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Pensacola International Airport

Coordinates: 30°28′24″N 087°11′12″W / 30.47333°N 87.18667°W / 30.47333; -87.18667
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Not to be confused with Naval Air Station Pensacola.

Pensacola International Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerCity of Pensacola
ServesPensacola, Florida and Mobile, Alabama
Elevation AMSL121 ft / 37 m
Coordinates30°28′24″N 087°11′12″W / 30.47333°N 87.18667°W / 30.47333; -87.18667
Websitewww.FlyPensacola.com
Maps
FAA airport diagram
FAA airport diagram
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
17/35 7,004 2,135 Concrete
08/26 7,000 2,134 Asphalt
Statistics
Aircraft operations (year ending 1/31/2024)157,103
Based aircraft172
Total passengers served2,731,604

Pensacola International Airport[3] (IATA: PNS, ICAO: KPNS, FAA LID: PNS), formerly Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional Airport and Pensacola Regional Airport (Hagler Field), and temporarily branded Pensacola Intergalactic Airport each February in recognition of the local Pensacon convention, is a public use airport three nautical miles (6 km; 3 mi) northeast of the central business district of Pensacola, in Escambia County, Florida, United States. It is owned by the City of Pensacola.[1] Despite its name, the airport does not offer scheduled international flights, though chartered international flights are not uncommon. This airport is one of five major airports in North Florida, and among these is the second largest by passenger count, only behind Jacksonville. The other four airports in North Florida are: Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport, Tallahassee International Airport, and Jacksonville International Airport.

It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2021–2025, in which it is categorized as a small-hub primary commercial service facility.[4] As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 771,917 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008,[5] 694,786 enplanements in 2009, and 729,748 in 2010.[6] In 2018, the airport served 1.9 million passengers.[7]

In 2023, the airport set an all-time record with 2,731,604 passengers served.[8]

History

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In 1935, a passenger terminal opened, and airline service began two years later. Atlantic and Gulf Airlines went out of business a few months later after failing to get an airmail contract. In 1938 National Airlines began flights to Mobile and Jacksonville. From 1940 to 1945, the airport was a U.S. Navy training facility; the Navy built a control tower and added a fourth runway. In 1947 Eastern Air Lines began service out of Pensacola, and in 1952 a modern terminal replaced the original one. The airport was then dedicated to L.C. Hagler, the former mayor of Pensacola. In 1968 Eastern began the first scheduled jet service from Pensacola.

In 1978, after deregulation of the airline industry, several airlines began serving Pensacola, including Continental and Delta. In 1978 a National Airlines Boeing 727 crashed into Escambia Bay while on approach for landing, the first fatal airline accident in the area. In 1979 US Airways, then called USAir, arrived at Pensacola. In 1990 the current terminal was built and AirTran Airways began jet service in 2001. In 2005 United Express began service out of Pensacola. After stopping service to Pensacola in the 1990s, American Airlines (operating as American Eagle) began service again in Pensacola in 2004. Southwest Airlines initiated service to Pensacola in 2013 after purchasing Airtran Airways. Frontier Airlines initiated service at Pensacola in 2018.

Pensacola mayor Ashton Hayward announced on November 9, 2011, that the airport would change its name from Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional Airport to Pensacola Regional Airport, effective immediately.[9]

Facilities and aircraft

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Pensacola Regional Airport covers an area of 1,211 acres (490 ha) at an elevation of 121 feet (37 m) above mean sea level. It has two runways: 17/35 is 7,004 by 150 feet (2,135 x 46 m) with a concrete surface; 08/26 is 7,000 by 150 feet (2,134 x 46 m) with an asphalt surface.[1][10]

Runway 17 has an instrument landing system and approach lights, while the Runway 26 approach has a localizer approach. A 1,000 ft. extension to the east end of Runway 08/26 was completed in 2006. The airport hopes to extend Runway 17/35 to about 8,500 ft.

The airport's two war-era diagonal runways were decommissioned in the 1960s.

For the 12-month period ending January 31, 2024, the airport had 157,103 aircraft operations, an average of 430 per day: 58% general aviation, 19% military, 16% commercial and 8% air taxi. At the end of January 2024, there were 172 aircraft based at this airport: 141 single-engine, 10 multi-engine, 18 jet, and 3 helicopter.[1]

Terminal

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Pensacola has one passenger terminal with 12 gates, built in the early 1990s. Gates 1 through 10 are located on the 2nd floor, while Gates 11 and 12 are located on the ground floor.

