Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
IATA: PHXICAO: KPHXFAA LID: PHX
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner City of Phoenix
Operator Phoenix Airport System
Serves Phoenix, Arizona
Location Phoenix, Arizona
Hub for
Elevation AMSL 1,135 ft / 346 m
Coordinates
Website www.skyharbor.com
Maps
FAA airport diagram
PHX
Location within Arizona
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
8/26 11,489 3,502 Concrete
7L/25R 10,300 3,139 Concrete
7R/25L 7,800 2,377 Concrete
Helipads
Number Length Surface
ft m
H1 60 18 Concrete
H2 60 18 Concrete
Statistics (2010)
Aircraft operations 449,351
Passenger boardings 19,225,050
Passenger volume 38,554,530
Cargo tonnage 276,338
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (IATA: PHXICAO: KPHXFAA LID: PHX) is a joint civil-military public airport located 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of the central business district of the city of Phoenix, in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is Arizona's largest and busiest airport, and the largest commercial airport in the American Southwest.

In 2010, the airport served 38,554,530 passengers, making it the ninth busiest in the United States in terms of passengers and one of the top 15 busiest airports in the world with a 90 million dollar daily economic impact. On a daily basis the airport handles about 1,252 aircraft that arrive and depart, along with 103,630 passengers daily, and more than 675 tons of cargo handled. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records show the airport had 18,853,719 commercial passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2009 and 19,225,050 enplanements in 2010. As of July 2011 there were 12,006,447 enplanements.

The airport is the primary regional hub and gateway for Mexican and Hawaiian departures for Tempe-based US Airways and is the third-largest focus city for Southwest Airlines. US Airways and Southwest are the airport's two largest carriers.

Contents

History

Sky Harbor was the fourth airport built in Phoenix.[2] It was established with one runway in 1928 by Scenic Airways, an airline start-up which collapsed the following year after the Black Thursday stock market crash. Acme Investment Company then owned the airport until 1935. During this time, American Airlines began the first scheduled passenger and air mail service to the airport in 1930. The city of Phoenix purchased the airport from Acme for $100,000 in 1935, and TWA began service to San Francisco in 1938.[3]

After the war the airport began work on a new passenger terminal, as well as a new parallel runway and diagonal cross runway.[4] Terminal 1 (originally called the "West Terminal") which also housed the airport's first control tower, opened in 1952. It was torn down in 1990 and replaced by a cell phone waiting lot.

The April 1957 OAG shows 42 scheduled airline departures a day: 16 American, 11 TWA, 10 Bonanza and 5 Frontier.

The airport's master plan was redesigned in 1959 to eliminate the cross runway to allow more space for new terminals.[4] American and TWA began jet service to Phoenix in 1960 and 1961 respectively, and Terminal 2 (originally called the "East Terminal") still in use today, opened in 1962.[5] Terminal 3 opened in 1979,[4] when the "East" and "West" names were dropped, since they were no longer the only two terminals.

Bonanza Airlines relocated its headquarters from Las Vegas to Phoenix in 1966. Bonanza merged with two other airlines to form Air West in 1968, which was renamed Hughes Airwest after Howard Hughes purchased it in 1970.[6]

Following airline deregulation in 1978, former Hughes Airwest executive Ed Beauvais began forming a business plan for a new airline based in Phoenix. He founded America West Airlines in 1981, which began service from Phoenix in 1983 and doubled in size during its first year of operations. By the end of the decade, America West had a nationwide route network from Phoenix and was lobbying for transpacific service as well.[6]

In the meantime, Southwest Airlines inaugurated its Phoenix operation in January 1982, with thirteen daily flights to twelve cities; by 1986 it had 64 daily flights from Phoenix and was running a crew base there. Southwest opened a maintenance facility at PHX in 1992 which was the largest in its network.[7]

In 1990, the airport opened its largest terminal, Terminal 4. The terminal was originally built with four concourses: N2 and N3 on the north side and S3 and S4 on the south side. In 1994, the N4 International Concourse was opened, adding 10 new gates and a sterile walkway connecting it to the S4 concourse. In 1997, construction began on the 14-gate N1 concourse, for America West Airlines. It was completed in June 1998 at a cost of $50 million,[8] completing the expansion of the north side of the terminal. On the south side of the terminal, construction began in 2002 on the eight-gate S2 concourse for Southwest Airlines. This project was completed in 2004 and features a different architectural design from the other six concourses. The eighth and final concourse for Terminal 4 will be built when needed. Terminal 4 is currently named after former Arizona Senator and 1964 Presidential candidate Barry M. Goldwater. After Goldwater's death in 1998, the mayor of Phoenix proposed renaming the entire airport in Goldwater's memory, but was quickly deluged with public support for maintaining the familiar "Sky Harbor" name.[9]

