Monroe Regional Airport (Louisiana)

Monroe Regional Airport

IATA: MLU – ICAO: KMLU – FAA LID: MLU
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner City of Monroe
Serves Monroe, Louisiana
Elevation AMSL 79 ft / 24 m
Coordinates 32°30′39″N 92°02′16″W / 32.51083°N 92.03778°W / 32.51083; -92.03778Coordinates: 32°30′39″N 92°02′16″W / 32.51083°N 92.03778°W / 32.51083; -92.03778
Website www.FlyMonroe.org
Map
MLU

Location of airport in Louisiana

Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
4/22 7,505 2,288 Asphalt
14/32 4,999 1,524 Asphalt
18/36 5,001 1,524 Asphalt
Statistics (2010)
Aircraft operations 42,213
Based aircraft 93

Monroe Regional Airport (IATA: MLU[2], ICAO: KMLU, FAA LID: MLU) is a public use airport in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. The airport is owned by the City of Monroe and is located three nautical miles (6 km) east of its central business district.[1]

It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a primary commercial service airport since it has over 10,000 passenger boardings (enplanements) per year.[3] As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 107,290 enplanements in calendar year 2011, an increase of 6.84% from 100,419 in 2010.[4]

The airport is advertised as the birthplace of Delta Air Lines; the airport's logo is a variant on the Delta logo.

History

During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces Flying Training Command used the airport as a cadet training center beginning in August 1942.

The airfield was named Selman Army Airfield, named after a Navy Pilot, Lieutenant Augustus J. Selman, USN, a native of Monroe, Louisiana, who died in the line of duty at Norfolk, Virginia, on November 28, 1921, of injuries received in an airplane crash.

A monument donated by area philanthropist Kitty DeGree commemorating the role of Selman Field is located at the airport.[5]

The vast majority of aircraft flown at Selman AAF were Beech C-45s, also known as the AT-7. BT-13s were flown for basic flying training, and TC-47 and TC-46s were used beginning in late 1944. It closed on until September 1, 1945. After that Selman AAF was used as a separation center for returning overseas personnel until being inactivated on May 31, 1946. The airport was returned to civil control on July 31, 1946. [6] [7]

Monroe was served in the past by several airlines operating mainline jet aircraft. Delta Air Lines operated Boeing 727-200, Boeing 737-200, McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 and McDonnell Douglas MD-80 jetliner flights to Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth, Birmingham, AL and other cities including one stop, no change of plane, direct service to New York City via Newark Airport. Delta operated mainline jet service into Monroe for many years,

Southern Airways served Monroe with Douglas DC-9-10 jet flights to New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Memphis, Chicago, Orlando and other destinations. Southern then merged with North Central Airlines to form Republic Airlines which in turn continued to serve Monroe. Republic operated DC-9 jet service nonstop to Memphis and New Orleans with direct, one stop service to Chicago and also direct, no change of plane, two stop service to Atlanta. Republic was subsequently acquired by Northwest Airlines which in turn then merged with Delta.

In addition, Texas International Airlines (formerly known as Trans-Texas Airways, TTa) operated Convair 600 turboprop service to Houston, Beaumont/Port Arthur, TX and other destinations.

Several regional and commuter airlines served Monroe in the past as well including Royale Airlines which was based in nearby Shreveport, Louisiana and operated hubs at Houston Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and New Orleans International Airport (MSY). Royale operated Grumman Gulfstream I, Beechcraft C99 and Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante turboprop aircraft from the airport with nonstop service to Alexandria, LA; Baton Rouge, LA; Memphis, TN; New Orleans, LA and Shreveport, LA as well as one stop, direct service to Houston, TX.[8] L'Express Airlines, another Louisiana-based air carrier, operated Beechcraft turboprop aircraft with nonstop flights to its hub in New Orleans, LA.[9] Northwest Airlink, which was operated by Express Airlines I on behalf of Northwest Airlines, flew Saab 340 and British Aerospace BAe Jetstream 31 turboprops to Memphis.[10]

Currently, all American Eagle, Delta Connection and United Express passenger flights to and from Monroe are operated either with Canadair CRJ or with Embraer ERJ regional jet aircraft.

Facilities and aircraft

Monroe Regional Airport covers an area of 2,660 acres (1,076 ha) at an elevation of 79 feet (24 m) above mean sea level. It has three runways with asphalt surfaces: 4/22 is 7,505 by 150 feet (2,288 x 46 m); 14/32 is 4,999 by 150 feet (1,524 x 46 m); 18/36 is 5,001 by 150 feet (1,524 x 46 m).[1]

For the 12-month period ending March 1, 2010, the airport had 42,213 aircraft operations, an average of 115 per day: 56% general aviation, 20% military, 13% air taxi, and 11% scheduled commercial. At that time there were 93 aircraft based at this airport: 77% single-engine, 16% multi-engine, and 7% jet.[1]

Terminal

In 2009 Lincoln Builders of Ruston started construction on a new nearly 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m2) terminal, which was completed in mid-2011.

In October 2011, part one of a two phase passenger terminal project was completed. The original terminal was demolished and a new passenger terminal was constructed to include a new baggage claim and car rental facility. The new terminal is located adjacent to the site of the original facility and features new ticket counters, a cocktail lounge and a "Not Just Bar-B-Q Express" restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The new terminal has six gates with four of these gates being equipped with Jet Bridges.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines offer scheduled passenger service:

AirlinesDestinations
American Eagle Dallas/Fort Worth
Delta Connection Atlanta
United Express Houston-Intercontinental

Statistics

Carrier shares for MLU
(Dec 2014-Nov 2015)[11]
Carrier   Passengers (arriving and departing)
ExpressJet
256,000(97.86%)
Envoy Air
4,900(2.15%)
Top domestic destinations for MLU
(Dec 2014 - Nov 2015)[11]
Rank Airport Passengers Airline
1 Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) 51,000 Delta Connection
2 Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) 36,000 American Eagle
3 George Bush Intercontinental (IAH) 27,000 United Express

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 FAA Airport Master Record for MLU (Form 5010 PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. Effective November 15, 2012.
  2. ↑ "IATA Airport Code Search (MLU: Monroe Municipal)". International Air Transport Association. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  3. ↑ "2011–2015 NPIAS Report, Appendix A" (PDF, 2.03 MB). National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2010. External link in |work= (help)
  4. ↑ "Enplanements for CY 2011" (PDF, 1.7 MB). CY 2011 Passenger Boarding and All-Cargo Data. Federal Aviation Administration. October 9, 2012. External link in |work= (help)
  5. ↑ "Dorothey Hall "Kitty" DeGree". The Monroe News-Star. October 27, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  6. ↑  This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
  7. ↑ Manning, Thomas A. (2005), History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942-2002. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas ASIN: B000NYX3PC
  8. ↑ departedflights.com; Royale Airlines Nov. 1, 1984 system timetable
  9. ↑ departedflights.com, Dec. 15, 1989 Official Airline Guide (OAG), New Orleans flight schedules
  10. ↑ departedflights.com, April 2, 1995 Official Airline Guide (OAG), Memphis schedules
  11. 1 2 "Monroe, LA: Monroe Regional (MLU)". Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), U.S. Department of Transportation. September 2012. Retrieved Feb 2016. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
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