Gate assignments:

  • American: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
  • Delta: 2, 4
  • Silver: 11
  • Southwest: 10
  • United: 1, 3
  • Frontier: 6, 8, 10
  • Spirit: 8
  • Breeze: 9

Terminal expansion

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The terminal was expanded in 2011 at a cost of $35 million. The expansion was designed by Gresham, Smith, and Partners[11] and Stoa Architects.[12][13]

In 2022, it was announced that the city of Pensacola was looking into a $70 million concourse and parking expansion that would provide more space to handle the airport's rapid increase in passenger numbers and flights.[14][15]

Management

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The airport is operated as a self-funding department of the government of the City of Pensacola.[16]

Airlines and destinations

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Passenger

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Embraer ERJ 145LR at Pensacola (2006)
AirlinesDestinations
American Airlines Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth
Seasonal: Philadelphia[17]
American Eagle Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami, Washington–National
Seasonal: Chicago–O'Hare, New York–LaGuardia, Philadelphia
Breeze Airways Tampa[18]
Delta Air Lines Atlanta
Seasonal: Detroit
Delta Connection Boston (begins April 19, 2025),[19] New York–LaGuardia
Frontier Airlines Cincinnati, Denver
Silver Airways Tampa
Seasonal: Orlando
Southwest Airlines Dallas–Love, Houston–Hobby, Nashville
Seasonal: Austin,[20] Chicago–Midway, Denver, Kansas City, St. Louis
Spirit Airlines Fort Lauderdale, Orlando
United Airlines Houston–Intercontinental
Seasonal: Chicago–O'Hare, Denver
United Express Houston–Intercontinental
Seasonal: Chicago–O'Hare, Denver
Destinations map
class=notpageimage|
Destinations from Pensacola International Airport
Red = Year-round destination
Green = Seasonal destination
Blue = Future destination

Cargo operations

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UPS Airlines is the only major cargo carrier at the airport currently. UPS flies two flights into Pensacola, four days out of the week, Tuesday through Friday. On Saturday, UPS only flies one flight to Pensacola. Suburban Air Freight operates daily flights to Atlanta with a Beech 1900C. Ameriflight operated daily feeder flights for UPS to Mobile Downtown Airport and Gulfport–Biloxi International Airport with the Swearingen Fairchild SA227-AT Metro until July 16, 2016. As of July 18, 2016, Martinaire took over feeder service from Ameriflight with the Cessna 208B Super Cargomaster.

AirlinesDestinations
Martinaire Gulfport/Biloxi, Mobile–International
Suburban Air Freight Atlanta
UPS Airlines Albany (GA), Birmingham (AL), Louisville, New Orleans, Orlando

Statistics

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Passenger traffic

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Annual passenger traffic at PNS airport. See Wikidata query.

Annual traffic

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PNS Airport Annual Traffic 2008-Present[21][22][23][24]
Year Passengers % Change
2008 1,625,603 Decrease2.10%
2009 1,398,502 Decrease13.97%
2010 1,439,740 Increase2.95%
2011 1,561,540 Increase8.46%
2012 1,514,998 Decrease2.98%
2013 1,516,560 Increase0.10%
2014 1,542,982 Increase1.74%
2015 1,594,058 Increase3.00%
2016 1,604,786 Increase0.60%
2017 1,668,897 Increase0.10%
2018 2,100,000 Increase16.8%
2019 2,200,000 Increase17.1%
2020 1,382,131 Decrease37.1%
2021 2,324,044 Increase68.1%
2022 2,417,000 Increase0.4%
2023 2,731,604 Increase13.0%

Top destinations

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Busiest domestic routes from PNS
(September 2023 – August 2024)[25]
Rank City Passengers Carriers
1 Georgia (U.S. state) Atlanta, Georgia 373,460 Delta
2 Texas Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas 185,330 American
3 North Carolina Charlotte, North Carolina 166,450 American
4 Tennessee Nashville, Tennessee 102,550 Southwest
5 Texas Houston–Intercontinental, Texas 96,810 United
6 Florida Orlando–International, Florida 75,840 Silver, Spirit
7 Texas Dallas–Love, Texas 61,200 Southwest
8 Colorado Denver, Colorado 57,180 Frontier, Southwest, United
9 Florida Fort Lauderdale, Florida 56,460 Spirit
10 Virginia Washington-National 54,350 American

Airline market share

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Largest airlines at PNS (September 2023 - August 2024)[25]
Rank Airline Passengers Share
1 Delta Air Lines 742,000 24.69%
2 Southwest Airlines 546,000 18.17%
3 American Airlines 478,000 15.91%
4 PSA Airlines 296,000 9.84%
5 Spirit Airlines 264,000 8.77%
Other 679,000 22.61

Pensacola Intergalactic Airport annual name change

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Pensacola International Airport undergoes a temporary annual name change to Pensacola Intergalactic Airport in February each year to celebrate Pensacon, a multi-genre convention held in the city of Pensacola. In 2024, the airport changed its name and signage on February 9, ready for the convention scheduled for February 23–25.[26][27]

