Pensacola International Airport

Pensacola International Airport
FAA airport diagram
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 17/35 7,004 2,135 Concrete 08/26 7,000 2,134 Asphalt
Statistics
Aircraft operations (2021) 94,079 Based aircraft (2021) 152 Total passengers served (12 months ending Aug. 2021) 1,958,000 Cargo handled (12 months ending Aug. 2021) 25 million lbs.
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

Pensacola International Airport

It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2021–2025, in which it is categorized as a small-hub primary commercial service facility.^[3] As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 771,917 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008,^[4] 694,786 enplanements in 2009, and 729,748 in 2010.^[5] In 2018, the airport served 1.9 million passengers.^[6]

History

In 1935, a passenger terminal opened, and airline service began two years later. Atlantic and Gulf Airlines went out of business a few months later after failing to get an airmail contract. In 1938

In 1978, after deregulation of the airline industry, several airlines began serving Pensacola, including Continental and Delta. In 1978 a National Airlines Boeing 727 crashed into Escambia Bay while on approach for landing, the first fatal airline accident in the area. In 1979 US Airways, then called USAir, arrived at Pensacola. In 1990 the current terminal was built and AirTran Airways began jet service in 2001. In 2005 United Express began service out of Pensacola. After stopping service to Pensacola in the 1990s, American Airlines (operating as American Eagle) began service again in Pensacola in 2004. Southwest Airlines initiated service to Pensacola in 2013 after purchasing Airtran Airways. Frontier Airlines initiated service at Pensacola in 2018.

Pensacola mayor Ashton Hayward announced on November 9, 2011, that the airport would change its name from Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional Airport to Pensacola Regional Airport, effective immediately.^[7]

Facilities and aircraft

Pensacola Regional Airport covers an area of 1,211

For the 12-month period ending February 28, 2021, the airport had 94,079 aircraft operations, an average of 258 per day: 54% general aviation, 21% military, 18% commercial and 8% air taxi. In November 2021, there were 152 aircraft based at this airport: 109 single-engine, 16 multi-engine and 27 jet.^[1]

Terminal

Pensacola has one passenger terminal with 12 gates, built in the early 1990s. Gates 1 through 10 are located on the 2nd floor, while Gates 11 and 12 are located on the ground floor.

Gate assignments:

• American: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
• Delta: 2, 4
• Silver: 11
• Southwest: 10
• United: 1, 3
• Frontier: 6
• Spirit: 8

Terminal expansion

The terminal was expanded in 2011 at a cost of $35 million. The expansion was designed by Gresham, Smith, and Partners^[9] and Stoa Architects.^[10][11]

In 2022, it was announced that the city of Pensacola was looking into a $70 million concourse and parking expansion that would provide more space to handle the airport's rapid increase in passenger numbers and flights.^[12][13]

Management

The airport is operated as a self-funding department of the government of the

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Airlines	Destinations
American Airlines	Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth Seasonal: Philadelphia[15]
American Eagle	Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami, Washington–National Seasonal: Chicago–O'Hare, Philadelphia
Breeze Airways	Tampa (begins June 28, 2024)[16]
Delta Air Lines	Atlanta Seasonal: Detroit
Delta Connection	New York–LaGuardia
Frontier Airlines	Cincinnati (begins May 21, 2024),[17] Cleveland (begins May 21, 2024),[18] Denver, Philadelphia (begins May 22, 2024)[19]
Silver Airways	Tampa, West Palm Beach[20]
Southwest Airlines	Dallas–Love, Houston–Hobby, Nashville Seasonal: Austin (resumes June 8, 2024),[21] Chicago–Midway, Denver, Kansas City, St. Louis
Fort Lauderdale, Orlando
United Airlines	Houston–Intercontinental Seasonal: Chicago–O'Hare
United Express	Chicago–O'Hare, Houston–Intercontinental Seasonal: Denver

Destinations map

Pensacola Atlanta Charlotte Fort Lauderdale Philadelphia Austin New York-LaGuardia Denver Dallas–Love Detroit Miami Tampa Kansas City Washington–National St. Louis Orlando Dallas/Fort Worth Houston–Intercontinental Chicago–O'Hare Chicago–Midway Baltimore Houston–Hobby Nashville West Palm Beach Cincinnati Cleveland class=notpageimage| Destinations from Pensacola International Airport Red = Year-round destination Green = Seasonal destination Blue = Future destination

Cargo operations

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Annual passenger traffic at PNS airport. See Wikidata query.

Top destinations

Busiest domestic routes from PNS
(April 2021 – March 2022)^[22]

Rank	City	Passengers	Carriers
1	Atlanta, Georgia	357,470	Delta, Southwest
2	Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas	165,340	American, Spirit
3	Charlotte, North Carolina	117,440	American
4	Houston–Intercontinental, Texas	89,470	United
5	Nashville, Tennessee	77,390	Southwest
6	Dallas–Love, Texas	56,510	Southwest
7	Denver, Colorado	51,080	Frontier, Southwest, United
8	Miami, Florida	43,970	American
9	Chicago–O'Hare, Illinois	43,430	American, Frontier, United
10	Washington-National	40,610	American

Airline market share

Pensacola Intergalactic Airport annual name change

Pensacola International Airport undergoes a temporary annual name change to Pensacola Intergalactic Airport in February each year to celebrate Pensacon, a multi-genre convention held in the city of Pensacola. In 2024, the airport changed its name and signage on February 9, ready for the convention scheduled for February 23-25.^[23][24]

Accidents and incidents

• On May 8, 1978 National Airlines Flight 193 landed in Escambia Bay while approaching the east–west runway. Three of the 58 passengers and crew on board were killed.
• On January 2, 1982, a United States Navy Beechcraft Super King Air crashed into a housing development on approach north of Pensacola Regional Airport. The plane struck several trees, fell on a car and collided with an oak tree. The pilot was killed, the other seven occupants survived.^[25]
• On December 27, 1987,
  McDonnell-Douglas DC-9-31 suffered a hard landing, causing the aircraft to bounce and break apart aft of the wings. All four crew and 103 passengers survived, four passengers sustained minor injuries during evacuation.^[26]
• On April 10, 1989, a Southern Company Services
  DeKalb-Peachtree Airport. An in-flight cabin fire and smoke disabled the flight crew. All three occupants (2 crew, 1 passenger) died.^[27]
• On July 6, 1996,
  JT8D-219 turbofan
  engine penetrated the fuselage, killing two and seriously injuring one of the 148 people on board.
• On July 11, 1996, a
  F-16C Fighting Falcon cashed into two houses just north of Pensacola Regional Airport while attempting an emergency landing. The plane was en route from Shaw AFB in South Carolina to Eglin AFB in Okaloosa County to escape Hurricane Bertha when it experienced an engine flameout. The pilot ejected safely; however, a 4-year-old child was killed, and the mother was severely burned.^[28]

• Pensacola Police Department
• Transportation Security Administration
• Aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) is provided by the Pensacola Fire Department, who operate out of one fire station on the premises.

References