Topeka Regional Airport
Topeka Regional Airport | |||||||||||||||
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AMSL 1,078 ft / 329 m | | ||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 38°57′03″N 095°39′49″W / 38.95083°N 95.66361°W | ||||||||||||||
Website | http://www.mtaa-topeka.org | ||||||||||||||
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Topeka Regional Airport (IATA: FOE, ICAO: KFOE, FAA LID: FOE), formerly known as Forbes Field, is a joint civil-military public airport owned by the Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority in Shawnee County, Kansas, seven miles south of downtown Topeka,[1] the capital city of Kansas. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 called it a general aviation airport.[2]
Topeka Regional Airport is used by the University of Kansas (KU) for charter flights for its athletic teams and by schools visiting the KU campus in Lawrence, which is 34 miles (55 km) east of the airport via the Kansas Turnpike. (Kansas City International Airport is 51 miles (82 km) from KU.) The airport had scheduled airline service by multiple carriers until 2014.
Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 11,573 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2019.[3]
History
Topeka Regional Airport (formerly Forbes Field) is on the site of the Topeka Army Airfield, later Forbes Air Force Base, a former
Most of the former base administrative area is now used for offices and an industrial park. The 190th Air Refueling Wing (190 ARW) of the Kansas Air National Guard continues to part of the airport as a military cantonment area and Air National Guard installation known as Forbes Field Air National Guard Base; the wing currently flies and maintains the Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker.
From 1942 to 1973 the following Air Force components supervised the airfield:
- Second Air Force, 1942–1945
- Continental Air Forces, 1945–1947
- Air Materiel Command, 1947–1948; 1949–1951 (In inactive status)
- Strategic Air Command, 1948–1949; 1951–1964
- Tactical Air Command, 1964–1973
- Air National Guard, 1973 – present
In April 1976, except for areas retained by the Air National Guard, most of the former Forbes Air Force Base was turned over to the city of Topeka and Shawnee County. During this transition, all airline flights moved from the
In 1981 a bond to build a new air terminal was rejected, but approved in 1982. The $5 million terminal was completed in 1985.
The terminal has five airline ticket counters and two rental car counters. Currently Hertz is the only rental car company at FOE. There is one baggage claim carousel. Several charter and military flights use the terminal today.
In 2012 the MTAA Board of Directors renamed the facility to Topeka Regional Airport and Business Center, maintaining the name of the airfield as Forbes Field. Topeka Regional Airport is currently the home of the Kansas Air National Guard's 190th Air Refueling Wing and the 1st Battalion,
Historical airline service
Airline service began in the early 1930s by a small mail carrier United States Airways which flew a route between Denver and Kansas City. Flights made stops in Goodland, Salina, and Topeka, Kansas, using a five-passenger
After moving to the current Forbes Field in 1976, Topeka then saw multiple new carriers, some providing jet service:
Capitol Air Service began shuttle flights to Kansas City, Manhattan, and Salina, Kansas, around 1970. From 1987 through 1989, the carrier had a codeshare agreement with the new
Trans Central Airlines provided commuter flights to Oklahoma City and onto Dallas/Fort Worth in 1981 and 1982 using Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner aircraft.
The original
United Airlines provided mainline jet service in 1986 and 1987 with three daily flights to the carrier's hub at Denver, making one stop at Kansas City or Wichita, and one daily flight to Chicago O'Hare making one stop in Lincoln. Boeing 727 and Boeing 737 jets were used.
