Myrtle Beach International Airport

Myrtle Beach International Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) southwest of the central business district of Myrtle Beach, in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. It was formerly known as Myrtle Beach Jetport (1974-1989) and is located on site of the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, which also includes The Market Common Myrtle Beach shopping complex.

This airport is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a primary commercial service airport. As per Federal Aviation Administration records, it had 705,430 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008, 704,771 enplanements in 2009, and 782,737 in 2010.

The airport is a focus city for Spirit Airlines.

The airport broke its 2007 record for most incoming passengers in 2010 when the 839,451st passenger entered the airport on December 30. Airport director Michael La Pier said the goal for 2011 is one million.

History
Joint use of Myrtle Beach Air Force Base was first agreed in 1955.

On April 20, 1977, an agreement between the City of Myrtle Beach and the U.S. Department of Defense was signed, which incorporated the area of Myrtle Beach Airport into the city. Until 1993, both MYR and Myrtle Beach AFB jointly used the main runway; this limited civil operations to 30 landings per day and led to a local business movement to build an entirely new airport. In 1993, the Air Force closed the base as a result of BRAC 1991. The runway and other portions of the former military flight line were then turned over to the Horry County Department of Airports.

In the 1980s, the airport was served by Piedmont Airlines mainline aircraft (later acquired by USAir) and by Delta and Eastern commuter aircraft. American Eagle became a major carrier at MYR in the early 1990s, operating multiple daily ATR 72 flights to the American Airlines hub at Raleigh-Durham International Airport. By late 1994 this route accounted for as much as 12% of the airport's passenger traffic; however, American abruptly ended its American Eagle hub at Raleigh-Durham in December 1994, cancelling all service to MYR and other secondary airports in the region. American returned to Myrtle Beach in 2010 with a seasonal service to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

On April 1, 1996, Myrtle Beach Airport became an international airport. A new international terminal held its grand opening August 21 of that year, and a new logo was unveiled "to reflect the architectural design of the airport 's terminal and the influence of the beach by showing a paned window and a palm tree in blues and greens."

The airport served as the main hub for Hooters Air from 2003 until 2006. The airport authority offered discounted hangar space and other undisclosed benefits to Hooters Air operator Pace Airlines in an effort to relocate its operating base from Smith Reynolds Airport in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. However, Pace decided to keep its base (also used for charter operations) in Winston-Salem.

Direct Air connected a number of airports to Myrtle Beach from 2007 until 2012, when it abruptly filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and ceased operations. The failure of Direct Air caused a slump in passenger traffic at Myrtle Beach, which declined 16% in 2012 but rebounded in 2013. WestJet began service to Toronto in summer 2013 with a revenue guarantee from Horry County, but its passenger numbers fell short of expectations, forcing the county to pay WestJet around $570,000.

The airport was a designated launch abort site for the Space Shuttle, but was never used.

Facilities and aircraft
Myrtle Beach International Airport covers an area of 3,795 acres (1,536 ha) at an elevation of 25 feet (8 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 18/36 with an asphalt/concrete surface measuring 9,503 by 150 feet (2,897 x 46 m).

For the 12-month period ending February 28, 2011, the airport had 106,356 aircraft operations, an average of 291 per day: 63% air taxi, 16% scheduled commercial, 16% general aviation, and 5% military. At that time there were 42 aircraft based at this airport: 76% single-engine, 17% multi-engine, 2% jet, and 5% helicopter.

Terminal
The Dr. W.L. Harrelson Terminal Building is named for Myrtle Beach’s first mayor, Dr. W.L. Harrelson, who served from March 1938 to December 1939 and again from January 1942 to December 1943. The city purchased land for the municipal airport during his first term, and the terminal at the airport was named in his honor.

The airport and terminal was constructed in 1975, opening in 1976. sharing its runway with the USAF Myrtle Beach Air Force Base. The airports entrance is on Harrelson Boulevard.

The airport has seven gates with expansion under way to add six more by July 2012. In 2008 two renovations took place in the terminal building. The TSA added hard wood flooring in the security checkpoint to replace the carpet that had been in place for years. In March 2012 Gates four and five are receiving new, state of the art jetways. These jetways are the first unveiling of the "B" concourse.

In July 2010, the FAA approved a $4.50 passenger facilities charge on all airline tickets to and from MYR in order to defray part of the cost for the terminal upgrade.

Airlines and destinations
The following airlines offer scheduled passenger service:

Historical service

 * Direct Air, 2007-2012 (5 years)
 * Hooters Air, 2003-2006 (3 years)

Air cargo
The airport has a dedicated air cargo building at the entrance of the airport.
 * Operated by KHAD Express, Formerly operated by JetStream Ground Services, Inc.
 * Air Cargo Carriers Inc.
 * DHL
 * FedEx
 * US Airways Cargo
 * United Airlines Cargo
 * American Airlines Cargo

Incidents

 * On March 19, 2010, an unidentified man gained access to a restricted part of the airfield, when approached by a maintenance supervisor the man pulled out a knife. The maintenance supervisor contacted the airport police and upon their arrival the man started stabbing himself in the chest and upper abdomen, he was later pronounced dead at Grand Strand Regional Medical Center.  Air service was not interrupted nor was there any threat to passengers.  This incident is still under investigation (March 2010) by the Horry County Police, the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.


 * On March 12, 2012, Direct Air abruptly cancelled all flights later announcing that they would not resume flight schedules until May 15, 2012; in the process leaving dozens of passengers stranded in the terminal building. Approximately one week later it was announced that Direct Air had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection citing rising fuel costs.  The charter carrier was subject to Chapter 7 liquidation on April 12, 2012.


 * On April 6, 2013 the terminal building was evacuated after a series of bomb threats were called into 9-1-1 dispatch centers. The terminal was evacuated following regular protocol allowing canine units to sweep the building. The all clear was declared at approximately 1 PM and flights were able to resume without incident.