Accidents and incidents

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  • On May 8, 1978 National Airlines Flight 193 landed in Escambia Bay while approaching the east–west runway. Three of the 58 passengers and crew on board were killed.
  • On January 2, 1982, a United States Navy Beechcraft Super King Air crashed into a housing development on approach north of Pensacola Regional Airport. The plane struck several trees, fell on a car and collided with an oak tree. The pilot was killed, the other seven occupants survived.[28]
  • On December 27, 1987, Eastern Air Lines Flight 573, a McDonnell-Douglas DC-9-31 suffered a hard landing, causing the aircraft to bounce and break apart aft of the wings. All four crew and 103 passengers survived, four passengers sustained minor injuries during evacuation.[29]
  • On April 10, 1989, a Southern Company Services Beechcraft Super King Air crashed into an apartment complex 4.1 miles from PNS en route to Atlanta DeKalb-Peachtree Airport. An in-flight cabin fire and smoke disabled the flight crew. All three occupants (2 crew, 1 passenger) died.[30]
  • On July 6, 1996, Delta Air Lines Flight 1288, an MD-88, experienced an uncontained engine failure during takeoff on runway 17. Fragments from the number one (left) Pratt & Whitney JT8D-219 turbofan engine penetrated the fuselage, killing two and seriously injuring one of the 148 people on board.
  • On July 11, 1996, a United States Air Force F-16C Fighting Falcon crashed into two houses just north of Pensacola Regional Airport while attempting an emergency landing. The plane was en route from Shaw AFB in South Carolina to Eglin AFB in Okaloosa County to escape Hurricane Bertha when it experienced an engine flameout. The pilot ejected safely; however, a 4-year-old child was killed, and the mother was severely burned.[31][32]

Public safety

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Pensacola International is protected by several local and federal law enforcement and public safety agencies. Specifically, they are served by:

References

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  1. ^ a b c d FAA Airport Form 5010 for PNS PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. effective June 13, 2024.
  2. ^ "PNS Airport Sets All-Time Passenger Record in 2023". flypensacola.com. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  3. ^ "Pensacola International Airport". www.flypensacola.com.
  4. ^ "List of NPIAS Airports" (PDF). FAA.gov. Federal Aviation Administration. October 21, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  5. ^ "Enplanements for CY 2008" (PDF, 1.0 MB). faa.gov. Federal Aviation Administration. December 18, 2009.
  6. ^ "Enplanements for CY 2010" (PDF, 189 KB). faa.gov. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2011.
  7. ^ "Pensacola International Airport". www.flypensacola.com. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  8. ^ "Pensacola Int'l Airport Sets All-Time Passenger Record in 2023". flypensacola.com. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  9. ^ "Pensacola airport unveils new terminal, new name" (PDF). City of Pensacola. November 9, 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 25, 2011.
  10. ^ "PNS airport data at skyvector.com". skyvector. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  11. ^ "Neteffectservices.com". greshamsmith.neteffectservices.com.
  12. ^ "Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional Airport – Stoa Architects". Archived from the original on August 19, 2012. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
  13. ^ "Architectural and Engineering Design Services for Pensacola Regional Airport" (PDF). Gresham, Smith and Partners. June 6, 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 16, 2008.
  14. ^ Kennedy, Emma. "Pensacola airport officials eyeing new concourse, parking expansion to keep up with demand". Pensacola News Journal. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  15. ^ Kennedy, Emma. "Pensacola airport sees 40% increase in flights as planning continues for $70M expansion". Pensacola News Journal. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  16. ^ "About Airport". www.flypensacola.com.
  17. ^ "FRONTIER / AMERICAN 2Q24 PHILADELPHIA NETWORK EXPANSION". AeroRoutes. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  18. ^ "Pensacola International Airport announces service to Norfolk, Tampa with Breeze Airways".
  19. ^ "Delta 1H25 Austin / Boston Network Additions". Aeroroutes. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
  20. ^ "New Flight Schedules". Southwest Airlines.
  21. ^ "PNS Annual Passenger Data 2008-2020" (PDF). flypensacola.com. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  22. ^ "PNS Airport Has Record-Breaking Passenger Record in 2021". flypensacola.com. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  23. ^ "December 2022 BTS Data for PNS Airport Total Passengers". transtats.bts.gov. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  24. ^ "PNS Airport Sets All-Time Passenger Record In 2023". flypensacola.com. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  25. ^ a b "RITA BTS Transtats – PNS". www.transtats.bts.gov. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  26. ^ Pulse Staff (February 12, 2024). "Pensacola International Airport Goes Intergalactic for Pensacon". Local Pulse Pensacola.
  27. ^ Barrett, Bob (February 15, 2024). "Here comes Pensacon 2024". WUWF.
  28. ^ Accident description for 161189 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on May 14, 2021.
  29. ^ Accident description for N8948E at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on May 14, 2021.
  30. ^ Accident description for N30PC at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on May 14, 2021.
  31. ^ "F-16.net - The ultimate F-16, F-35 and F-22 reference". www.f-16.net. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  32. ^ Accident description for 91-0354 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on June 18, 2024.
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