El Paso International Airport (IATA: ELP, ICAO: KELP, FAA LID: ELP) is a public airport four miles (6 km) northeast of downtown El Paso, in El Paso County, Texas, United States. It is the largest commercial airport in West Texas, handling 2,778,248 passengers in 2014. The airport serves the El Paso-Las Cruces Combined Statistical Area.
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History
The City of El Paso built the first El Paso Municipal Airport near the east side of the Franklin Mountains in 1928. The airport was closed by 1945 and in more recent times has been home to the Jobe Concrete Products "Planeport" cement factory. In 1934, Varney Speed Lines (now United Airlines) operated at the original El Paso Municipal Airport (now closed). The original El Paso Municipal Airport construction was inspired by a visit from Charles Lindbergh.
What became the present-day El Paso International Airport was built as Standard Airport by Standard Airlines in 1929 for transcontinental air mail service. Standard Airlines became a division of American Airlines in the 1930s. In 1936, American Airlines "swapped" airports with the City of El Paso and El Paso International Airport was born.
During World War II, the airport was a United States Army Air Forces training base. Units which trained at El Paso Army Airfield were:
- 385th Bombardment Group (Heavy) (B-17 Flying Fortress) December 21, 1942 - February 1, 1943
- Served with the 8th Air Force in England.
- 491st Bombardment Group (Heavy) (B-24 Liberator) November 11, 1943 - January 1, 1944
- Served with the 8th Air Force in England.
- 497th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) (B-29 Superfortress) November 20 - December 1, 1943
- Served with the 20th Air Force at Saipan.
At the end of the war the airfield was deemed excess by the military and returned to the local government for civil use. The April 1952 C&GS diagram shows runways 4, 8, 12 and 17, each 7001 to 7062 ft long.
El Paso was the last stop of the first hijacking of a jetliner, a Boeing 707 owned by Continental Airlines. Before airline deregulation in the United States, El Paso was a focus city for Continental but was soon demoted to a standard station in a hub-and-spoke system under Frank Lorenzo. The airline had a pilot base that was closed in 1963 but re-opened in 1977.
Airport diagram for January 1963
The passenger concourses were built in 1971 as part of an expansion that tripled the size of the airport. It was designed by Garland & Hilles.
Serving general aviation at El Paso International Airport, Cutter Aviation established a fixed-base operation in 1982. Cutter Aviation moved to a new facility on Shuttle Columbia Drive in 2006. Atlantic Aviation also serves general aviation at ELP.
El Paso Airport Car Rental Video
Historical Airline Service
Standard Air Lines began service to and from El Paso in 1929 with a single flight to and from Los Angeles via Douglas, Tucson, and Phoenix, Arizona. Standard was taken over by American Airlines by the early 1930s. The El Paso airport was relocated to its present location. American began providing service from El Paso in the 1930s to Dallas/Ft. Worth, Los Angeles (via Tucson and Phoenix), and Mexico City (via Monterrey, Mexico). By the 1970s and 1980s, American provided non-stop service from El Paso to New York JFK, Chicago, Dallas/Ft. Worth, San Antonio, and Los Angeles.
In 1934, El Paso based Varney Speed Lines provided flights from El Paso to Albuquerque and Pueblo, Colorado, with several stops within New Mexico. By 1937, the airline had changed its named to Continental Airlines and relocated its headquarters to Denver, Colorado. El Paso was still a major hub for the airline. By the 1970s and 1980s, Continental provided non-stop flights from El Paso to Albuquerque, Austin, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, Phoenix, San Antonio, and Tucson, as well as flights to Acapulco, Cabo San Lucas, Ixtalpa, and La Paz in Mexico. By the mid 1980s, Continental no longer used El Paso as a focus hub and abandoned air service altogether by the late 1980s. Finally by the 1990s, Continental returned to El Paso but returned with limited service to Houston and Denver. In 2010, Continental merged with United Airlines.
In the 1960s, Frontier Airlines provided service from El Paso to Albuquerque and Denver via Alamogordo and several stops between Albuquerque and Denver. By the 1970s and early 1980s, Frontier provided non-stop flights from El Paso to Albuquerque and Denver, as well as to Mazatlan and Guadalajara, and Ixtalpa, Mexico. Frontier Airlines ceased operations in 1986. The new Frontier Airlines began service from El Paso to Albuquerque in 1993. The flights continued on to Denver. Service was terminated in the late 1990s.
