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El Paso International Airport

Coordinates: 31°48′26″N 106°22′39″W / 31.80722°N 106.37750°W / 31.80722; -106.37750
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El Paso International Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerCity of El Paso
OperatorEl Paso Aviation Department
ServesEl Paso, Texas, U.S.
Las Cruces, New Mexico, U.S. Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico
LocationEl Paso, Texas, U.S.
Elevation AMSL3,958 ft / 1,206 m
Coordinates31°48′26″N 106°22′39″W / 31.80722°N 106.37750°W / 31.80722; -106.37750
Websiteelpasointernationalairport.com
Map
ELP is located in Texas
ELP
ELP
Location
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
4/22 12,020 3,664 Asphalt
8R/26L 9,025 2,751 Asphalt
8L/26R 5,499 1,676 Asphalt
Statistics (2018)
Passengers3,260,556
Aircraft operations86,016

El Paso International Airport ((IATA: ELP, ICAO: KELP, FAA LID: ELP), Template:Lang-es) is four miles (6 km) northeast of downtown El Paso, in El Paso County, Texas. It is the largest civil airport in West Texas and southern New Mexico, handling 3,260,556 passengers in 2018.[2]

History

The City of El Paso built the first El Paso Municipal Airport near the east side of the Franklin Mountains in 1928. The airport was closed by 1945 and in more recent times has been home to the Jobe Concrete Products "Planeport" cement factory.[3] In 1934 Varney Speed Lines (now United Airlines) operated at the original El Paso Municipal Airport (now closed). The original El Paso Municipal Airport construction was inspired by a visit from Charles Lindbergh.[citation needed]

What became today's El Paso International Airport was built as Standard Airport by Standard Airlines in 1929 for transcontinental air mail service. Standard Airlines became a division of American Airlines in the 1930s. In 1936 American Airlines "swapped" airports with the City of El Paso and El Paso International Airport was born.[3]

During World War II, the airport was a United States Army Air Forces training base. Units which trained at El Paso Army Airfield were:

  • 385th Bombardment Group (Heavy) (B-17 Flying Fortress) December 21, 1942 – February 1, 1943
    • Served with the 8th Air Force in England.
  • 491st Bombardment Group (Heavy) (B-24 Liberator) November 11, 1943 – January 1, 1944
    • Served with the 8th Air Force in England.
  • 497th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) (B-29 Superfortress) November 20–December 1, 1943
    • Served with the 20th Air Force at Saipan.

On August 3, 1961, El Paso was the last stop of the first major US hijacking of a jetliner, a Boeing 707 owned by Continental Airlines.[4]

ELP in 1996

The passenger concourses were built in 1971 as part of an expansion that tripled the size of the terminal.[5] It was designed by Garland & Hilles.[6]

Serving general aviation at El Paso International Airport, Cutter Aviation established a fixed-base operation in 1982. Cutter Aviation moved to a new facility on Shuttle Columbia Drive in 2006. Atlantic Aviation also serves general aviation at ELP.

Facilities

El Paso International Airport arrivals and security hall, from an aircraft at the A concourse

El Paso International Airport covers 6,670 acres (2,699 ha) and has three runways:[1]

  • 4/22: 12,020 ft × 150 ft (3,664 m × 46 m) Asphalt
  • 8R/26L: 9,025 ft × 150 ft (2,751 m × 46 m) Asphalt
  • 8L/26R: 5,499 ft × 75 ft (1,676 m × 23 m) Asphalt

Main terminal

Entering airport terminal
Baggage claim area

The terminal is a pier-satellite layout. It has a central entrance and the gates branch out east to west on the two concourses. The airport has East and West Concourses. Gates A1–A4 are located on the West Concourse and Gates B1–B11 is located on the East Concourse. The airport has a total of 15 gates. There is also a lower and upper level. The gates are located on the upper level and the ticketing, baggage claim, rental car, and main entrance are located on the lower level of the terminal. The meeter/greeter area is located on the lower level just behind the escalators that lead to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint leading to the gates. Major terminal renovations have been made over the past several years, designed and managed by the local architectural firm MNK Architects.

Airlines customer service section

The airport access road is Convair Road. Convair Road splits into four lanes with the left two lanes reserved for commercial vehicles and the right two lanes utilized for pickup and drop-off of passengers. In between the split road there is a waiting area where passengers can wait for commercial vehicles to arrive.

Gates: Generally, these gates are used by: Gates A1–A3: American Airlines and American Eagle. Gate B1: Delta Air Lines. Gates B3–B7: Southwest Airlines Gates B8 and B9:United Express. Gate B10: Allegiant. Frontier: B11

Food court: The food court is between gates B6 and B11; it has Carlos and Mickey's Mexican Express, Pizza Hut Express, Quizno's and Starbucks.

Airlines and destinations

El Paso International Airport has 15 gates on 2 concourses: Concourse A (used exclusively by American) has gates A1–A4 and Concourse B has gates B1–B11.

