Destin–Fort Walton Beach Airport
Destin–Fort Walton Beach Airport AMSL | 87 ft / 27 m | ||||||||||||||
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Coordinates | 30°29′00″N 086°31′31″W / 30.48333°N 86.52528°W | ||||||||||||||
Website | www.FlyVPS.com | ||||||||||||||
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FAA airport diagram | |||||||||||||||
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Statistics (2023) | |||||||||||||||
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Destin–Fort Walton Beach Airport (IATA: VPS, ICAO: KVPS, FAA LID: VPS) is an airport located within Eglin Air Force Base, adjacent to the city of Valparaiso and near the cities of Destin and Fort Walton Beach, in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. The airport was previously named Northwest Florida Regional Airport until February 17, 2015, and Okaloosa Regional Airport until September 2008.
The airport is just under sixteen miles away from Destin and takes approximately twenty-five minutes to get to Destin.[4] Only commercial air traffic is allowed. Non-commercial operations by general aviation and business aircraft must use nearby Destin Executive Airport.
History
In 1957, The Okaloosa County Air Terminal opened on Eglin Air Force Base in building 89 with 3 personnel (Airport Manager, Security and Admin Support).
1967:
1968: According to the September 3, 1968, Southern Airways system timetable, the airline was operating daily nonstop
February 1975: The new James E. Plew Terminal Building of the Okaloosa Air Terminal, on State Road 85, opened in mid-February 1975, with dedication on 22 February. Representative Bob Sikes and Southern Airways President Frank Hulse were some of the speakers.[7] The 32,000 sq ft (3,000 m2) facility cost $1.7 million. Federal grants totaled $472,000, state $80,000, Okaloosa County bond sale $1.1 million, and Southern Airways $190,000. First year enplaned passengers totaled 97,000 with Southern Airways as the sole airline serving VPS with 12 departing flights daily.
1977: South Central Air Transport (SCAT), a commuter air carrier, was serving the airport with flights to New Orleans, LA, Mobile, AL, Montgomery, AL and Panama City, FL flown with Handley Page Jetstream propjets.[6]
1979: On July 1, 1979
1980s: At the beginning of the 1980s, only Republic Airlines was operating nonstop service between VPS and Atlanta. Republic was operating
1986–1987: On October 1, 1986,
1998:
November 2004: The current Northwest Florida Regional Airport opened its doors following an expansion with more parking, a larger aircraft parking apron, a second parallel taxiway, landscaping and a new 110,000 sq ft (10,000 m2) passenger terminal.
January 2010: Delta Air Lines completed its merger with Northwest Airlines on January 31, 2010. Delta then scaled back the Northwest hub operation in Memphis, and service between VPS and MEM was discontinued in favor of nonstop flights to Delta's hub in Atlanta.
2011: Vision Airlines began a small scheduled passenger hub operation at VPS with flights to Asheville, NC; Atlanta, GA; Baton Rouge, LA; Columbia, SC; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Fort Myers, FL; Greenville/Spartanburg, SC; Huntsville, AL; Knoxville, TN; Lafayette, LA; Las Vegas, NV; Little Rock, AR; Louisville, KY; Sanford/Orlando, FL; Savannah, GA; Shreveport, LA; St. Louis, MO; and St. Petersburg, FL. Vision flew Boeing 737 jetliners and Dornier 328 turboprops.[13] Vision later ended all flights at the airport and shut down its VPS hub.
February 17, 2015: Northwest Florida Regional Airport changed its name to Destin–Fort Walton Beach Airport on a 3–2 vote.
March 2016 :
May/June 2016:
September 2016:
January 2017: Allegiant Air announced a major expansion with a new base of operations to be located on the airport with a total of eighteen (18) domestic destinations to be served nonstop on seasonal basis with mainline jet aircraft by June 2017 with most of the planned new service to begin in May 2017.[15]
May 2019: Silver Airways began daily service to Orlando, FL (MCO) from VPS using a 34-seat Saab 340 turboprop aircraft.[16] Silver stopped serving VPS in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
May 6, 2021: Southwest Airlines began service to VPS with flights to Dallas-Love (DAL), Nashville (BNA), Baltimore/Washington (BWI) and Chicago/Midway (MDW).
March 2022: United Airlines announces that they would cease all flights into VPS, citing long-term unsustainability.[17]
September 19, 2022: Concourse C expansion opens for exclusive use by Allegiant Air, flying to 35 destinations.[18]
February 6, 2024: Avelo Airlines announces service to Tweed-New Haven Airport (HVN) in Connecticut, starting on May 17, 2024.
Facilities
Destin–Fort Walton Beach Airport and Eglin AFB covers 6,500 acres (2,630 ha) and share two runways: 12/30 is 11,987 ft × 300 ft (3,654 m × 91 m) asphalt/concrete and 01/19 is 10,001 ft × 300 ft (3,048 m × 91 m) asphalt.[2][19]
Terminal
The airport has a 116,000 sq ft (10,800 m2) passenger terminal with five second-level gates with passenger jet ways and three ground-level commuter gates with passenger jet ways.
The two-level terminal opened in November 2004. The old terminal building was demolished soon after. The terminal has areas for ticketing and baggage claim and upper and lower courses with gates. The first level has Gates A1, A2, and A3 and waiting areas and a concession area. The second-level concourse has Gates B1, B2, B3, B4, B5 and B6. B3 is rarely used due to a lack of flights during the slow season. B5 is rarely used due to a lack of a jetway. Passengers have to descend a narrow stairwell and isn't very conducive to safe and speedy boarding of the aircraft. The second-level concourse also has a restaurant and concession areas. The terminal was designed to allow future expansion. Concourse C, completed in 2022 for Allegiant Air's exclusive use, is located to the west of the main terminal. The $11.4 million-dollar, 26,000 square foot expansion includes 5 new ground-level gates, along with multiple food and beverage options.[18] However, passengers will still have to check in, as well as collect baggage, at the main terminal.
