South Bend International Airport (IATA: SBN, ICAO: KSBN, FAA LID: SBN) is three miles northwest of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States. It is the state's third busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic after Indianapolis International Airport and Fort Wayne International Airport.
The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2015-2019 called it a primary commercial service facility.
Federal Aviation Administration and St. Joseph County Airport Authority records show the airport had 328,992 passenger enplanements in 2013, 311,158 in 2014, and 314,300 in 2015.
Video South Bend International Airport
History
In the early days South Bend's main airport was Cadet Field in present-day Granger. Vincent Hugo Bendix, founder of Bendix Aviation, bought land northwest of South Bend in 1929 to provide air service closer to the city. Bendix Municipal Airport opened in 1933.
Bendix Airport was later called St. Joseph County Airport, then Michiana Regional Transportation Center. The airport was renamed South Bend Regional Airport on January 1, 2000, to help identify the airport, many travelers not knowing the meaning of Michiana (taken from "Michigan" and "Indiana").
The April 1957 OAG shows 10 weekday departures on North Central, 9 on United, 6 on Lake Central and 3 on TWA. North Central Airlines merged with Southern Airways on July 1, 1979, commencing operations with Republic from South Bend.
Until the 1980s the airport had four runways; in the 1950s runway 9 was 5000 ft, runways 6 (now taxiway A-3) and 12 (now taxiway A-4) were 4000 ft and the 3059-ft runway 18 connected the west ends of runways 6 and 12. In 1963-65 runway 9 was extended to 6000 ft. In 1967 SBN got its first scheduled jets, which were United Caravelles on a Chicago O'Hare-South Bend-Fort Wayne-Newark and back rotation.
On April 23, 2014, the St. Joseph County Airport Authority announced the airport was changing its name from South Bend Regional Airport to South Bend International Airport. The Airport Authority has had conversations with two airlines interested in providing service to Mexico and the Bahamas and indicated that it was looking at potential service to Toronto, Ireland and Europe. As part of the change, the airport will begin a $3 million(USD) project to construct a general aviation facility and a border customs area, to be financed through a combination of federal, state and airport funds.
Maps South Bend International Airport
Administration
The airport is governed by the St. Joseph County Airport Authority, which is a municipality in the State of Indiana. Its four bipartisan board members are appointed by the St. Joseph County Commissioners. The Airport Authority is directed by Mike Daigle who is an accredited airport executive. Board members include Thomas S. Botkin, Abraham Marcus, David R. Sage and James V. Wyllie. The Airport Authority employs approximately 60 staff members.
The mission of the St. Joseph County Airport Authority as defined is "to maximize the safety, service, efficiency and effectiveness of South Bend Airport for the traveling public, and to promote the value of the airport to the community."
Facilities
The airport covers 2,200 acres (890 ha) at an elevation of 799 feet (244 m). It has three asphalt runways: 9L/27R is 4,300 by 75 feet (1,311 x 23 m); 9R/27L is 8,414 by 150 feet (2,565 x 46 m); 18/36 is 7,100 by 150 feet (2,164 x 46 m).
The terminal, built in 1981 and designed by HOK and Cole Associates and expanded in 2011 by Ken Herceg & Associates, has one nine-gate concourse. Six of the nine gates (3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) have jetways, while three (1, 2, 4) are ground-level. Amenities include cafes and restaurants, a concession area/lounge, a gift shop, a children's play area, a business center, and free Wi-Fi available throughout the terminal.
Despite being partially obstructed by the new concourse the in-terminal viewing area remains open and offers live air traffic control transmissions from South Bend Air Traffic Control Tower/TRACON as well as a small airport-focused museum. The viewing area is located on the second level of the terminal's atrium adjacent to US Customs.
The airport is one of the few multi-modal transportation facilities in America that provide air, interstate bus and interstate rail service at one terminal. The St. Joseph County Airport Authority claims the airport was the first truly multi-modal airport in the country.
June 2017 brought the grand opening of SBN's International General Aviation Facility (GAF) which cleared nearly 60 international aircraft in its first partial year of operation.
Operations
Within Indiana, the airport is third in passenger enplanements (305,491) after Indianapolis International (3,605,908) and Fort Wayne International (323,252). The airport is in second place behind Indianapolis in cargo operations and third in the state for overall take-offs and landings. Due to South Bend's proximity to Chicago, South Bend air traffic controllers work closely with Chicago Center and Chicago Approach Control to sequence aircraft into and out of Chicago's terminal airspace. These efforts make South Bend's Tower/TRACON the second busiest terminal air traffic facility in the state and one of the busiest in the region.
In 2017 the airport handled 42,422 aircraft operations, averaging 118 per day. The TRACON handled over 150,000 operations in 2017 which is more traffic than the individual radar facilities in Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Fort Wayne, Evansville, Lansing and Muskegon.
Air service
South Bend's four airlines have non-stop flights to eleven cities. Allegiant operates their Airbus A320 family to Las Vegas, Phoenix-Mesa, Orlando-Sanford, Punta Gorda/Fort Myers, and Tampa/St. Petersburg, American via American Eagle flies to Charlotte and Dallas/Fort Worth, United operates CRJ200s and ERJ-145s to Chicago O'Hare and Newark via their regional partners SkyWest and Expressjet, and Delta operates CRJ200 service to Atlanta, Detroit and Minneapolis through regional partner SkyWest. Due to the airport's close proximity to the University of Notre Dame, Delta operates seasonal mainline flights during graduation and home football games to Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis, as well as New York-La Guardia with their Airbus A320s, Boeing 717s, or McDonnell Douglas MD80 series aircraft. Additionally, Delta provides charter operations to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team using Boeing 757, Boeing 767, or Airbus A330 series aircraft. The multi-modal terminal serves over one million air, rail and bus passengers each year.
According to the 2007 Economic Impact Report from the Aviation Authority of Indiana, the airport's annual economic impact on South Bend and surrounding communities was in excess of $433.7 million. SBN's annual contribution to the Indiana economy is estimated at more than $1.4 billion.
On January 18, American Airlines announced service to Dallas Fort Worth and Charlotte beginning June 7, 2018. The service will have two flights to each city a day with the use of a CRJ-700 operated by regional partner ExpressJet.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Cargo
Statistics
Incidents
- On April 4, 2011, a pilot flying from Chicago Executive Airport attempted to land a rented Cirrus SR22, but was hit by a gust of wind on approach. The plane landed on the left wing, cart-wheeled and came to a stop 250 feet (76 m) from the runway. He was hospitalized in critical condition, with no one else on board. He later died from his injuries.
- On March 17, 2013, a private jet crashed into three homes near South Bend Regional Airport. Two of the four people on the plane were killed; the other two and one person on the ground were injured.
- On May 25, 2018, SkyWest (Delta Connection) flight 4647 made an emergency landing in South Bend after a halon bottle exploded in the cargo bin. The aircraft had just departed South Bend bound for Atalanta. None of the passengers or crew on board were injured.
See also
- South Bend Airport (NICTD) South Shore Line station
- Indiana World War II Army Airfields
Notes
References
- This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
External links
- South Bend Airport, official site
- Airline On-Time Reports compiled by the Federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics
- Former airport director John Schalliol honored with bronze plaque
- Aerial image as of April 1998 from USGS The National Map
- FAA Airport Diagram for South Bend Regional (SBN) (PDF), effective July 19, 2018
- FAA Terminal Procedures for South Bend Regional (SBN), effective July 19, 2018
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for KSBN
- ASN accident history for SBN
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KSBN
- FAA current SBN delay information
Source of article : Wikipedia
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