Tallahassee International Airport

Tallahassee International Airport (IATA: TLH, ICAO: KTLH, FAA LID: TLH) is a city-owned airport five miles southwest of downtown Tallahassee, in Leon County, Florida. It serves the state capital of Florida, and its surrounding areas; it is one of the major airports in north Florida, the others being Pensacola International Airport, Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, and Jacksonville International Airport. Despite its name, it does not yet service any international destinations.[3]

Tallahassee International Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerCity of Tallahassee
ServesTallahassee, Florida
Locationwithin Tallahassee city limits.
Elevation AMSL81 ft / 25 m
Coordinates30°23′48″N 084°21′01″W
Websitehttp://www.FlyTallahassee.com
Map
TLH
Location of airport in Florida / United States
TLH
TLH (the United States)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
9/27 8,000 2,438 Asphalt
18/36 7,000 2,134 Asphalt
Statistics (2019)
Aircraft operations66,869
Based aircraft110
Total Passengers864,432
Air Florida DC-9 parked at Tallahassee Airport

History
Mayor Joe Cordell and the City Commission photographed at the new Tallahassee Municipal Airport on March 28, 1961.

The airport began as Tallahassee Municipal Airport with a ceremony on April 23, 1961. The flag of the United States was presented to the City of Tallahassee by Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, World War I fighter ace and Chairman of the Board of Eastern Airlines. An aerial demonstration was performed by U.S. Army aircraft from Fort Rucker, Alabama. Tallahassee Municipal replaced the city's first airport, Dale Mabry Field, which closed that year.

Eastern Airlines opened the airport by ferrying city, state and chamber of commerce officials. Aboard the flight were Tallahassee Mayor Joe Cordell, State Comptroller Ray Green, Tallahassee City Commissioners Davis Atkinson, George Taff, Hugh Williams, Tallahassee City Manager Arvah Hopkins, Tallahassee City Clerk-Auditor George White, Airport Manager Flagg Chittenden, and Ernest Menendez, Frank Deller, James Calhoun, John Ward and Jeff Lewis, all of the Tallahassee-Leon County Chamber of Commerce.

In June 1961, less than two months after it opened, the airport was the site of Freedom Rider protests. The airport restaurant, Savarin, was designated "Whites Only" and closed rather than serve a racially-mixed group of clergy and activists.[4] The protestors were arrested and removed, and later served prison sentences after the Supreme Court rejected their case in Dresner vs City of Tallahassee on a technicality.[5]

From the airport's opening until the early 1980s, the airport's primary runway was Runway 18/36, a 6,076-foot runway with an ILS approach, enabling all-weather approaches, and a USAF certified High TACAN approach for practice by Air Force aircraft based at Tyndall AFB, near Panama City. Runway 9/27 was 4,000 feet long and supported general aviation operations. By the 1970s, the airport had scheduled flights on Eastern Airlines, Delta Air Lines, National Airlines and Southern Airways, mainly on Boeing 727s, Boeing 737s and McDonnell Douglas DC-9s.

By the 1980s the terminal was becoming obsolete, and the 6,100 foot runway was too short for the Boeing 757 and Boeing 767 coming into service. Runway 9/27 was converted to a taxiway and a new Runway 9/27, 8,003 feet long with ILS, was built just to the south. A new passenger terminal was built just north of the new runway. On December 3, 1989, the city opened the $33 million terminal, and on February 20, 2000, the terminal was renamed the Ivan Munroe Terminal in honor of Tallahassee aviation pioneer Ivan Munroe. Munroe was the first man in Tallahassee to own a plane.

On July 20, 2002, FedEx Express Flight 1478 crashed a half mile short of the Runway 9 while attempting to land. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the crash was due to a combination of pilot fatigue and pilot error. All three crewmembers survived.[6]

On June 26, 2015, Tallahassee Regional Airport was renamed Tallahassee International Airport. On June 29, 2015 the City of Tallahassee and the FAA announced the name change. International passengers are allowed to exit the airport via Tallahassee International Airport due to the facility's full-service "service port" for U.S. Customs.[7] The change allows international cargo and general aviation flights to directly come to Tallahassee, which is the leading cargo handler in the Panhandle area of Florida. Tallahassee handles 9.5 million pounds of cargo a year, more than the next city, Pensacola, which handles around 6.8 million pounds.[8]

On January 27, 2021, the airport was struck by an EF0 tornado, causing minor damage and temporary closure to assess the damage. A small plane was flipped and minor damage was done to a hangar. No injuries were reported. [9]

Facilities

The airport covers 2,485 acres (1,006 ha) at an elevation of 81 feet (25 m). It has two runways: 9/27 is 8,000 by 150 feet (2,438 by 46 m) and 18/36 is 7,000 by 150 ft. (2,134 by 46 m).[1] Helicopter operations are generally confined to the Runway 18/36 area, or direct approaches to the Million Air FBO ramp area.

In the year ending March 31, 2019, the airport had 74,004 aircraft operations, average 203 per day: 52% general aviation, 13% air taxi, 23% military and 12% airline. 98 aircraft were then based at this airport: 70 single-engine, 9 multi-engine, 7 jet and 12 helicopter.[1]

The terminal has two concourses, A & B. Delta Air Lines utilizes Gates B1 and B3, American Airlines uses Gates A1, A3, and A5. Silver Airways utilizes Gate A4.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger
AirlinesDestinations
American Eagle Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami, Washington–National[10]
Delta Air Lines Atlanta
Delta Connection Atlanta
Silver Airways Fort Lauderdale, Tampa
United Express Houston–Intercontinental

Destinations map

Cargo
AirlinesDestinations
FedEx Express Memphis, Miami
FedEx Feeder Fort Lauderdale, Orlando
Quest Diagnostics Aviation Tampa

Statistics

Top destinations
Busiest domestic routes from TLH (August 2019 - July 2020)[11]
Rank Airport Passengers Carriers
1 Atlanta, Georgia 132,940 Delta
2 Charlotte, North Carolina 56,380 American
3 Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas 42,420 American
4 Miami, Florida 32,500 American
5 Washington–National, D.C. 10,190 American
6 Tampa, Florida 7,640 Silver
7 Fort Lauderdale, Florida 4,670 Silver

See also

References
  1. FAA Airport Form 5010 for TLH PDF, effective 2008-04-10
  2. "Traffic History Report". Tallahassee Regional Airport web site. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  3. "Tallahassee's airport goes international". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved 2018-08-14.
  4. "Freedom Ride Stops in Tallahassee". Florida Historical Society. 1 April 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  5. "Dresner v. City of Tallahassee, 375 U.S. 136, 11L ed 2d 208, 84 S.CT. 235 (1963)". 1963. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  6. Fatigued pilots' errors blamed in FedEx crash, St Pete Times, June 9, 2004.
  7. "Florida Airports with U.S. Customs". usatoday.com, World News. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  8. "Tallahassee Airport Soars to New Heights". Talgov.com, the Official Website of the City of Tallahassee. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  9. "Tornado touches down in Florida near Tallahassee airport; thousands without power". usatoday.com, News. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  10. "TLH announces new daily flights to D.C." Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  11. "Tallahassee: Tallahassee International (TLH)". Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
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