| Greater Rochester International Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: ROC – ICAO: KROC – FAA LID: ROC
ROC
|
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| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Owner | County of Monroe | ||
| Serves | Rochester, New York | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 559 ft / 170 m | ||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 4/22 | 8,001 | 2,439 | Concrete |
| 7/25 | 4,000 | 1,219 | Asphalt |
| 10/28 | 6,401 | 1,951 | Asphalt |
| Statistics (2006, 2010) | |||
| Aircraft operations (2006) | 137,601 | ||
| Based aircraft (2006) | 94 | ||
| Passengers (2010) | 2,533,834 | ||
| Sources: airport website[1] and FAA[2], ACI[3] | |||
Greater Rochester International Airport (IATA: ROC, ICAO: KROC, FAA LID: ROC) is a county-owned public-use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) southwest of the central business district of Rochester, a city in Monroe County, New York, United States.[2] It serves as the major airport of the metro area known as Greater Rochester (composed by the city of Rochester and the counties of Monroe, Ontario, Livingston, Orleans and Wayne). The airport is owned and operated by Monroe County.
Contents |
Early History. The first developments of the Greater Rochester International Airport began in 1927, with the construction of Hangar No. 1 on a patch of land south of Rochester on Scottsville Road. At the time the airport was named Britton Field. This same year, the first scheduled passenger flights between New York City and Rochester were made. In 1928, the name of the field was changed to Rochester Municipal Airport and additional construction was completed, including improvements to the runways and drainage system, and the building of Hangar No. 2. As a result of the First and Second World Wars the airport saw a period of great expansion as passenger volume, frequency of scheduled flights, and civilian pilot training greatly increased. Also, a cadet flight training school, with nearly 1,000 students, was created.
On January 1, 1948 Monroe County took possession and control of the airport. The county made numerous improvements to the facility, including the construction of an instrumental runway measuring 5000 feet, an extension of the north-south runway from 2,670 ft to 5000 ft, and the building of administration facilities on Brooks Avenue.
1953–1992 Terminal. A new red-brick, single-level passenger terminal was opened on Brooks Avenue in 1953. It was expanded substantially in 1963, and expanded again in 1978 and 1980. The building had only one floor, until a small second floor was added for administrative offices as part of the 1980 expansion. At this time the airport was called the "Rochester Monroe County Airport."
After the 1963 expansion gave it its final configuration, the terminal had ten gates in two concourses. A small three-gate concourse at the east end served American Airlines, and a longer, angled concourse at the west end served Mohawk Airlines (four gates on the east side) and United Airlines (three gates on the west side).
Jet service was initiated at ROC in 1965 by American Airlines, who introduced the Boeing 727. However, the airport's two longest runways, 10-28 (5500 feet) and 1-19 (5,000 feet) were of less than ideal length for jet aircraft. In 1967 Monroe County built the current longest runway, the NE-to-SW-angled 4-22. It was originally completed at 7,000 feet and extended in 1969 to its current length of 8,000 feet. 10-28 remains the airport's crosswind runway. Runway 7-25, currently 4000 feet long, is useful for propeller general aviation aircraft.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, there was discussion of building a common Rochester-Buffalo airport in southeastern Niagara County, which would have taken over passenger traffic from Rochester-Monroe County and Greater Buffalo International airports. This airport was never built.
The terminal's first jetways were added to gates 1 and 3 by American in 1977. As part of the 1978 expansion, new lounge space was built for Allegheny Airlines (successor to Mohawk) with three jetways. In about 1986 the airline (by then renamed USAir) added a fourth jetway. The 1980 expansion included two new lounge areas for United, each of which had one jetway. In 1987, Piedmont Airlines, which had taken over the United lounge closest to the terminal, added a second jetway to it. In about 1985, USAir built an expansion to the end of the main concourse to house a USAir Club.
The large new low-fare carrier Peoplexpress Airlines arrived at the airport in 1985. There was not room for them inside the terminal. A small ticket counter was built in office space in the northwest corner of the terminal, and a wooden peaked-roof shed was built on to house their outbound-baggage area, departure lounge, and baggage claim. No jetway was added. People's effect on fares was dramatic; ROC's enplanements increased 38% in 1985. When Continental Airlines took People over in 1987, they moved operations into the main terminal and shared gate space with American. The shed was removed.
In the mid-1980s, Monroe County Legislator Van Buren N. Hansford, Sr. (R-Pittsford) introduced successful legislation to have the airport's name changed to "Greater Rochester International Airport."
1988–1992 Expansion Project: New Terminal. The terminal was outgrown by the mid 1980s, and debate began about expanding the airport. In 1985, the administration of Monroe County Executive Lucien A. Morin (R) proposed a complicated terminal expansion that would have had baggage claim carousels across the driveway in a separate building, which tugs would have reached by a tunnel, and passengers would have reached by second-floor bridge corridors.
