Martha's Vineyard Airport

Marthas Vineyard Airport
IATA: MVY – ICAO: KMVY – FAA LID: MVY
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner Dukes County
Operator Martha's Vineyard Airport Commission
Serves Dukes County, Massachusetts
Location Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts
Focus city for Cape Air
Elevation AMSL 67 ft / 20 m
Coordinates 41°23′35″N 070°36′52″W / 41.39306°N 70.61444°W / 41.39306; -70.61444
Website MVYairport.com
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
6/24 5,504 1,678 Asphalt
15/33 3,328 1,014 Asphalt
Statistics (2006)
Aircraft operations 61,317
Based aircraft 67

Martha's Vineyard Airport (IATA: MVY, ICAO: KMVY, FAA LID: MVY) is a public airport located in the middle of the island of Martha's Vineyard, three miles (5 km) south of the central business district of Vineyard Haven, in Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States. This airport is owned by Dukes County and lies on the border between the towns of West Tisbury and Edgartown.[1] It is often used for general aviation but is also served by four commercial airlines.

The call sign has entered into general use as an abbreviation for the island of Martha's Vineyard as well, much like ACK for Nantucket. One of the local radio stations goes by MVY and it's in general use as shorthand for the entire island.

Overview

Marthas Vineyard Airport covers an area of 688 acres (278 ha) which contains two runways: 6/24 measuring 5,504 x 100 ft (1,678 x 30 m) and 15/33 measuring 3,297 x 75 ft (1,005 x 23 m).[1]

For 12-month period ending May 14, 2006, the airport had 61,317 aircraft operations, an average of 167 per day: 54% general aviation, 46% air taxi and <1% military. There are 67 aircraft based at this airport: 75% single engine and 25% multi-engine.[1]

Terminal and facilities

The terminal has a restaurant, passenger holding areas, check-in desks and a small luggage claim. The ramp has the ability to hold up to 50 aircraft with about 15 spots reserved for commercial aviation. The air traffic control tower is open from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm.

Operations

Along with the TSA, the West Tisbury Police Department is in charge of the security of the airport and the ARFF department is staffed by 10 full-time firefighters. The Martha's Vineyard Airport currently operates several fully functional emergency response vehicles.

History

Postcard image c. 1940s, showing a Northeast DC-3

The airfield was built in 1942 as Naval Auxiliary Air Facility Martha's Vineyard (NAAF Martha's Vineyard) to support training of naval aviators prior to their deployment to aircraft carriers in the Pacific Theater. Thousands of men received six weeks of intensive training there. The installation was renamed as a 'Naval Auxiliary Air Station Martha's Vineyard in 1945, placed in caretaker status in 1946, and ultimately transferred to Dukes County in 1959.[2]

Northeast Airlines served Martha's Vineyard beginning in August 1944, when it acquired Mayflower Airlines.[3] By the 1950s it was the dominant airline at the airport.[4] Air New England served MVY from the 1970s until 1981;[5] Provincetown-Boston Airline (PBA), operating as a feeder for Eastern Airlines, served MVY in the 1980s.[6] Bridgeport-based Atlantic Air served MVY in the mid-1980s before merging into Business Express Airlines, which continued service to MVY under the Delta Connection brand.[7]

Other historical carriers at MVY included Bar Harbor Airlines, Brockway Air, Catskill Airways, Edgartown Air, Executive Airlines, Express Air, Gull Air, Holiday Airlines, Island Airlines, New Haven Airlines, New York Air, NorEast, Northern Airlines, Spectrum Airlines and Trans East Airlines.[4]

The new terminal building, constructed in 2001, replaced an older wooden structure that was the original base operations building. Historical photos and memorabilia are mounted on the western wall of the main hall, near the entrance to the restaurant, and tell the story of the Navy squadrons posted there during the war.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

AirlinesDestinations
American Eagle Seasonal: New York-LaGuardia (begins 3 June 2016),[8] Washington-National (begins June 2, 2016)[9]
Cape Air Boston, Nantucket, New Bedford
Seasonal: Hyannis, White Plains
Delta Connection Seasonal: New York-JFK, New York-LGA
JetBlue Airways Seasonal: Boston, New York-JFK
Tradewind Aviation Seasonal: White Plains, Teterboro
Ultimate Air Shuttle Seasonal: Morristown (NJ)

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 FAA Airport Master Record for MVY (Form 5010 PDF), retrieved 2007-03-15
  2. ↑ Defense Environmental Restoration Program (1994-10-01). "Archives Search Report - Martha's Vineyard Naval Auxiliary Air Station" (PDF). U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  3. ↑ "Northeast Airlines". Delta Flight Museum. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  4. 1 2 "MARTHA'S VINEYARD AIRPORT AND BUSINESS PARK". Dukes County. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  5. ↑ "1978 - May - Air New England Timetables, Route Maps, and History". Airways News. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  6. ↑ "PBA Route Map - December 15, 1983". DepartedFlights.com. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  7. ↑ http://bexhistory.blogspot.com/
  8. ↑ http://airlineroute.net/2016/01/17/aa-domestic-s16/
  9. ↑ http://airlineroute.net/2015/10/05/aa-mvyack-jun16/

External links

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