America West filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1991 and sold its larger aircraft and Japanese route authority, but continued growing its domestic operations from Terminal 4 in cooperation with Continental Airlines. Although AWA enjoyed further growth at Phoenix during the 1990s, the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks strained its financial position. AWA ended its relationship with Continental and ultimately merged with US Airways in 2005. US Airways moved its headquarters to the former AWA campus in Tempe, and retained many AWA managers to run the merged company.[6]

In 2007, the Transportation Security Administration introduced the first of its backscatter X-ray machines at PHX.[10]

Because of Phoenix's consistent wind patterns, Sky Harbor is one of the largest airports in the world to have all runways running parallel (in the east-west direction).

Sky Harbor's private airplane area also serves as one of eight service centers for the Medevac airline Air Evac.

Control tower

The airport's current 326-foot (99-meter) tall air traffic control tower began operations on January 14, 2007. The tower stands just east of the Terminal 3 parking garage, and also houses the Phoenix TRACON. This is Sky Harbor's fourth control tower and is among the tallest control towers in North America.

Terminals

The airport has over 120 aircraft gates in three Terminals (2, 3, 4). The airport administration states that the designation Terminal 1 has been "retired", and that it did not wish to renumber the other terminals since passengers were already familiar with the numbers in place. Free wireless internet access is available in all terminals.

Terminal 2

Terminal 2 has 9 gates (numbered unconsecutively 1-13 and two additional lettered gates C & D) and three parking slots. It was designed by the Phoenix architectural firm, Weaver & Drover and opened in 1962. This terminal includes a mural by French-American artist Paul Coze. In November 2006, a Military and Veterans Hospitality Room, sponsored by the Phoenix Military and Veterans Commission, was opened in Terminal 2.

Terminal 3

Terminal 3 opened in 1979 and has 17 gates, separated into two concourses by a central building outside of security. The south concourse houses gates 2–9 and the north concourse houses gates 15-26. Its only lounge - Delta's Crown Room Club - was closed on April 30, 2008.

Terminal 4 (Barry M. Goldwater Terminal)

Terminal 4 has more than 90 gates, divided into seven satellite concourses connected behind security. Three northern concourses (gates A1-A14, A17-A30, B1-B14) serve US Airways and US Airways Express exclusively. The northeastern concourse "B" houses the international gates (B23-B28). The three southern concourses (gates C1-C10, C11-C20, D1-D8) serve Southwest Airlines exclusively. Terminal 4 handles about 80% of the traffic at the airport.

Airlines and destinations

British Airways provides the airport's only nonstop service outside of North America to London-Heathrow, as well as the only passenger flights on Boeing 747 involving the airport (America West once operated Boeing 747's to Hawaii and Japan from Sky Harbor). US Airways and Hawaiian Airlines offer non-stop service outside the Continental United States to Hawaii. US Airways and Aeroméxico Connect offer non-stop service to cities in Mexico and US Airways, Air Canada, and WestJet offer non-stop service to parts of Canada, while US Airways alone, offers non-stop service to parts of Alaska and Central America.