Other airlines that have served El Paso include:
Aeromexico (Chihuahua, Chih, MX) 1990s
Airways of New Mexico (Alamogordo, Roswell, Tucson) 1980s
Alligent Airlines (Oakland, Orlando, San Diego) 2016-present
America West Airlines (Albuquerque, Austin, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson) 1990s-2005
American Airlines (Chicago, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Los Angeles, Monterrey MX, New York City JFK, Phoenix, San Antonio, Tucson) 1930s-1980s
(Chicago, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Los Angeles, Phoenix) late 1980s-present
Aztec Airways (Silver City) 1970s
Azteca Airlines (Mexico City) 1990s
Bison Airlines (Carlsbad, Las Cruces, Roswell) 1960s
Continental Airlines (Acapulco, Alamogordo, Albuquerque, Austin, Cabo San Lucas, Carlsbad, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Denver, Houston, Ixtalpa, La Paz, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, Phoenix, Roswell, San Antonio, San Diego, Tucson) 1930s - 2010
Delta Airlines (Atlanta, Dallas/Ft. Worth) 1980s - present
Eastern Airlines (Atlanta, Austin, Houston, Tucson) 1980s
Frontier Airlines (Alamogordo, Albuquerque, Denver, Guadalajara, Ixtalpa, Las Cruces, Mazatlan) 1960s - 1986
Frontier Airlines (Albuquerque, Denver) 1990s - 2000s
Hughes Airwest (proposed routes to: Houston, Phoenix, Tucson) 1980s
Lone Star Airlines (Chihuahua) 1980s
Northwest Airlines (Minneapolis/St. Paul) 1980s, 1990s
Permian Airways (Carlsbad, Roswell) 1980s
Pioneeer Airways (Carlsbad, Roswell) 1960s
Southwest Airlines (before 2005: Albuquerque, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego)
(after 2005 - present: Austin, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Antonio)
Standard Airlines (Douglas, AZ) 1930s
Texas International Airlines (Trans Texas Airways) Austin, Carlsbad, Dallas/ft. Worth, Marfa, Pecos, Roswell (1960s-1982)
Trans World Airlines (St. Louis) 1980s
United Airlines (Denver, Houston) 2010 - present
Western Airlines (Albuquerque, Salt Lake City) 1980s
Zia Airlines (Las Cruces) 1970s
Facilities
El Paso International Airport covers 6,670 acres (2,699 ha) and has three runways:
- Runway 4/22: 12,020 ft × 150 ft (3,664 m × 46 m), Surface: Asphalt
- Runway 8R/26L: 9,025 ft × 150 ft (2,751 m × 46 m), Surface: Asphalt
- Runway 8L/26R: 5,493 ft × 75 ft (1,674 m × 23 m), Surface: Asphalt
Main terminal
The terminal is a pier-satellite layout. It has a central entrance and the gates branch out east to west on the two concourses. The airport has East and West Concourses. Gates A1-A4 are located on the West Concourse and Gates B1-B11 is located on the East Concourse. The airport has a total of 15 gates. There is also a lower and upper level. The gates are located on the upper level and the ticketing, baggage claim, rental car, and main entrance are located on the lower level of the terminal. The meeter/greeter area is located on the lower level just behind the escalators that lead to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint leading to the gates. Major terminal renovations have been made over the past several years, designed and managed by the local architectural firm MNK Architects.
The airport access road is Convair Road. Convair Road splits into four lanes with the left two lanes reserved for commercial vehicles and the right two lanes utilized for pickup and drop-off of passengers. In between the split road there is a waiting area where passengers can wait for commercial vehicles to arrive.
Gates: Generally, these gates are used for the following airlines. Gates A1-A3: American Airlines and American Eagle. Gate B1: Delta Air Lines. Gates B3-B6: Southwest Airlines Gates B8 and B9: United Airlines and United Express. Gate B10: Allegiant
Food Court: The food court is located between gates B6 and B11. It is currently occupied with Carlos and Mickey's Mexican Express, Pizza Hut Express, Quizno's and Starbucks.
Airlines and destinations
El Paso International Airport has 15 gates on 2 concourses: Concourse A has gates A1-A4 and Concourse B has gates B1-B11.
Passenger
Cargo
Statistics
Top destinations
Accidents and incidents
- On July 20, 1982, Douglas C-47D N102BL of Pronto Aviation Services was damaged beyond repair in a crash landing near El Paso International Airport following an engine failure shortly after take-off. The aircraft was on a domestic non-scheduled passenger flight to Tucson International Airport in Arizona when the engine failed and the decision was made to return to El Paso. A single engine go-around was attempted following an unsafe landing gear warning.
- On February 19, 1988, Don McCoy, a private pilot, the owner of El Paso Sand and Gravel, took off in a newly acquired Rockwell Aero Commander 680 in a snowstorm (an aircraft he was not properly rated to fly), and attempted to land again after encountering mechanical trouble in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). The aircraft crashed, killing the owner and two acquaintances. Some later attempted to attribute the accident to US Senator Phil Gramm, as it was alleged that McCoy planned to testify against Senator Gramm's shakedown of campaign contributions made by the El Paso Small Business Administration office.
- On January 16, 2006, a mechanic employed by a contractor of Continental Airlines was killed when he was sucked into the right engine of a Boeing 737-524 while investigating an oil leak. The aircraft was preparing to depart as Continental Airlines Flight 1515 to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.
- In April 2015, a Southwest Airlines jet was directed by the tower at ELP to land on a closed runway under construction. The aircraft landed safely but missed construction equipment by "mere feet".
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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