Niagara Falls International Airport

Niagara Falls International Airport is a joint civil-military public-use airport located four miles (6 km) east of the central business district of Niagara Falls, in Niagara County, New York, United States. Owned and operated by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, the airport shares its runways with the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station.

Niagara Falls International handles airline services, general aviation and military aircraft of all sizes. A new terminal building was opened in 2009.

History
Niagara Falls International Airport was opened in 1928 as a city-owned municipal airport with four crushed-stone runways.

During World War II, Bell Aircraft established a large aircraft manufacturing plant next to the airport, where during the war it built over 10,000 P-39 Airacobra and P-63 Kingcobra fighter aircraft. Bell employed over 28,000 workers at the plant. After the war, the plant was the development site of the experimental Bell X-1 plane used by famed pilot Chuck Yeager to break the sound barrier in 1947.

The United States Army Air Forces assumed jurisdiction of the airport during the war, with the 3522d Army Air Force Base Unit managing the airport and coordinating use of the airfield with Bell Aircraft. The airfield was improved with macadam runways, 4000x150(N/S), 4000x150(NE/SW), 4200x300(E/W), 4000x150(NW/SE), including many taxiways and other improvements to handle large numbers of aircraft. Air Technical Service Command also operated an Aircraft modification center at the airport where new aircraft were given various updates prior to their deployment to operational bases and overseas combat theaters.

Civilian aviation operations and jurisdiction of the airport was returned in early 1946, and a joint-use agreement was made with the United States Air Force for Air Force Reserve and New York Air National Guard use of a portion of the airport.

Today, the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station is home to the Air Force Reserve Command's 914th Airlift Wing (914 AW), flying the C-130 Hercules and the New York Air National Guard's 107th Airlift Wing (107 AW), which shares the 914th AW's C-130 aircraft. Both wings are operationally gained by the Air Mobility Command (AMC). The main runway was extended to over 9,000 feet (2,743 m) in 1959 to handle larger military aircraft, and was extended again in 2003 to its current length of 9,829 feet (2,996 m). For all practical purposes, the facility is a small Air Force base.

Commercial flight operations
From 1980 to 1984, commercial airline service was available at the airport via Air Niagara, a post-Deregulation airline with service to Newark Airport. Empire Airlines also served the airport at one time, with service to Syracuse. Kiwi International briefly served the airport in 1998.

In March 2007, Direct Air began airline service to Myrtle Beach. The service ended in March 2012. In September 2009, a new terminal complex was completed to better service existing air service and is intended as an incentive to return scheduled regional and domestic passenger service to the airport.

In October 2010, Spirit Airlines announced service to Fort Lauderdale and Myrtle Beach.

In November 2010, Vision Airlines announced service to Destin/Fort Walton Beach, FL and Miami, FL (MIA). Service later ended.

Facilities
Niagara Falls International Airport lies within Class D airspace and has an operating FAA control tower.

The airport covers an area of 1,067 acre which contains three paved runways:
 * Runway 6/24: 5,189 x 150 ft (1,582 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt
 * Runway 10L/28R: 9,829 x 150 ft (2,996 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt/Concrete
 * Runway 10R/28L: 3,973 x 75 ft (1,211 x 23 m), Surface: Asphalt

Passenger terminal
On September 2, 2009, Niagara Falls International Airport dedicated its new two-story state-of-the-art 69430 sqft terminal with two gates. The terminal consists of one jetway and one ground-loading gate and accommodates aircraft ranging up to a Boeing 747 in size. The exterior is designed to reflect Niagara Falls' water flow. Total project cost was an estimated $42.5 million, $31.5 million for the terminal and $11 million for runway apron and landside improvements.

Traffic figures
In 2011, Niagara Falls International served an estimated 200,000 passengers. In the first 11 months of 2011, 87,942 outbound passengers boarded flights, a 190 percent increase from the same period in 2010. As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 23,849 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2010.

For the 12-month period ending May 31, 2011, the airport had 29,816 aircraft operations, an average of 82 aircraft operations per day: 65% general aviation, 26% military, 7% air taxi and 3% scheduled commercial.

According to the FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, Niagara Falls International was classified as a reliever airport.

An estimated 80% of the passenger traffic at the airport comes from Canadians.

Nearby airports

 * 0G0 - North Buffalo Suburban Airport (11 nm E)
 * KBUF - Buffalo Niagara International Airport (14 nm SE)
 * 9G0 - Buffalo Airfield (18 nm SE)
 * 9G3 - Akron Airport (21 nm E)
 * 9G6 - Pine Hill Airport (30 nm E)

Source: AirNav