Airlines Destinations Terminal-Concourse
Aeroméxico Connect Hermosillo 4 - B
Air Canada Toronto-Pearson
Seasonal: Calgary
4 - B
AirTran Airways Atlanta
Seasonal: Milwaukee
4 - C
Alaska Airlines Portland (OR), Seattle/Tacoma 2
American Airlines Chicago-O’Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami 3 - South
American Eagle Los Angeles 3 - South
British Airways London-Heathrow 4 - B
Delta Air Lines Atlanta, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-JFK, Salt Lake City 3 - North
Delta Connection operated by Mesaba Airlines Seasonal: Memphis 3 - North
Delta Connection operated by SkyWest Airlines Los Angeles, Salt Lake City 3 - North
Frontier Airlines Denver, Milwaukee
Seasonal: Branson (MO)
3 - North
Frontier Airlines operated by Republic Airlines Denver 3 - North
Great Lakes Airlines Farmington, Kingman, Page, Show Low 2
Hawaiian Airlines Honolulu 3 - South
JetBlue Airways Boston, New York-JFK 3 - South
Southwest Airlines Albuquerque, Atlanta [begins March 10, 2012][11], Austin, Baltimore, Birmingham (AL), Boise, Boston, Buffalo, Burbank, Chicago-Midway, Columbus (OH), Denver, Detroit, El Paso, Fort Lauderdale, Houston-Hobby, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Little Rock, Los Angeles, Louisville, Manchester (NH), Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Nashville, New Orleans, Newark, Oakland, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Ontario, Orange County, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland (OR), Providence [ends January 7], Raleigh/Durham, Reno/Tahoe, Sacramento, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose (CA), Seattle/Tacoma, Spokane, Tampa, Tulsa 4 - C & D
Sun Country Airlines Seasonal: Minneapolis/St. Paul 3 - North
United Airlines Chicago-O’Hare, Cleveland, Denver, Houston-Intercontinental, Newark, San Francisco, Washington-Dulles 2
United Express operated by ExpressJet Houston-Intercontinental 2
United Express operated by SkyWest Airlines Denver, Houston-Intercontinental, Los Angeles, San Francisco 2
US Airways Albuquerque, Anchorage, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boise, Boston, Burbank, Calgary, Cancún, Charlotte, Chicago-O’Hare, Columbus (OH), Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Detroit, Edmonton, Fort Lauderdale, Fresno, Guadalajara, Honolulu, Houston-Intercontinental, Indianapolis, Kahului, Kansas City, Kona, Las Vegas, Lihue, Long Beach [begins February 1, 2012], Los Angeles, Mazatlán, Mexico City, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia [begins March 10, 2012][12], Newark, Oakland, Omaha, Ontario, Orange County, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland (OR), Puerto Vallarta, Reno/Tahoe, Sacramento, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose (CA), San José del Cabo, Seattle/Tacoma, Spokane, Tampa, Tucson, Vancouver, Washington-National
Seasonal: Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, Manzanillo, San José de Costa Rica
4 - A & B
US Airways Express operated by Mesa Airlines Albuquerque, Austin, Bakersfield, Burbank, Des Moines, Durango, Edmonton, El Paso, Flagstaff, Fresno, Grand Junction, Guadalajara, Guaymas, Hermosillo, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Mazatlán, Monterey, Oakland, Omaha, Ontario, Orange County, Palm Springs, Reno/Tahoe, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San José del Cabo, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tucson, Yuma
Seasonal: Calgary, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo
4 - B
US Airways Express operated by SkyWest Airlines Albuquerque, Bakersfield, Durango, El Paso, Grand Junction, Las Vegas [begins January 7, 2012], Los Angeles, Monterey, Palm Springs, San Luis Obispo, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Tucson, Yuma 4 -B
WestJet Calgary
Seasonal: Edmonton, Kelowna, Regina, Saskatoon, Vancouver, Victoria, Winnipeg
4 - B

Statistics

Please Note: Passenger totals for the domestic flights are based on a 12 month scale ending September, 2011.

Top Ten Busiest Domestic Routes Out of Sky Harbor International Airport[13]
Rank City Passengers Carriers
1 Denver, CO 919,000 Frontier, Southwest, United, US Airways
2 Las Vegas, NV 764,000 Southwest, US Airways
3 Los Angeles, CA 713,000 American, Delta, Southwest, United, US Airways
4 San Diego, CA 663,000 Southwest, US Airways
5 Seattle/Tacoma, WA 616,000 Alaska, Southwest, US Airways
6 Chicago, IL (O'Hare) 607,000 American, United, US Airways
7 Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN 607,000 Delta, Southwest, Sun Country, US Airways
8 Dallas/Fort Worth, TX 576,000 American, US Airways
9 Atlanta, GA 575,000 AirTran, Delta, US Airways
10 Salt Lake City, UT 575,000 Delta, Southwest, US Airways
Top Ten Busiest International Routes Out of Sky Harbor International Airport (2009)[14][15][16]
Rank City Passengers Carriers
1 San José del Cabo, Mexico 261,365 US Airways
2 Puerto Vallarta, Mexico 189,535 US Airways
3 London, United Kingdom (Heathrow) 171,024 British Airways
4 Guadalajara, Mexico 117,249 US Airways
5 Mexico City, Mexico 114,263 US Airways
6 Calgary, Canada 113,850 Air Canada, US Airways, WestJet
7 Cancún, Mexico 113,333 US Airways
8 Toronto, Canada 113,150 Air Canada
9 Mazatlán, Mexico 97,209 US Airways
10 Vancouver, Canada 92,550 US Airways, WestJet

Sky Harbor has an average of 1,232 aircraft operations per day.[17]

Commercial Air Taxi GA Transient Military
990 174 60 7

There are 75 aircraft based at Sky Harbor.[18]

Single-Engine Multi-Engine Jet Helicopter Military
21 14 23 9 8

Other services

  • Cutter Aviation (Fixed-Base Operator, General Aviation Services and Air Charter at Sky Harbor)
  • Swift Air (Operates cargo and passenger charters out of Sky Harbor)

Cargo terminal

20% of Sky Harbor's cargo is shipped through individual passenger airlines and 80% is shipped via the following:

* Sky Harbor's cargo terminal is located on the southwestern end of the airport near the Medevac and Air Evac terminal.

