), a MALSR approach light, centerline lights, and touchdown zone lights. The runway also has an instrument approach which includes S-ILS or LOC/DME, and GPS RNAV. For general aviation aircraft, the runway uses left traffic pattern.
The opposite end of Runway 16, the elevation for Runway 34 is 53.7 feet (16.3 meters). This runway has a 4-aligned PAPI light system (glideslope: 2.83°) and centerline lights. This runway has a GPS RNAV instrument approach. For general aviation aircraft, the runway uses left traffic pattern.
The new airport features a much larger terminal compared to the terminal at the previous airport. The terminal, 105,000 sq. feet, has seven gates, Gates 3, 4 and 5 have jet bridges. The airport also has a US Customs and Border Protection inspection facility to process arriving international flights. It was anticipated that the new terminal building will be the first airport terminal to attain a LEED rating for being a green building as well. As of July 2011 it has yet to receive this designation.
General aviation is handled at the general aviation facility south of the main passenger terminal. The only FBO in operation as of August 2011 is SheltAir. Flight training based at KECP has fallen off as ATP Flight School closed prior to the relocation of the airport.
The cargo facility is located between the control tower and general aviation ramp. Flight Express is the primary air cargo service to KECP.
Southwest Airlines began service in May 2010 with 8 daily flights, 2 each to Baltimore-Washington (KBWI), Orlando International (KMCO), Houston-Hobby KHOU and Nashville International (KBNA).[4] Delta Air Lines offers 2 flights to Atlanta along with Delta Connection service to Atlanta with 6 daily flights.[5]
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | Atlanta |
| Delta Connection operated by ExpressJet | Atlanta |
| Southwest Airlines | Baltimore, Houston-Hobby, Nashville, Orlando |