McGhee Tyson Airport (IATA: TYS, ICAO: KTYS, FAA LID: TYS) is a public and military airport 12 miles south of Knoxville, in Alcoa, Blount County, Tennessee, United States. It is named for United States Navy pilot Charles McGhee Tyson, lost on patrol in World War I.
Owned by the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority, it is served by several major airlines and connection carriers. The airport employs about 2,700 people. It is a 30-minute drive to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
This airport is in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011-2015, which called it a primary commercial service airport since it has over 10,000 passenger boardings (enplanements) per year. Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 841,237 enplanements in 2011, an increase from 804,917 in 2010.
The airport is the home of McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, an air base for the 134th Air Refueling Wing (134 ARW) of the Tennessee Air National Guard.
Video McGhee Tyson Airport
History
On August 1, 1930, McGhee Tyson airport opened in honor of Charles McGhee Tyson. Originally the airport was on 60 acres in West Knoxville. In 1935 the city purchased 351 acres in Blount County for the current airport. On July 29, 1937, an American Airlines Stinson TriMotor, capable of carrying about 10 passengers, touched down at McGhee Tyson Airport, marking the first commercial flight at that facility. The city built an air traffic control tower in 1941, and two years later added two 5,000-foot (1,500 m) runways.
The development of TYS helped the City of Alcoa diversify its economy and gain its economic independence from what is today Alcoa Inc., the world's third largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa Inc. built one of its production plants in Alcoa due to the proximity of dams along the Little Tennessee River which were a hydroelectric energy source for the production of aluminum
In 1951 the United States Air Force built several facilities on the field and a 7,500-foot (2,300 m) runway. The Federal aviation administration (FAA) added an Instrument Landing System to runways 5L and 23R in 1959. In 1961, with financing by the Tennessee Air National Guard, the runway reached the length of 9,000 feet (2,700 m). In 1968, McGhee Tyson built a new air cargo facility. Almost a decade after the new air cargo facility was built one of the first major construction projects was completed with a new passenger terminal in 1974. Four years later the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority (MKAA) was established, and in 1985 the airport authority had the two parallel runways redesignated as 5L/23R and 5R/23L.
In 1990 runway 5R/23L was reconstructed to its current length of 9,000 feet. The airport authority built a new air cargo facility in 1992. The Air Cargo Complex provided a 21-acre facility for Federal Express, UPS and Airborne Express. Buildings were designed to meet the carriers' needs. 90 percent of the total air cargo operations at the Airport are operated by UPS and Federal Express. Cost of the project was estimated at $9.3 million. The new air cargo facility is on the north side of the airport.
In 2000, improvements to the passenger terminal, was finished at a cost of $70 million. The improvements, designed by HNTB, included two new concourses, 12 new gates, ticket counters, and a Ruby Tuesday restaurant. Currently, 11 gates are in use, with gate 6 being the only one not in service. In 2002, an aircraft maintenance facility was built for Northwest Airlines, serving as their primary CRJ MRO facility. ExpressJet Airlines has also built a heavy maintenance hangar near the air cargo facilities for its fleet. In June 2009, a new food court was completed, featuring Starbucks, Quiznos, Cinnabon, and Zia locations. The Zia location was replaced in April 2013 with an Uno Express Pizza.
In November 2016, the agency that operates McGhee Tyson received a $27.9 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration to complete the next phase of a multi-year runway expansion that is the most expensive project the airport ever has undertaken. The north runway, 5L/23R, is being lengthened to 10,000 feet. During the work, 3,000 feet of that runway were demolished, while 6,000 feet remained open for small general-aviation planes. Large commercial flights still land on Runway 5R/23L, which will remain 9,000 feet long when work is done. Work is split into at least three projects. Project 1 will finish around the start of March 2017, after 18 months of work. The $25 million project will end with construction of a connector taxiway. Project 2 is expected to cost $28 million for design, construction and relocation of a gas pipeline. Project 2 also includes removing the rest of 5L/23R's concrete and extending its runway safety area on one end. It also involves work on a detention pond, relocating and upgrading storm drains. Much of the work is shut down during winter, but will restart in earnest in March 2018 and will continue through the summer. At the end of summer, the contract for Project 3 will be awarded. That will pave as much new runway as possible; a future Project 4 will finish any paving, and install necessary lights.
Maps McGhee Tyson Airport
Facilities
McGhee Tyson Airport covers 2,250 acres (911 ha) at an elevation of 979 feet (298 m) above mean sea level. It has two parallel runways: 5L/23R is a concrete runway measuring 6,005 by 150 feet (1,830 x 46 m) and being lengthened to 10,000 feet (3,000 m) as of 2017, while 5R/23L is an asphalt runway measuring 9,000 by 150 feet (2,743 x 46 m).
The fixed-base operator (FBO) at TYS is the Truman-Arnold Company (TAC Air). TAC Air first moved into TYS on April 1, 2005, when it purchased Knox-Air, which had operated in TYS since 1974. Then a month later, on May 5, 2005, TAC Air purchased the only remaining FBO, Cherokee Aviation, which has been in operation since 1954. TAC Air combined these two FBOs under their own name, and they have continued to be the sole supplier of aviation fuel for commercial, corporate and general aviation aircraft as well as leased hangar space at the airport ever since.
For the year of 2013 the airport had 100,914 aircraft operations, averaging 276 per day: 28,246 general aviation, 34,382 air taxi, 14,839 military, and 8,939 scheduled commercial. As of 2013, there were 167 aircraft based at this airport: 58 were single-engine, 42 were multi-engine, 35 were military, 30 were jet and there were 2 helicopters.
TYS is home to a maintenance base for Endeavor Air.
Terminal
McGhee Tyson Airport has two levels. The top level is accessed via the curbside drop off and the parking garage. The top level has ticket counters, security, gates, restaurants and shops. It is designed with a Smoky Mountain theme, complete with faux waterfalls and wood carvings of bears. The bottom level is used for car rental counters, two baggage claims, airline offices, and airport offices. There are 12 gates.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Cargo
Statistics
Carrier statistics
Destination traffic
Annual traffic
Statistics from 2005-2007
Statistics from 2008-2017
Accidents and incidents
- On August 6, 1962, an American Airlines Lockheed L-188 Electra veered off the runway on landing, striking the raised edge of an under-construction taxiway with the landing gear, causing it to collapse. All 72 passengers and crew survived.
- On March 12, 1992, a USAir Express Jetstream 31 crashed on landing after the pilot failed to lower the landing gear. There were no passengers aboard, however the 2 crew members were killed.
References
- This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
External links
- Official website
- 134th Air Refueling Wing
- FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective May 24, 2018
- FAA Terminal Procedures for TYS, effective May 24, 2018
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for KTYS
- ASN accident history for TYS
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KTYS
- FAA current TYS delay information
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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