Ground transportation
Access to the terminal is off of State Road 85. Parking facilities are to the left, the terminal or loop is straight ahead and rental car return is to the right. The airport loop road has two pass-through lanes on the left and three arrival-departure lanes in front of the terminal. The loop road is a two-lane asphalt roadway about ¾ mile long. Short-term and long-term parking facilities are available. The parking facilities were improved in the early 2000s (decade) as part of the new terminal expansion. These were designed with the Transportation Security Administration's "300-foot rule" in mind, and satisfy the 300-foot (91 m) distance between parked vehicles and the terminal building.
Airlines and destinations
Airlines | Destinations | Refs |
---|---|---|
[21] | ||
American Airlines | Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth, Washington–National Seasonal: Chicago–O'Hare | [22] |
American Eagle | Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth, Washington–National Seasonal: Chicago–O'Hare, Philadelphia | [22] |
Avelo Airlines | Seasonal: New Haven (CT) (begins May 17, 2024)[23] | [24] |
[26] | ||
Southwest Airlines | Baltimore, Dallas–Love, Nashville Seasonal: Austin, Chicago–Midway, Houston–Hobby,[27] Kansas City, St. Louis | [28] |
Sun Country Airlines | Seasonal: Minneapolis/St. Paul |
Statistics
Top destinations
Rank | City | Passengers | Carriers |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Atlanta, GA | 256,300 | Delta |
2 | Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
|
147,500 | American |
3 | Charlotte, NC | 110,820 | American |
4 | Nashville, TN | 93,030 | Allegiant, Southwest |
5 | Cincinnati, OH | 55,270 | Allegiant |
6 | Minneapolis/St Paul, MN | 49,630 | Allegiant, Delta, Sun Country |
6 | St. Louis–Belleville, IL | 44,710 | Allegiant |
8 | Dallas–Love, TX | 43,020 | Southwest |
9 | Washington, D.C. | 34,110 | American |
10 | Baltimore, MD | 30,290 | Allegiant, Southwest |
Rank | Carrier | Passengers | Market
Share |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Allegiant | 636,000 | 28.35% |
2 | Delta | 550,000 | 24.52% |
3 | American | 518,000 | 23.06% |
4 | Southwest | 415,000 | 18.49% |
5 | Envoy | 43,050 | 1.92% |
6 | Others | 82,090 | 3.66% |
See also
References
- ^ Tony Judnich (2018-02-14). "llegiant, VPS announce new base, new routes, new jobs". Northwest Florida Daily News. Gannett Co., Inc.
- ^ PDF, effective January 25, 2024.
- ^ "VPS Airport Passenger and Operations Data for 2023" (PDF). flyvps.com. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
- ^ "Airports to use when flying to Destin, Florida | Destin Florida". destinflorida.com.
- ^ timetableimages.com January 7, 1958 Southern timetable
- ^ a b "Airline Timetable Images". www.timetableimages.com.
- ^ Fort Walton Beach, Florida, "Terminal Dedication Saturday", Playground Daily News, Friday 21 February 1975, Volume 30, Number 13, page 1A.
- ^ departedflights.com, July 1, 1979 Republic timetable
- ^ departedflights.com, July 1, 1978 Southern timetable
- ^ a b c d e "index". www.departedflights.com.
- ^ departedflights.com, September 9, 1987 Northwest timetable
- ^ departedflights.com, April 1995 Official Airline Guide (OAG), North American edition
- ^ Press Releases
- ^ "Local Destin flights won't return". February 17, 2018.
- ^ "Best Travel Deals, Cheap Flights, Hotel Discounts, Car Rentals and more". Allegiant Air.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Article". www.silverairways.com. Retrieved 2019-07-23.
- ^ "United Airlines ending services to Destin-Fort Walton Beach".
- ^ a b "Allegiant Air, Okaloosa County celebrate new concourse at Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport".
- ^ "VPS airport data at skyvector.com". skyvector.com. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
- ^ a b "Allegiant Announces Major Service Expansion with 22 New Nonstop Routes | Allegiant Travel Company".
- ^ "Allegiant Interactive Route Map". Archived from the original on July 17, 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
- ^ a b "Flight schedules and notifications". Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
- ^ "Avelo announces 4 new destinations from New Haven, including Atlanta". New Haven Register. February 6, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
- ^ "Destinations". Avelo Airlines. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
- ^ "Delta Air Lines Cuts Over 6,000 Flights From Summer Schedule". SimpleFlying. March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
- ^ "FLIGHT SCHEDULES". Archived from the original on June 21, 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
- ^ "Southwest Airlines - Check Flight Schedules".
- ^ "Check Flight Schedules". Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
- ^ "Top 10 Destination Airports (U.S. Only, Passengers (000))". Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
- ^ "OST_R | BTS | Transtats". Bureau of Transportation Statistics. United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
External links
- Destin - Fort Walton Beach Airport, official site
- Eglin Air Force Base, official site
- Northwest Florida Regional Airport Shuttle Service. Archived 2011-11-06 at the Wayback Machine, Ground Transportation to VPS
- FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective April 18, 2024
- FAA Terminal Procedures for VPS, effective April 18, 2024
- Resources for this airport:
- FAA airport information for VPS
- AirNav airport information for KVPS
- ASN accident history for VPS
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days
- SkyVector aeronautical chart, Terminal Procedures
- Northwest Florida Regional Airport Shuttle Service., Ground Transportation Shuttles