Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport
Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport Ryan Field | |||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AMSL 70 ft / 21 m | | ||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 30°31′58″N 091°09′00″W / 30.53278°N 91.15000°W | ||||||||||||||||||
Website | www | ||||||||||||||||||
Maps | |||||||||||||||||||
FAA airport diagram | |||||||||||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
Statistics (2018) | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport (IATA: BTR, ICAO: KBTR, FAA LID: BTR), also known as Ryan Field, is a public use airport located four miles (7 km) north of the central business district of Baton Rouge, a city in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States.[1]
The airport was originally Harding Field during World War II and was used by the United States Army Air Forces Technical Service Command as a maintenance and supply base. Its uses also included training pilots to fly P-47 Thunderbolts.[2] One of the Thunderbolt pilots trained at Harding was Quentin Aanenson, who survived the war, and in 2007 appeared in Ken Burns' The War, a PBS film about World War II. Training was dangerous, The War noting that "Five members of Aanenson's group of 40 trainees died before they got a chance to go overseas".
Many other aircraft were used at Harding, including
Today, other than the runways, virtually no traces remain of the military installation.
Facilities and aircraft
The airport covers an area of 1,250 acres (510 ha) at an
Air Traffic Services are provided by dedicated
For 2018, the airport had 51,070 aircraft operations with 17,695 of those being commercial air carrier flights. Other aircraft operations include 32,362 General Aviation (GA) and 1,013 military.
This airport is also the main airport used by the Louisiana State Police Air Support Unit.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2022) |
Airlines | Destinations |
---|---|
American Eagle | Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth, Washington–National[5] |
Delta Air Lines | Atlanta |
United Express | Houston–Intercontinental |
Historically, the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport (BTR) was served by
Currently, commercial airline service at the airport is primarily operated with
Destinations map |
---|
Top destinations
Rank | City | Passengers |
---|---|---|
1 | Atlanta, Georgia | 106,020 |
2 | Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas | 90,880 |
3 | Houston-Intercontinental, Texas | 68,810 |
4 | Charlotte, North Carolina | 49,190 |
Cargo terminal
Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport has a 33,000-square-foot (3,100 m2) cargo facility. It is currently[when?] being expanded to 68,000 square feet (6,300 m2).
Challenges
Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport is slightly smaller than might be expected for a city and metro area of its size due in part to its proximity to New Orleans'
In the wake of
Expansion and development
Louisiana Aircraft Inc., a
On June 24, 2010, US Airways recommenced operations to Charlotte from BTR.
In March 2012, a project to expand the rotunda area of the terminal began. The purpose of the project is to relieve the traffic jams inside the terminal caused by passengers going through security screening or departing the airport in the same general area that the walkway from the parking garage and waiting area are located. The renovation project is expected to be completed sometime in August 2013.
In September 2013, Baton Rouge Metro Airport announced the August passenger volume hit a 5 year high. The Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport experienced its best August passenger count in five years. A total of 66,860 passengers passed through the airport for the month. The August departing passengers (enplanements) were up 11% at 33,465. Arriving passengers (deplanements) were up 7.08% at 33,395. Delta maintained the top August market share at 42%, followed by United at 25%, American Eagle at 24% and US Airways at 9%. Delta had the biggest passenger increase among the BTR airlines at +13.03% in enplanements and +10.15% in deplanements.
Delta has also begun scheduling larger, dual-class aircraft into BTR, including CRJ 700/900, MD-88, Boeing 717, and Airbus A319 aircraft. All four aircraft types have both first and economy class seating.
Since 2016, United has begun scheduling larger ERJ-175 aircraft which include first, economy plus, and coach class seating.
In September 2013, Baton Rouge Metro Airport announced Delta's "Red Coat" Service has been implemented at the check in terminal to assist customers.[7]
The expanded rotunda opened in October 2013 and the TSA checkpoint has been re-located to the new area, providing more room and allowing an additional line to be added when necessary. The original rotunda now serves as a spacious arrival court where un-ticketed guests can wait on arriving passengers. Construction of new restrooms and vending in the arrival court are complete. New restrooms on Concourse A are also open, including a family restroom and lactation room. The new rotunda provides an airy space for passengers that includes a floor-to-ceiling glass wall with a great view of the airfield and runways. New seating in the rotunda provides an outlet at each seat, and a charging station has been added at the beginning on Concourse A. The renovated food court now includes PJ's Coffee and WOW Cafe: American Grill and Wingery. The airport sports lounge has also been expanded and renovated. Other airport amenities include free Wi-Fi, a business center, chapel, and a children's playroom.
In January 2016, it was announced the airport is seeking to open a hotel that would connect to the BTR terminal. Baton Rouge Metro Airport is looking to add a hotel and restaurant to its north Baton Rouge terminal in hopes of growing airport revenue and adding convenience for travelers.
The airport's board of commissioners accepted a request for proposals from Holiday Inn representatives to explore building a 147-room hotel with a Mike Anderson's Seafood. Holiday Inn representatives are still studying the market, but they are expected to make a determination in the next couple of months on whether they can build the hotel.
Accidents and incidents
- On March 16, 1984, sex offender Jeff Doucet was shot in the head while being escorted through the airport by police officers; the shooter Gary Plauché was captured on the spot, while Doucet died the following day in hospital.
- On September 2, 2011, Canadair CRJ-200 N875AS landed with the port main undercarriage retracted. There were no injuries among the 50 passengers and three crew on board.[8]
- On June 7, 2013, a Beechcraft Super King Air operated by Osage Air LLC crashed 2.9 miles N of Baton Rouge Int'l Airport shortly after takeoff. Probable causes were the pilot's failure to maintain airspeed and lack of knowledge of the avionics. The crash occurred in a residential area, damaging two homes. The sole occupant, the pilot, was killed.[9]
See also
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- ^ PDF, effective 12-30-2021.
- ^ see: "The War: a Film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick", Episode 3 "A Deadly Calling" at 33 minutes 10 secs. Pilot Quentin Aanenson says: "I wanted to fly fighters . . . I was sent to Harding Field at Baton Rouge, Louisiana. That's where they had the P-47 Thunderbolt"
- ^ see "Heroes of Harding Field", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_5GttkrexM, based on the book of the same name by William A. Spedale (self-published, 2000: Amazon.com)
- ^ "BTR airport data at skyvector.com". skyvector.com. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
- ^ "American Airlines announces nonstop flight from Baton Rouge to DC". WBRZ News. January 26, 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
- ^ "RITA | BTS | Transtats". Bureau of Transportation Statistics. January 2017. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
- ^ "Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport". Retrieved 21 June 2014.
Delta now has the scarlet-jacketed agents working the counters and gates at BTR to provide additional customer service for passengers. These elite agents work to solve problems and efficiently assist passengers in a variety of situations.
- ^ Hradecky, Simon. "Accident: Atlantic Southeast CRJ2 at Baton Rouge on Sep 1st 2011, left main gear up landing". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
- Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on November 1, 2020.
External links
- Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, official site
- Airport terminal diagram (JPG)
- Airport terminal diagram (
- FAA Airport Diagram for BTR (PDF), effective June 13, 2024
- FAA Terminal Procedures for BTR, effective June 13, 2024
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for KBTR
- ASN accident history for BTR
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KBTR
- FAA current BTR delay information