The County got as far as building temporary parking lots to the west and closing the main parking lots to begin construction on a garage. However, in 1988 the new County Executive, Thomas R. Frey (D) and the County Legislature had doubts about the cost of the project, and it was abandoned without any construction having taken place.
In 1988, Monroe County approved a $109 million plan to replace the terminal with an entirely new two-level facility with a second-level approach road and parking garage. The new facilities were built in stages on the exact site, between 1989 and 1992. Ticketing and departures are on the second floor, and baggage claim is on the first floor. The County Legislature authorized the creation of a "Monroe County Airport Authority" to issue the bonds for the construction.
This terminal has two angled concourses, each with 11 gates. Current gate assignments are listed below. The eastern or B concourse opened in summer 1990. The eastern half of the main terminal opened in 1991. The western half of the main terminal, western or B concourse, and garage, all opened in 1992. A series of temporary prefabricated buildings were used to provide gate space and baggage claim space during the construction.
By the end of the 1980s, The New York Air National Guard constructed a small hangar and office facility, and apron space, on the south side of the airport near the control tower. This facility has since been expanded.
2006-2010 Renovations and Additions. In 2006, Monroe County consolidated the separate security checkpoints at each concourse, to one central security checkpoint. Monroe County argued that this arrangement, although it would close the terminal's large concessions atrium and airfield views to nonpassengers, would be more efficient and save money. The county replaced the lost public airfield view with a new viewing area at the west end of the terminal.
In 2008, renovations were undertaken to replace floors, carpets, and seating in the concourses, move explosives-scanning equipment from the ticketing lobby to the outbound baggage room, and replace 't' shaped baggage claim carousels with 360-degree walkaround carousels which receive luggage from belts through the ceiling. By late 2009 these projects were completed.
In January 2009, the airport began work on an extension of the three-story parking garage to the west. By early 2010, that project was completed.
Greater Rochester International Airport covers an area of 1,136 acres (460 ha) at an elevation of 559 feet (170 m) above mean sea level. It has three runways:[2]
All of the airports runways are equipped with a Category II Instrument Landing System (ILS)
In 2008, the airport completed a project to put two service roads around the end of Runway 28, near Interstate 390, in tunnels. The ground was graded upwards beyond the end of the runway to cover the tunnels. Earlier in the decade, a 500-foot overrun area was added to the 10 end of this runway. An Engineered materials arrestor system (EMAS) of about 200 feet was added to this extension. The EMAS consists of soft rubberized concrete into which an overrunning aircraft's wheels can sink, and the aircraft ostensibly be stopped safely before it veers onto the grass. In 2011, the airports runway 10/28 was expanded to beable to handle the airports MD88, 717, and 737-300, 737-700 traffic. Runway 4/22 is in dabate of an expansion to 9,500 feet.
For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2006, the airport had 137,601 aircraft operations, an average of 376 per day: 43% general aviation, 34% air taxi, 21% scheduled commercial and 3% military. At that time there were 94 aircraft based at this airport: 68% single-engine, 17% multi-engine and 15% jet.[2]
Greater Rochester International Airport consists of two passenger concourses: Concourse A (also called Frederick Douglass Concourse) with gates A1-A11, and Concourse B (also known as Susan B. Anthony Concourse) with gates B1,B2, B2A, B3-B10.
| Airlines | Destinations | Concourse |
|---|---|---|
| Air Canada Express operated by Air Georgian | Toronto-Pearson | B |
| AirTran Airways | Atlanta, Baltimore, Orlando, Tampa | A |
| American Eagle Airlines | Chicago-O'Hare. | B |
| Delta Air Lines | Atlanta | B |
| Delta Connection operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines | Atlanta | B |
| Delta Connection operated by Comair | Detroit, New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia | B |
| Delta Connection operated by Compass Airlines | Minneapolis St. Paul | B |
| Delta Connection operated by Mesaba Airlines | New York-JFK | B |
| Delta Connection operated by Pinnacle Airlines | Detroit, New York-JFK | B |
| JetBlue Airways | New York-JFK | A |
| United Airlines | Chicago-O'Hare | B |
| United Express operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines | Chicago-O'Hare, Cleveland, Newark | B |
| United Express operated by Colgan Air | Newark | B |
| United Express operated by CommutAir | Cleveland, Newark | B |
| United Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines | Chicago O'Hare, Cleveland, Newark | B |
| United Express operated by GoJet Airlines | Chicago-O'Hare, Washington-Dulles | B |
| United Express operated by Mesa Airlines | Chicago-O'Hare, Washington-Dulles | B |
| United Express operated by Shuttle America | Chicago-O'Hare, Washington-Dulles | B |
| United Express operated by Trans States Airlines | Chicago-O'Hare, Washington-Dulles | B |
| US Airways | Charlotte | A |
| US Airways Express operated by Air Wisconsin | Boston, New York-LaGuardia, Philadelphia, Washington-National,Seasonal- Charlotte | A |
| US Airways Express operated by Piedmont Airlines | New York-LaGuardia, Philadelphia, Washington Natioanl, Boston | A |
| US Airways Express operated by Republic Airlines | Philadelphia, Washington-National | A |
In 2010, ROC had 2.5 Million customers, with the market as follows-
DELTA-22.8 US AIRWAYS-18.1 AIRTRAN-17.7 UNITED-14.6 JETBLUE-13.2 CONTINENTAL-8.2 AMERICAN-4.7 AIR CANADA-0.2
Greater Rochester International Airport has a cargo terminal in the northwest corner of the airfield. The terminal is operated by USAirports. This terminal consists of three cargo buildings, two hangars, and USAirports' three-story headquarters administrative building. The company was founded in Rochester in the 1980s as Airport Systems and later changed its name to USAirports. The company operates cargo terminals at several airports in the United States.