The 1980s were the boom years for traffic at Forbes Field as the airport handled up to 180,000 passengers per year.[6][7][8] By the 1990s however, the airport saw a dramatic drop in traffic and scheduled passenger service became subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.[9][10] This subsidized service ended in May, 2003, due to federal law prohibiting a subsidy over $200 per passenger for airports within 210 miles of the nearest large or medium hub airport (Kansas City International Airport, a medium hub, is 71 miles away). This caused the final carrier, Air Midwest dba US Airways Express, to end service.[11]
After three years with no service,
Facilities
Topeka Regional Airport covers 2,854
In the year ending October 31, 2021, the airport had 30,086 aircraft operations, average 82 per day: 60% military, 38% general aviation, 1% air taxi, and <1% airline. 33 aircraft were then based at this airport: 7 single-engine, 1 multi-engine, 6 jet, 1 helicopter, and 18 military.[1]
Airlines and destinations
The airport has had no airline service since September 2, 2014.[16]
See also
References
- ^ PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective August 10, 2023.
- ^ "2011–2015 NPIAS Report, Appendix A" (PDF, 2.03 MB). National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2010.
- ^ "Enplanements for CY 2019" (PDF, 1.0 MB). Calendar Year 2019 Final Revenue Enplanements at All Airports. Federal Aviation Administration. September 25, 2020.
- ^ Information from MTAA website http://www.mtaa-topeka.org/about/airport-history/topeka-regional-airport Accessed on September 23, 2013.
- ^ multiple airline timetables from timetableimages.com
- ^ Anderson, Phil Vegas Bound. The Topeka Capital Journal. Retrieved May 5, 2006.
- ^ Schofield, Adrian Topeka Targets More Growth As Commercial Flights Return. Aviation Now. Retrieved May 5, 2006.
- ^ Forbes Field (ANG). GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved May 14, 2006.
- ^
"Essential Air Service Communities Eliminated from Subsidy-Eligibility". Office of Aviation Analysis, U.S. Department of Transportation. July 2010. Archived from the originalon May 21, 2012.
Topeka, KS, by Order 2003-4-16, effective May 1, 2003
- ^ "Order 2003-4-16". U.S. Department of Transportation. April 18, 2003.
- ^ "Order 2003-2-28". U.S. Department of Transportation. February 28, 2003.
- ^ Allegiant Air: Las Vegas Schedule. Retrieved May 5, 2006. Archived May 4, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Allegiant Air to end Topeka service". The Capital-Journal (Topeka). June 1, 2007.
- ^ "Topeka nets daily flights to Chicago".
- ^ "United Airlines Nears Final Departure From Topeka Airport". www.wibw.com. Archived from the original on 2015-07-12.
- ^ Official Airline Guide September 2014
Other sources
- Essential Air Service documents (Docket OST-1996-1352) from the U.S. Department of Transportation:
- Order 2000-7-35 (July 28, 2000): tentatively re-selecting Air Midwest, Inc., d/b/a US Airways Express, to provide essential air service at Topeka, Kansas, for the two-year period ending December 31, 2001, at an annual subsidy rate totaling $722,199.
- Order 2001-8-13 (August 10, 2001): tentatively re-selecting Air Midwest, Inc., d/b/a US Airways Express, to provide essential air service at Topeka, Kansas, for the two-year period beginning January 1, 2002, at an annual rate of $621,872.
- Order 2003-2-28 (February 28, 2003): requests interested persons to show cause why we should not terminate subsidy for essential air service at Topeka, Kansas, and allow Air Midwest, Inc., d/b/a US Airways Express, to suspend service there as of May 1, 2003.
- Order 2003-4-16 (April 18, 2003): terminates subsidy for essential air service at Topeka, Kansas, and allows Air Midwest, Inc., d/b/a US Airways Express, to suspend service as of May 1, 2003.
Further reading
- Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office 1961 (republished 1983, Office of Air Force History, ISBN 0-912799-02-1).
- Ravenstein, Charles A. Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977. ISBN 0-912799-12-9.
- Mueller, Robert, Air Force Bases Volume I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982, Office of Air Force History, 1989
External links
- Aerial image as of February 2002 from USGS The National Map
- FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective March 21, 2024
- FAA Terminal Procedures for FOE, effective March 21, 2024
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for KFOE
- ASN accident history for FOE
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KFOE
- FAA current FOE delay information