Missoula International Airport (IATA: MSO, ICAO: KMSO, FAA LID: MSO) is five miles northwest of Missoula, in Missoula County, Montana. It is owned by the Missoula County Airport Authority.
The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011-2015 categorized it as a primary commercial service airport (more than 10,000 enplanements per year). Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 288,071 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008, 281,428 in 2009 and 289,875 in 2010.
Several expansion projects are planned or underway. The recently constructed 101-foot control tower was completed in September 2012. An expansion of the terminal building, with a new security screening area, was completed in 2007.
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History
Missoula's first landing strip was laid out in 1923 south of the university. An additional strip near the Western Montana Fair Grounds on what is now Sentinel High School was sold to the county in 1927 at the request of the Missoula chapter of the National Aeronautic Association and would become Missoula's first true airport. The current airfield is named after that chapter's first president, Harry O. Bell along with mountain flying pioneer Bob Johnson of Johnson Flying Service (now Minuteman Aviation). The original Garden City Airport was renamed Hale Field in 1935 and would operate as such until closing forever in 1954. The airport was gradually replaced by the Missoula County Airport opened in 1941 with WPA funds and the cooperation of the US Forest Service who needed access to an airport. The new airport was renamed Johnson-Bell Field in 1968 and today serves over 750,000 passengers a year.
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Facilities
The airport covers 2,700 acres (1,093 ha) at an elevation of 3,206 feet (977 m). It has two asphalt runways: 11/29 is 9,501 by 150 feet (2,896 x 46 m) and 7/25 is 4,612 by 75 feet (1,406 x 23 m).
In 2011 the airport had 36,688 aircraft operations, average 100 per day: 60% general aviation, 27% air taxi, 11% airline, and 2% military. 145 aircraft were then based at the airport: 60% single-engine, 15% multi-engine, 14% jet, and 11% helicopter.
The airport recently constructed a new 101-foot tall control tower, replacing one that opened in 1961. The new control tower is one of the tallest control towers in the Pacific Northwest, and is the tallest in Montana. The price tag is an estimated 6.77 million dollars.
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Source of the article : Wikipedia
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