Reno–Tahoe International Airport

Reno–Tahoe International Airport
FAA diagram
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 17R/35L 11,001 3,353 Concrete 17L/35R 9,000 2,743 Concrete 07/25 6,102 1,860 Concrete
Statistics (2023)
Aircraft operations 107,096 (2022) Passengers 4,573,384
Sources: FAA[1][2]

Reno–Tahoe International Airport (IATA: RNO, ICAO: KRNO, FAA LID: RNO) is a public and military airport three miles (4.8 km) southeast of downtown Reno, in Washoe County, Nevada, United States.^[1][3] It is the state's second busiest commercial airport after Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. The Nevada Air National Guard has the 152nd Airlift Wing southwest of the airport's main terminal. The airport is named after both the City of Reno, Nevada and Lake Tahoe.^[4] The airspace of Reno-Tahoe Airport is controlled by the Northern California TRACON and Oakland Air Route Traffic Control Center.^[5]

History

Early years

The airport was built in 1929 by Boeing Transport Inc. and named Hubbard Field after Boeing Air Transport VP and air transport pioneer Eddie Hubbard.^[6] It was acquired by United Airlines in 1936 and purchased by the City of Reno in 1953. The August 1953 OAG shows 15 scheduled departures each weekday; ten years later there were 28.

Jets (United 727s) arrived in June 1964; runway 16 (now 17R) was extended southward from 7800 to 9000 feet around that time. The airport didn't rate a nonstop to Los Angeles until 1969; a nonstop to Chicago began in 1970.

The first terminal building was completed in time for the

In 1996, the baggage claim and ticketing area were updated with technology and decor. In 2008, the airport began a $70 million project that enhanced the baggage screening equipment and remodeled the ticketing area with a modern Tahoe theme; the project was entirely completed in 2010. In March 2013, a $24 million expansion of the airport was completed and focused on a new centralized TSA Security Checkpoint on the ground level, and above it, a shopping and dining promenade called "High Mountain Marketplace". Windows in the dining areas allow views of the mountains and runways. Future projects may include updates to the concourses.[10]

International service

In February 2014, the airport announced that Volaris planned to start operating non-stop service flights to Guadalajara, Mexico sometime in 2015. Since the DOT approved the route, it is Reno's first international non-stop service since 1999. On October 7, 2014, the DOT and the airport announced that Volaris would start a twice weekly flight to Guadalajara, Mexico from Reno on December 16, 2014.^[11]

In November 2014, Thomas Cook Airlines announced that it planned to introduce twice weekly, non-stop flights from London–Gatwick to Reno starting in December 2015. It would have been the first transatlantic route from Reno Airport.^[12] However, Thomas Cook Airlines canceled these plans in May 2015 stating insufficient border control capacities at the airport to handle their Airbus A330.^[13][14] Finally, in September 2019, Thomas Cook went into compulsory liquidation.

Facilities

Overview

Reno–Tahoe International Airport covers 1,450 acres (590 hectares; 2.27 square miles; 5.9 square kilometers) at an elevation of 4,415 feet (1.346 km). In the year ending June 30, 2019, the airport had 104,239 aircraft operations, with an average of 285 per day: 46% airline, 41% general aviation, 11% air taxi, and 2% military. At that time, 161 aircraft were based here: 104 single-engine, 19 multi-engine, 23 jet, 9 military, and 6 helicopter.^[1][15] The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems categorized it as a primary commercial service airport (more than 10,000 enplanements per year).^[16]

It has three concrete runways: 17R/35L is 11,001 by 150 feet (3,353 by 46 m); 17L/35R is 9,000 by 150 feet (2,743 by 46 m); 8/26 is 6,102 by 150 feet (1,860 by 46 m).^[17][1] During September through November 2010, the airport opened a new 200-foot (61 m) ATCT to replace the 70-foot (21 m) control tower that had been used for more than 50 years. It was designed by the Parsons Design Firm, which is responsible for the design of many other ATCT towers. The cost of the new tower was about 30 million dollars.

The passenger terminal is named after the late

The airport is also host to Reno Air National Guard Base, an approximately 60-acre (24 ha) complex, which was established on the west side of the airport in 1954, when Air National Guard units relocated from the former Stead Air Force Base in Reno.

