Fort Worth Meacham International Airport

Fort Worth Meacham Int'l Airport
IATA: FTW – ICAO: KFTW – FAA LID: FTW
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator City of Fort Worth
Location Fort Worth, Texas
Elevation AMSL 710 ft / 216 m
Coordinates 32°49′11.2″N 97°21′44.8″W / 32.819778°N 97.362444°W / 32.819778; -97.362444Coordinates: 32°49′11.2″N 97°21′44.8″W / 32.819778°N 97.362444°W / 32.819778; -97.362444
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
9/27 Closed 3,677 1,121 Asphalt
16/34 7,501 2,286 Concrete
17/35 4,006 1,221 Asphalt

Fort Worth Meacham International Airport (Meacham Field) (IATA: FTW, ICAO: KFTW, FAA LID: FTW) is a general aviation airport in Fort Worth, Texas similar to Addison Airport on the Dallas side of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. It is at the intersection of Interstate 820 and U.S. Business Highway 287 in northwest Fort Worth, near downtown. It has two parallel runways; the old runway 9-27 is now closed permanently. The airport is named after former Fort Worth Mayor Henry C. Meacham.[1]

History

Meacham Airport was purchased by the city of Fort Worth on July 3, 1925, named Fort Worth Municipal Airport. In 1927 the airport was renamed Meacham Field after former Fort Worth Mayor Henry C. Meacham.[1] American Airways moved its headquarters to Meacham Field in the early 1930s.

Meacham was Fort Worth's airline airport until April 1953 when major carriers moved to Amon Carter Field (later Greater Southwest International Airport). The January 1953 OAG shows 50 weekday airline departures from Meacham, 33 of which headed for Dallas. None of the others flew nonstop north of Wichita Falls, west of Midland, south of Austin or east of Dallas.

Since 1953 Meacham Airport has been used for corporate aircraft, commuter flights, and student pilot training. It was renamed in 1985 to Fort Worth Meacham Airport and in 1995 to Fort Worth Meacham International Airport. Since 1953 seven airlines have tried scheduled passenger flights from Meacham; none lasted more than a couple of years.

In 2001 Continental Airlines announced plans for Continental Express flights between Meacham and Houston Intercontinental Airport but this was dropped after September 11, 2001, attacks. In April 2006 low-cost carrier Skybus Airlines expressed interest in operating out of the airfield as it started operations in 2007. Due to Skybus folding and the Wright Amendment not fully repealing until 2014 this service will never happen.[2]

Current operations

Several companies operate aircraft services at the airport, including a division of the U.S. defense contractor Alliant Techsystems (ATK) and Texas Aviation Services . An aviation museum (open weekends and by appointment during the week) is located in Hangar 33S on the airport's south side, at the end of Ellis Street. The terminal building houses several ATK employees, some Fort Worth city departments (mainly Aviation and Housing Development), a branch of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and several aviation related businesses. The Civil Air Patrol operates two squadrons at Meacham, the Fort Worth Senior Squadron, and the Phoenix Composite Squadron. There are three FBOs operating on the field: American Aero, Cornerstone Flight Center and Texas Jet.

Airlines and destinations

AirlinesDestinations
Bombardier Business Jet SolutionsCharter: Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin
CitationsharesCharter: Providence, Dallas/Fort Worth
NetjetsCharter: Charlotte

At one time Fort Worth Airlines had its headquarters at the airport.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 Meacham Field History Texas State Historical Association
  2. ↑ The Airline News April 7, 2006
  3. ↑ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. March 30, 1985. 83." "Meacham Field, Fort Worth, Texas, USA."

External links

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