Charleston International Airport
Charleston International Airport | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AMSL 46 ft / 14 m | | ||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 32°53′55″N 080°02′26″W / 32.89861°N 80.04056°W | ||||||||||||||
Website | iflychs | ||||||||||||||
Maps | |||||||||||||||
FAA diagram as of January 2021 | |||||||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Statistics (2023) | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Charleston International Airport (
History
In 1928, the Charleston Airport Corporation was founded and purchased 700 acres (280 ha) of land previously belonging to a mining company. Although privately developed at first, the City of Charleston floated bonds in 1931 to acquire a portion of the site for passenger service. Within ten years, three runways were paved and outfitted with lighting for nighttime operations. In World War II, control of the airfield passed to the United States Army though civilian service was allowed to continue to use the airfield. After the war, the airfield reverted to civilian use for a short time. In 1949, a new passenger terminal was built.
During the
In October 2009, Boeing announced that it would build a major plant on 265 acres (107 ha) at the airport as a second final assembly site for its 787 Dreamliner commercial aircraft. The facility began limited operations in July 2011 and rolled out its first completed aircraft in April 2012. Additional facilities to complement aircraft assembly have since been announced by the company.[5]
Since 2010, the airport's passenger figures have doubled.[7] New services established by additional airlines during this time along with increased services from the three legacy carriers have contributed to this growth.[citation needed]
In 2021, the newly established Breeze Airways announced that the airport would serve as a focus city for the airline and announced service to 11 cities.[citation needed] In 2022, the airport authority announced a 20-year master plan for future growth of the airport, including the constructing of an additional concourse, adding up to 11 new gates, providing additional plane stands, and expanding parking facilities for vehicles.[8]
The airport has had brief periods of international service. In 2001,
Facilities
The airport consists of four general areas: the military area to the west, the airline terminal to the south, the general aviation area to the east, and the Boeing assembly area further to the south. The combined airport area of Charleston International Airport and Charleston Air Force Base covers 2,060 acres (830 ha) and has two runways: 15/33, 9,001 ft × 200 ft (2,744 m × 61 m) and 03/21, 7,000 ft × 150 ft (2,134 m × 46 m).[2][14]
For the 12-month period ending May 31, 2019, the airport had 118,211 aircraft operations, an average of 324 per day: 42% commercial, 28% general aviation, 16% military, and 13% air taxi.[2][1] In May 2019, there were 81 aircraft based at this airport: 28 single-engine, 6 multi-engine, 43 jet, and 4 helicopter.[2]
Joint Base Charleston owns and operates the runways at the airport and has an agreement with the Charleston County Aviation Authority to allow civilian use of the field. General aviation services are operated by the Charleston County Aviation Authority. Boeing South Carolina operates the Boeing assembly area.
Terminal
The current airline terminal completed a three-year, $200 million redevelopment project in 2016 which added five gates and significantly renovated the interior appearance of the facility.[15] The original terminal was built in 1985 and was designed by Howard Needles Tammen & Bergendoff, Davis & Floyd, Inc., and Lucas & Stubbs.[16][17]
Both departures and arrivals are located on the same floor, with the departure area to the east end of the terminal and the arrival area to the west end. Flights depart from two concourses: Concourse A towards the east and Concourse B towards the west. Since 2015, a consolidated TSA security checkpoint is utilized for both concourses.[18] Charleston International Airport is classified as a security-level Category I airport by the TSA. The airport is equipped to handle international flights.
Concourse A contains eight gates (A1, A2, A2A, and A3-A7) that are primarily used by Delta Air Lines and Delta Connection, with other airlines occasionally using gates as needed for overflow. Concourse B contains ten gates (B1-B10) and is used by other airlines serving the airport. Concourse B also contains the international arrivals facility.
Ground transportation
Charleston International Airport is located near the interchange of
CARTA, the regional mass transit system, serves the airport with one bus route that operates seven days a week.