The base is home to the

Reno–Tahoe International Airport provides two concourses designated B and C with an overall 23 jet bridge gates.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Destination maps
Austin class=notpageimage| Domestic destinations (except California) from Reno–Tahoe International Airport Red = Year-round destination Green = Seasonal destination Blue = Future destination
Reno Burbank Long Beach Los Angeles Oakland Orange County San Diego San Francisco San Jose class=notpageimage| California destinations from Reno–Tahoe International Airport Red = Year-round destination Green = Seasonal destination Blue = Future destination
Guadalajara class=notpageimage| International destinations from Reno–Tahoe International Airport

Cargo

Statistics

Top destinations

Airline market share

Annual traffic

Annual passenger traffic
(enplaned + deplaned) at RNO

Year	Passengers	Change		Year	Passengers	Change
2006	5,000,663	–		2016	3,650,830	6.3%
2007	5,044,087	0.87%		2017	4,015,305	10.0%
2008	4,434,638	12.08%		2018	4,210,095	4.8%
2009	3,755,935	15.30%		2019	4,450,673	5.7%
2010	3,822,485	1.8%		2020	2,006,420	54.9%
2011	3,754,155	1.8%		2021	3,623,458	80.6%
2012	3,479,122	7.3%		2022	4,310,958	19.0%
2013	3,431,986	1.4%		'2023	4,573,384	6.1%
2014	3,298,915	3.9%
2015	3,432,657	3.9%

Ground transportation

Car rental

The airport provides access to nine different rental car agencies with rental car pick up available right outside the terminal building. All nine rental car counters are located in the baggage claim. After completing the rental agreement inside, vehicles may be collected from the parking structure located just outside the baggage claim.

Taxis and limousines

The passenger waiting area for taxis and limousines is located outside of the D Doors located north of the baggage claim.

Bus

Public transportation to/from the airport is available via

• Route 12 takes passengers either to Downtown 4th Street Station or Meadowood Mall and stops at Terminal Way & Villanova Drive, a short walk from the airport north of baggage claim via the marked pedestrian walkway.

Shuttles

Complimentary hotel shuttles stop along the curb, outside the D Doors located north of the baggage claim, to pick up passengers.

Accidents and incidents

• At 10:15 pm on November 24, 1971, a
  Seattle, Washington earlier that day. After landing in Seattle, the passengers were released. Cooper and the crew of the 727 were allowed to depart from Seattle to Mexico City with a fuel stop in Reno. The crew reported that the aft airstair had been deployed while over southern Washington
  . Upon landing in Reno, the aircraft was surrounded by law enforcement. An armed search quickly confirmed that Cooper was gone. The identity of the hijacker and his whereabouts remain a mystery to this day.
• In the early morning hours of January 21, 1985,
  Minneapolis, Minnesota
  and crashed 1.5 miles (2.4 km) southwest of the airport while the pilots were attempting an emergency landing after experiencing an unexpected vibration from under the wing. An investigation attributed the crash to pilot error for failing to maintain proper control over the aircraft while investigating the cause of the vibration. The vibration was later found to be caused by an open air start service door which the ground crew failed to secure before departure. All but one of the 71 passengers and crew on board were killed.
• Also in 1985, Roger Stockham, who would later be arrested for attempting to blow up a mosque in Michigan, was arrested at the airport for planting a pipe bomb and carrying an unregistered weapon.^[24]
• On April 13, 2011, a Piper Cheyenne air ambulance flight landed uneventfully at Reno–Tahoe International Airport without a clearance, after the single overnight air traffic controller fell asleep. Federal Aviation Regulations state that if a control tower is not in operation (a condition satisfied by the fact that the controller was asleep), it is considered an "uncontrolled airport" with flight and ground movement becoming the responsibility of the pilot. The incident was minor in nature and safety was never compromised; however, it led to the resignation of Air Traffic Organization chief executive Hank Krakowski.^[25] The Federal Aviation Administration announced that 27 airports, including RNO, would subsequently be staffed with two air traffic controllers during graveyard shifts.^[26]

Sound levels

Sound levels have been analyzed for over two decades at this airport, with one of the first studies being a comprehensive production of aircraft

• List of airports in Nevada
• Reno Stead Airport (RTS), location of the Reno Air Races

References