Airport development

PHX Sky Train

  • The new Phoenix Sky Train is an automated people-mover, much like other airports, that will, by 2020, transport Sky Harbor passengers from the 44th Street and Washington Light Rail station to Sky Harbor's East Economy Parking lot, through all three terminals, then on to the Rental Car Center just west of the airport.
    • Phase one, currently underway; will run from the 44th Street and Washington Light Rail station, to East Economy Parking and on to Terminal 4. This phase is scheduled to be completed in 2013.
    • Phase 1A will shuttle passengers to terminal 3 and a walkway to terminal 2. Phase 1A is scheduled to be completed in 2015.[19]
    • Phase two will transport passengers to the Rental Car Center. Phase two is not expected to be completed anytime prior to 2020.[19]
  • Sky Harbor is the first airport in the world to have a Train track high enough for a Boeing 747 to pass underneath, standing above Taxiway R at 100 feet (30 meters).[20]

Info: [1], [2], [3]

Other projects

  • A new 33 gate Terminal west of the current Terminal 2 *scheduled to be built after the conclusion of the Sky Train; when airlines demand warrants*
  • Sky Harbor's southern-most runway (7R/25L) was fitted with three new safety features in October, 2010:
    • Installation of runway status lights warning pilots of unsafe crossing.
    • Two new runway exits.
    • An extension of the runway's safety area in the event an airplane over-runs the runway.

Info: [4]

Airline lounges

Incidents and accidents involving Sky Harbor

  • On January 5, 1999, Miami Air International, a Boeing 727-225A headed for Nashville, TN took off with the rear cargo door unlatched. The cargo door opened during takeoff, therefore; the flight crew declared an emergency and landed without incident. No injuries occurred.
  • On August 28, 2002, America West Airlines flight 794, an Airbus A320 veered off the side of the runway onto the dirt infield and lost its nose gear due to the pilot failing to maintain directional control. Some passengers sustained minor injuries.
  • On July 10, 2009, British Airways flight 288, a Boeing 747-400 bound for London Heathrow Airport filled with smoke just before gate push-back, causing all passengers and crew to evacuate the plane. A few days later, a British Airways maintenance crew was sent to Phoenix to investigate the problem. No problems were ever revealed. No serious injuries or fatalities occurred.
  • On July 18, 2009, a US Airways Airbus A319 bound for Las Vegas had to turn around and land back in Phoenix because the aircraft's landing gear bay doors wouldn't shut, causing hydraulic issues. There were no injuries.
  • On September 24, 2010, a US Airways Airbus A320, arriving in Phoenix from Dallas-Fort Worth, TX, made an emergency landing at Sky Harbor because of a front tire blow-out just after take-off in Dallas. The plane landed smoothly at Sky Harbor, was pulled to the gate and no injuries occurred.[22]
  • On September 24, 2010; an American Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD82 flight 806, from Phoenix to Dallas-Fort Worth, TX had an engine failure during take-off roll and aborted the departure, which in turn, closed the airport's runway 25R; allowing the airport to use only one runway for departures and arrivals, as one runway was already closed for maintenance. There were no injuries.[22]
  • On Thursday, December 30, 2010, Delta Air Lines flight 1921, a Boeing 757-300 flying from Detroit, MI to Phoenix was forced to make an emergency landing in Colorado Springs, CO due to an engine problem recognized by a light in the cockpit. Because one of the plane's engines was out, extreme pressure was applied to the brakes once the plane landed causing a fire to break out in the wheel well of the plane. The plane did, however, land safely; emergency exit inflatable slides were deployed and all passengers and crew were evacuated onto the tarmac. Some passengers sustained minor injuries.[23][24]
  • On Friday, April 1, 2011, Southwest Airlines flight 812 from Phoenix to Sacramento, CA made an emergency landing in Yuma, AZ after a large hole (about 3 feet wide, 1 foot tall) appeared in the Boeing 737-300's fuselage about 35 minutes into flight. The pilot immediately descended the plane rapidly to avoid too much pressure loss. The plane landed with no incident and only one minor injury was recorded in someone's inner ear due to the rapid descent. An investigative crew was scheduled to arrive the following Saturday to investigate the issue.[25]

Ground transportation

As of June 2010, Valley Metro route 13 serves the airport terminals. The METRO Light Rail has a stop at the nearby Washington at 44th Street station, and free shuttle service connect the station with the Airport terminals themselves. Routes 1, 3, 13 and 44 serve the light rail station. In the future, the Sky Harbor Airport Automated People Mover will take over this function.