Passenger

Air traffic control tower
AirlinesDestinationsRefs
Alaska Airlines San Diego (ends January 7, 2020),[7] Seattle/Tacoma [8]
Allegiant Air Las Vegas, San Diego
Seasonal: Orlando/Sanford 		[9]
American Airlines Dallas/Fort Worth [10]
American Eagle Chicago–O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Phoenix–Sky Harbor [10]
Delta Air Lines Atlanta [11]
Frontier Airlines Chicago–O'Hare, Denver [12]
Southwest Airlines Austin, Dallas–Love, Denver, Houston–Hobby, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix–Sky Harbor, San Antonio, San Diego
Seasonal: San Jose (CA) 		[13]
United Airlines Houston–Intercontinental [14]
United Express Chicago–O'Hare, Denver, Houston–Intercontinental [14]

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
Amerijet International Miami
DHL Aviation Cincinnati, Dallas/Fort Worth
FedEx Express Austin, Houston–Intercontinental, Indianapolis, Memphis, San Antonio
GTA Air Dallas–Addison
UPS Airlines Albuquerque, Dallas/Fort Worth, Lubbock, Ontario, San Antonio

Statistics

Top destinations

Airport Clock Tower
Busiest domestic routes from ELP
(September 2018 – August 2019)[15]
Rank City Passengers Carriers
1 Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas 305,000 American
2 Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Arizona 233,000 American, Southwest
3 Dallas–Love, Texas 154,000 Southwest
4 Los Angeles, California 125,000 American, Southwest
5 Atlanta, Georgia 119,000 Delta
8 Houston–Hobby, Texas 118,000 Southwest
7 Denver, Colorado 116,000 Frontier, Southwest, United
8 Houston–Intercontinental, Texas 109,000 United
9 Las Vegas, Nevada 99,000 Allegiant, Southwest
10 Chicago-O'Hare, Illinois 86,000 American, Frontier, United

Accidents and incidents

  • On August 31, 1957, a USAF Douglas C-124 Globemaster II struck the ground while on approach in poor weather 2.5 miles NE of ELP, five out of the 15 occupants on board perished.[16]
  • On July 20, 1982, Douglas C-47D N102BL of Pronto Aviation Services was damaged beyond repair in a crash landing near El Paso International Airport following an engine failure shortly after take-off. The aircraft was on a domestic non-scheduled passenger flight to Tucson International Airport in Arizona when the engine failed and the decision was made to return to El Paso. A single-engine go-around was attempted following an unsafe landing gear warning.[17]
  • On February 19, 1988, Don McCoy, a private pilot, the owner of El Paso Sand and Gravel, took off in a newly acquired Rockwell Aero Commander 680 in a snowstorm (an aircraft he was not properly rated to fly), and attempted to land again after encountering mechanical trouble in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). The aircraft crashed, killing the owner and two acquaintances. Some later attempted to attribute the accident to US Senator Phil Gramm, as it was alleged that McCoy planned to testify against Senator Gramm's shakedown of campaign contributions made by the El Paso Small Business Administration office.[18][19]
  • On January 16, 2006, a mechanic employed by a contractor of Continental Airlines was killed when he was sucked into the right engine of a Boeing 737–524 while investigating an oil leak. The aircraft was preparing to depart as Continental Airlines Flight 1515 to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.[20][21][22]
  • In April 2015, a Southwest Airlines jet was directed by the tower at ELP to land on a closed runway under construction. The aircraft landed safely but missed construction equipment by "mere feet".[23]
  • On June 3, 2018, American Airlines Flight 1897, from San Antonio to Phoenix, was diverted to El Paso due to damage sustained by the aircraft after running into a hail storm in flight. The plane was able to land normally, and no injuries were reported.[24]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b FAA Airport Form 5010 for ELP PDF
  2. ^ a b "El Paso International Airport Operating Statistics". El Paso International Airport. January 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: Texas - El Paso area". airfields-freeman.com.
  4. ^ Koerner, Brendan I. (June 10, 2013). "The Father-Son Hijacker Team Who Were 'Just Fed Up' With Being Americans". Slate Magazine. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  5. ^ McClintock, Wayne (April 2, 1971). "Airport Passenger Numbers 3 Times E.P. Population". El Paso Herald-Post. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  6. ^ Diaz, Kandice N. (September 22, 2008). "Hilles and Garland: Modern Architecture for the Borderland". The UTEP Prospector. Retrieved June 21, 2012.[permanent dead link‍]
  7. ^ Liu, Jim. "Alaska Airlines West Coast network changes Sep 2019 – May 2020". Routesonline. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  8. ^ "Flight Timetable". Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  9. ^ "Allegiant Interactive Route Map". Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  10. ^ a b "Flight schedules and notifications". Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  11. ^ "FLIGHT SCHEDULES". Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  12. ^ "Frontier". Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  13. ^ "Check Flight Schedules". Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  14. ^ a b "Timetable". Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  15. ^ "El Paso, TX: El Paso International (ELP)". Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  16. ^ Accident description for 52-1021 at the Aviation Safety Network
  17. ^ "N102BL Accident report". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved July 25, 2010.
  18. ^ "Probable cause briefing, NTSB Identification: FTW88FA066". NTSB. January 24, 1990. Retrieved November 1, 2014.
  19. ^ "Phil Gramm". Famoustexans.com. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  20. ^ "CNN.com – Mechanic sucked into jet engine – Jan 16, 2006". CNN.
  21. ^ "NTSB Report on Flight DFW06FA056". Ntsb.gov. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  22. ^ "Incident document". R721.livejournal.com. May 15, 2010. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  23. ^ Genevieve Curtis (April 17, 2015). "Plane lands on runway closed for construction at El Paso International Airport". KFOX-TV.
  24. ^ María Cortés González (June 4, 2018). "American Airlines plane forced to make an emergency landing in El Paso because of hail damage". El Paso Times.

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

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