- CARTA Route 11 is a local service that connects the airport to downtown Charleston with several stops along Dorchester Road and Meeting Street in North Charleston. Total trip time from the airport to downtown is usually 50–55 minutes.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Cargo
Airlines | Destinations |
---|---|
Atlas Air[39] | Anchorage, Everett, Miami, Taranto, Wichita–McConnell AFB |
FedEx Express | Greensboro, Memphis, Nashville |
FedEx Feeder | Memphis |
Western Global Airlines | Fort Myers |
Statistics
Rank | Airline | Passengers | Share |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Delta Air Lines | 941,000 | 18.08% |
2 | American Airlines | 833,000 | 16.01% |
3 | Southwest Airlines | 814,000 | 15.65% |
4 | JetBlue | 518,000 | 9.96% |
5 | United Airlines | 499,000 | 9.60% |
6 | Other | 1,650,000 | 32.02% |
Top destinations
Rank | City | Passengers | Carriers |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Atlanta, Georgia | 404,370 | Delta |
2 | Charlotte, North Carolina | 252,550 | American |
3 | New York–JFK, New York | 149,430 | Delta, JetBlue |
4 | New York–LaGuardia, New York | 135,840 | Delta, JetBlue |
5 | Newark, New Jersey | 126,580 | JetBlue, Spirit, United |
6 | Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas | 122,160 | American |
7 | Baltimore, Maryland | 121,410 | Southwest |
8 | Washington–National, District of Columbia | 112,870 | American |
9 | Chicago–O'Hare, Illinois | 105,540 | American, United |
10 | Boston, Massachusetts | 86,180 | Delta, JetBlue |
Annual traffic
Year | Passengers | Year | Passengers | Year | Passengers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2003 | 1,616,255 | 2013 | 2,913,265 | 2023 | 6,153,540 |
2004 | 1,828,597 | 2014 | 3,131,072 | 2024 | |
2005 | 2,143,105 | 2015 | 3,415,952 | 2025 | |
2006 | 1,877,631 | 2016 | 3,708,133 | 2026 | |
2007 | 2,275,541 | 2017 | 3,987,427 | 2027 | |
2008 | 2,334,219 | 2018 | 4,470,239 | 2028 | |
2009 | 2,190,251 | 2019 | 4,871,062 | 2029 | |
2010 | 2,021,328 | 2020 | 1,952,271 | 2030 | |
2011 | 2,520,829 | 2021 | 4,181,588 | 2031 | |
2012 | 2,593,063 | 2022 | 5,322,147 | 2032 |
Accidents and incidents
- December 31, 1946: A Douglas C-47 operated by Inter Continental Air Transport crashed after a missed first approach. He attempted to remain visual while flying below a 500-foot (150 m) ragged ceiling. Flying over dark, heavily wooded terrain, the left wing struck treetops, lost control and crashed 3.1 miles (5.0 km) NW of Charleston. All five occupants (three crew, two passengers) perished.[42]
- March 14, 1947: a Douglas DC-3 operated by US Airlines approached Charleston low and left of the runway, struck trees 3,800 feet (1,200 m) from the runway, crashed and burned. Both occupants were killed.[43]
- August 23, 1955: A USAF Kaiser-Frazer Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar impacted a tree and crashed after a takeoff for a night flight in a residential area, 1.7 miles (2.7 km) SE of Charleston AFB. A fire erupted, destroying several homes. Reports said one engine was on fire when the crash occurred. Five of the 11 occupants on the aircraft were killed and four on the ground died.[44]
- October 3, 1956: A USAF Douglas C-124 Globemaster II crashed on approach 0.9 miles (1.4 km) NW of Charleston AFB when the pilot descended below minumums, struck trees and crashed. Three of the 10 on board were killed.[45]
- September 18, 1979: A USAF Lockheed C-141 Starlifter caught fire after touchdown at CHS when the landing gear retracted along with several other mechanical issues occurring at once. The aircraft was destroyed, but there were no fatalities.[46]
- November 2, 2020: Joel T. Drogomir was arrested on a charge "conveying false information regarding attempted use of a destructive device" after he falsely threatened to have a bomb.[47][48][49]
See also
References
- ^ a b Jacquot, Bryce (January 18, 2024). "Charleston International Airport sets new record with over 6 million travelers in 2023". ABC News 4.
- ^ PDF, effective December 7, 2017.
- ^ "Joint Civilian/Military (Joint-use) Airports". Airport Improvement Program. Federal Aviation Administration. March 6, 2002. Retrieved September 29, 2008.