This cargo terminal handles:
Federal Express operates its own cargo terminal on the southern border of the airport on Scottsville Road. It handles:
The airport has a number of flying clubs and a fixed base operator for general aviation flights.
Early history. From the beginning of civil aviation until U.S. Airline Deregulation in 1978, Rochester mostly had passenger service from the following three "legacy" airlines or their predecessors:
Airline Deregulation and the 1980s. After the industry was deregulated, American and United began to reduce service at Rochester, particularly on regional point-to-point flights, seeking greater profits elsewhere. Other airlines, many recently founded, entered the Rochester market in the 1980s as part of a huge expansion of the industry after Deregulation. Most of these carriers did not survive the tumultuous 1980s. Examples of carriers that that served Rochester in the 1980s but no longer serve the market include:
Late 80s through 1990s: Industry Consolidation, "Legacy Carrier" Dominance. Between 1986 and 1989 the airline industry consolidated through a series of mergers so that the industry was dominated by six "legacy" carriers; American, United, Delta, Northwest, Continental, and USAir. By the end of the decade Rochester was served by these carriers and their regional affiliates. These airlines with high "legacy" cost structures figured out by the mid-1990s that they had no reason to compete on price. Thus, by that time they kept fares high and enplanements stagnant at ROC. However, some new carriers did enter Rochester during the 1990s. Some carriers that served Rochester in that decade but did not last include:
2000s: Low-Fare Renaissance and Canada Service.. By the end of the 1990s, new, stronger low-cost carriers began to emerge, and by 2000 things began to change for Rochester. In 2000 the highly capitalized low-fare startup carrier JetBlue Airways entered ROC with flights to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport; JetBlue now offers nonstops to Orlando, Florida as well. In 2002 Atlanta-based low-fare powerhouse AirTran Airways entered ROC with nonstops to Atlanta and Baltimore-Washington, and later to various points in Florida.
Rochester's enplanements picked up with these new low-fare entrants, who could hold their own against legacy carriers. Now (2010) the airport has a diversified, competitive grouping of airlines. Air Canada, while not a low-fare carrier, entered Rochester with flights on regional affiliates to its main hub at Toronto. One carrier that served Rochester in this decade and withdrew is:
Northwest Airlines effectively ceased to exist on January 1, 2010, when buyer Delta Air Lines merged NW onto its operating certificate. This move made Delta the single largest carrier at ROC. As of November 2009, the market share of airlines at ROC was as follows:
Currently, the airlines serving Rochester serve the traffic flows listed below. American, United, and US Airways are discussed above. Nonstop flights, including non-hub flights, are listed in the table above.
Mohawk Airlines Flight 121 crashed July 2, 1963, killing 7 people and injuring 36.
Air Canada flight 7405 destined for Toronto Pearson International Airport was called back over suspicion about a Sri Lankan couple carrying fake passports on July 19, 2006
An American Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-10 skidded off of Runway 22 during landing, onto snowy, muddy grass, during the winter of 1972/1973. The aircraft had to be towed out of the mud and was moved to the terminal.
Allegheny Airlines Flight 453 crash-landed on July 9, 1978, while arriving from Boston Logan International Airport. The BAC-111 aircraft was carrying 77 people. According to the NTSB report, the flight landed on Runway 28 at too high a speed, but with sufficient performance capability to reject the landing. The pilots chose to continue the landing, the aircraft skidded off the end of the runway, and its landing gear were sheared off by a ditch. There were no fatalities. The aircraft was written off.
Delta Air Lines Flight 1907, a Boeing MD-88 from Rochester to Atlanta on October 11, 2009 had to make a return to Rochester after take off from runway 22, due to an engine failure. 12 minutes later, the aircraft made a safe landing back on runway 22. Once the aircraft landed, the FAA made a statement that after take off, the aircraft hit a fleet of geese, which caused the engine failure. All 149 passengers and crew landed safely with no injuries.