Military facilities

PHX is also home to Sky Harbor Air National Guard Base and its host wing, the 161st Air Refueling Wing (161 ARW), an Air Mobility Command (AMC)-gained unit of the Arizona Air National Guard. One of two flying units in the Arizona ANG, the 161 ARW currently flies the KC-135R Stratotanker aircraft. In addition to its domestic role as a National Guard unit, answering to the Governor of Arizona, the 161 ARW also performs both a stateside and overseas role as a USAF organization, supporting air refueling and air mobility missions worldwide.[26]

Located on the south side of the airport, the current Sky Harbor ANGB is a comparatively new facility. As a result of growth and on-going expansion programs at PHX, a new ANG base was planned at the airport to replace a smaller, outmoded facility that stood in the way of airport construction. Plans were finally approved in 1995 and the new base was built during the latter part of that decade. The current Sky Harbor ANGB includes over 275,000 square feet (25,500 m2) of facilities, pavement, and infrastructure and is one of the most modern facilities of its kind in the Air National Guard.[27]

Over 1000 Air National Guard personnel are assigned to the 161 ARW, consisting of a combination of full-time Active Guard and Reserve (AGR) and Air Reserve Technician (ART) personnel, as well as part-time "traditional" air national guardsmen.

See also

Arizona portal
Aviation portal


References

  1. ^ FAA Airport Master Record for PHX (Form 5010 PDF), effective 2007-07-05
  2. ^ http://arizonaoddities.com/2010/06/how-did-sky-harbor-international-airport-get-its-name/
  3. ^ http://skyharbor.com/about/earlyYears.html
  4. ^ a b c http://www.tempe.gov/aircraftnoise/History.htm
  5. ^ http://skyharbor.com/about/modernera.html
  6. ^ a b c http://www.usairways.com/en-US/aboutus/pressroom/history/americawest.html
  7. ^ http://www.swamedia.com/channels/By-Category/pages/openings-closings
  8. ^ Project Profile
  9. ^ Ayres Jr, B. Drummond (July 13, 1998). "Political Briefing; A Sky-High Tribute Grounded by Fallout". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/13/us/political-briefing-a-sky-high-tribute-grounded-by-fallout.html. 
  10. ^ Giblin, Paul; Lipton, Eric (February 24, 2007). "New Airport X-Rays Scan Bodies, Not Just Bags". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/24/us/24scan.html. 
  11. ^ http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/national/Southwest-Atlanta-9-5-2011
  12. ^ http://www.airlinedaily.com/feeds.html#http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/news/rss/story/*http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/111107/20111107005543.html?.v=1
  13. ^ http://www.transtats.bts.gov/airports.asp?pn=1&Airport=PHX&Airport_Name=Phoenix, AZ: Sky Harbor International&carrier=FACTS
  14. ^ UK Aviation Intelligence
  15. ^ Mexico Aviation Statistics
  16. ^ Canadian Aviation Data
  17. ^ http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/KPHX/summary
  18. ^ http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/KPHX/summary
  19. ^ a b http://skyharbor.com/pressreleases/SkyTrainStage1a.html
  20. ^ http://www.skyharbor.com/PhxPerspective/PlanesTaxiUnderSkyTrain.html
  21. ^ http://www.usairways.com/en-US/Resources/images/traveltools/terminalmaps/phoenix_terminal_full.jpg
  22. ^ a b http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/Aborted-takeoff-at-Phoenix-airport-causes-delays-103723064.html
  23. ^ "Delta flight makes emergency landing in Colorado". CNN. December 30, 2010. http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/12/30/colorado.emergency.landing/index.html. 
  24. ^ http://www.azfamily.com/news/national/112674174.html
  25. ^ "Southwest to ground 81 planes after hole prompts emergency landing". CNN. April 2, 2011. http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/04/02/arizona.flight.diverted/index.html?hpt=C1. 
  26. ^ http://www.161arw.ang.af.mil/
  27. ^ http://www.161arw.ang.af.mil/resources/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=14111

External links