- ^ "Charleston International Airport sets new record with over 6 million travelers in 2023". WCIV. January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
- ^ a b "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2013. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Airport History". Chs Airport.
- Post & Courier. January 31, 2019. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
- ^ "Long-term expansion plan revealed for Charleston International Airport". MSN. October 21, 2022.
- ^ Liu, Jim (October 19, 2018). "British Airways adds Charleston SC service in S19". Routesonline. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
- ^ "British Airways to Continue Charleston to London Service in 2020". Charleston County Economic Development Department. October 4, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ Williams, Emily (December 16, 2020). "Charleston's British Airways flight won't return next summer due to pandemic". The Post and Courier. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
- ^ "Air Canada Will Have 52 US Destinations With The Addition Of Charleston". Simple Flying. September 29, 2023. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
- ^ a b "Flight Schedules".
- ^ "CHS airport data at skyvector.com". skyvector.com. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
- ^ "$200M Charleston airport renovation wraps up". charlestonbusiness.com.
- ^ "Airport History". Chs-airport.com.
- ^ Wiesenthal, Eric (December 26, 1981). "Airport Taking Shape". The Post and Courier. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
- ^ "Consolidated TSA checkpoint opens April 15". Retrieved April 28, 2015.
- ^ "First phase of Charleston airport overhaul to be completed by mid-March". Warren L. Wise. Charleston Post & Courier. February 10, 2014. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
- ^ "Air Canada Will Have 52 US Destinations With The Addition Of Charleston". Simple Flying. September 29, 2023. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
- ^ Airlines, Alaska. "Flight Timetable". Alaska Airlines. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
- ^ "Allegiant Interactive Route Map". Retrieved October 17, 2020.
- ^ a b "Flight schedules and notifications". Retrieved May 21, 2018.
- ^ "Destinations". Avelo Airlines. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
- ^ "Breeze Airways Late-May 2024 Network Changes". Aeroroutes. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
- ^ "Breeze Airlines bringing back nonstop service from Charleston to LAX". Live 5 News. January 9, 2024. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
- ^ "Breeze Airways now offering nonstop flights from Manchester to Orlando, Charleston, and Fort Myers". Manchester Ink Link. February 15, 2024. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
- ^ "Explore Breeze Airways destinations". Breeze Airways. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
- ^ a b "FLIGHT SCHEDULES". Retrieved March 14, 2022.
- ^ "Frontier Airlines Announces Nonstop Service from CLE to 10 Additional Destinations; Summer Daily Departures to Increase 38% Versus a Year Ago".
- ^ "Frontier". Retrieved May 21, 2018.
- ^ "JetBlue".
- ^ "Check Flight Schedules". Retrieved May 21, 2018.
- ^ "Spirit Airlines April 2024 Network Additions – 16OCT23". Aeroroutes. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
- ^ "Spirit adds Las Vegas to Charleston, S.C. Nonstop flights in September | Tourism | Business". April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Spirit Airlines Launches Charleston SC Service From April 2023". Aeroroutes. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
- ^ https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2023/08/31/spirit-adds-flight-from-tampa-to-charlotte.html [bare URL]
- ^ a b "Timetable". Archived from the original on January 28, 2017. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
- ^ "Atlas Air Schedule". Atlas Air. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
- ^ a b "RITA | BTS | Transtats - CHS". Transtats.bts.gov. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
- ^ "Charleston International Airport - Operations Reports". www.iflychs.com.
- Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on October 30, 2020.
- Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on October 30, 2020.
- Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on October 30, 2020.
- Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on October 30, 2020.
- Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on October 30, 2020.
- ^ Smith, Fleming (November 24, 2020). "Charleston man who falsely claimed having bomb at airport released with slew of conditions". Post and Courier. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
- ^ "Man charged in airport bomb scare had razor blade in his shoe, Unabomber manifesto". WCBD News 2. December 9, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
- ^ Bean, Riley (December 9, 2020). "Suspect in airport bomb scare goes to court". www.live5news.com.
External links
- South Carolina Aeronautics Commission, official site
- Charleston International Airport, official site
- Charleston Air Force Base Archived March 16, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, official site
- Anna. aero article, analysis of airport traffic and serving airlines
- FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective March 21, 2024
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for KCHS
- ASN accident history for CHS
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KCHS
- FAA current CHS delay information