Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport is a civil-military airport in

Sangamon County Sangamon County is located in the center of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 197,465. Its county seat and largest city is Springfield, the state capital. Sangamon County is included in the Spr ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, United States, three miles (6 km) northwest of downtown

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

. It is owned by the Springfield Airport Authority (SAA). The airport is included in the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

(FAA)

National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) is an inventory of U.S. aviation infrastructure assets. NPIAS was developed and now maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It identifies existing and proposed airports tha ...

for 2019–2023, in which it is categorized as a non-hub primary commercial service facility. It is the seventh busiest airport of the 12 commercial airports in Illinois.

History

The airport has dedicated in November 1947 under the name "Capital Airport." It came after pressure to construct a modern facility, as

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

and Chicago & Southern Airlines had canceled flight to Springfield a year earlier due to inadequate facilities at Capital Airport's predecessor. Construction on the new airport was began soon after those cancellations but were delayed due to World War II. The original airport had three 5300-foot runways, a service apron, a temporary passenger terminal, and T-hangars for 38 aircraft. Two units of the Illinois National Guard was stationed at the airport in 1946, and one of them remains at the airport today. In 2018, the airport embarked on an upgrade of its passenger terminal after receiving nearly $7 million from the Airport Improvement Program, a grant sponsored by the

. The airport also worked to improve general aviation facilities like the FBO and hangars; roadways; and parking lots. The coronavirus pandemic brought about airline suspensions at the airport, marking a significant downturn of traffic through the airport. Airlines returned service as travel picked up and after receiving money from the federal

CARES Act The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, is a $2.2trillion Stimulus (economics), economic stimulus bill passed by the 116th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27, 2 ...

to prop up flights. The Illinois Department of Transportation named SPI the top primary airport in the state in 2020. The department considered things such as how well the airport worked with the state's Division of Aeronautics, the airport's safety record, promotion of aviation and educational events and general maintenance. In 2021, the airport received $3 million in funding from the State of Illinois to upgrade facilities during the travel downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The funds went towards rehabilitating the north airport public parking lot and the north airport roadway. The airport also began constructing a new crosswind runway in 2021 to accommodate more traffic in a wider variety of wind conditions. The airport is taking significant steps to prepare their facilities to accommodate electric-powered aircraft. The airport broke ground on a solar energy farm in 2022 to increase the role of renewable energy in powering the airport, with the goal of powering over 90% of the airport's needs with renewables.

Military use

The airport is home to Capital Airport Air National Guard Station, a facility on land leased from the Springfield Airport Authority (SAA). It is home to the

183d Fighter Wing The 183rd Wing is a unit of the Illinois Air National Guard, stationed at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport, Springfield, Illinois. If activated to federal service, the wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Combat Command. Overview ...

(183 FW), an

Illinois Air National Guard The Illinois Air National Guard (IL ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of Illinois, United States of America. It is, along with the Illinois Army National Guard, an element of the Illinois National Guard. As state militia units, the units ...

unit operationally gained by the

Air Combat Command Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the primary provider of air combat forces for the Air Force, and i ...

(ACC) and State Headquarters, Illinois Air National Guard. Historically a fighter unit, the 183 FW consists of 321 full-time and 800 part-time military personnel (total strength 1,321).

Facilities

The airport covers at an elevation of 598 feet (182 m). It has two runways: 4/22 is 8,001 by 150 feet (2,439 x 46 m) concrete; and13/31 is 7,400 by 150 feet (2,256 x 46 m) asphalt. In the year ending July 31, 2019 the airport had 26,597 aircraft operations, average 73 per day: 66%

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

, 18% military, 15%

air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. In 2001 air taxi operations were promoted in the United States by a NASA and aerospace industry study on the potential Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) an ...

, and 1% airline. In June 2020, 169 aircraft were based at the airport: 133 single-engine, 29 multi-engine, 6 jet, and 1

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

. The airport has an FBO offering fuel, general maintenance, catering, hangars, courtesy cars, conference rooms, a crew lounge, snooze rooms, and more.

Terminal services

The airport terminal has a Subway, a gift shop, an

automated teller machine An automated teller machine (ATM) or cash machine (in British English) is an electronic telecommunications device that enables customers of financial institutions to perform financial transactions, such as cash withdrawals, deposits, fun ...

, TV, and a lounge.

Airlines and destinations

Allegiant Air Allegiant Air (usually shortened to Allegiant) is an ultra low-cost U.S. carrier that operates scheduled and charter flights. It is a major air carrier, the fourteenth-largest commercial airline in North America. Allegiant was founded in 1 ...

is the only airline using mainline jets: the

Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air F ...

series.

American Eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

and

United Express United Express is the brand name for the regional branch of United Airlines, under which six individually owned regional airlines operate short- and medium-haul feeder flights. On October 1, 2010, UAL Corporation and Continental Airlines merged t ...

flights from Springfield are on

regional jets A regional jet (RJ) is a jet-powered regional airliner with fewer than 100 seats. The first one was the Sud-Aviation Caravelle in 1959, followed by the widespread Yakovlev Yak-40, Fokker F-28, and BAe 146. The 1990s saw the emergence of th ...

. The airport was previously served by

Ozark Airlines Ozark Air Lines was an airline that operated in the United States from 1950 until 1986 when it was purchased by Trans World Airlines (TWA). In 2001, TWA was merged into American Airlines. A smaller regional airline that used the Ozark name ( ...

McDonnell Douglas DC-9-10s,

DC-9-30 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas. After ...

s and

Fairchild Hiller FH-227 The Fairchild F-27 and Fairchild Hiller FH-227 were versions of the Fokker F27 Friendship twin-engined turboprop passenger aircraft manufactured under license by Fairchild Hiller in the United States. The Fairchild F-27 was similar to the standa ...

s to St. Louis and Chicago

O'Hare Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Loop business ...

Air Illinois Air Illinois was a regional airline based in Carbondale, Illinois, Carbondale, Illinois. History Founded in 1970 in Carbondale, Illinois, Carbondale, Illinois, Air Illinois primarily operated small twin turboprop aircraft such as the de Havi ...

flew

BAC One-Eleven The BAC One-Eleven (or BAC-111/BAC 1-11) was an early jet airliner produced by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Originally conceived by Hunting Aircraft as a 30-seat jet, before its merger into BAC in 1960, it was launched as an 80-se ...

s (to St. Louis and Chicago) and also served the airport with

Hawker Siddeley HS 748 The Hawker Siddeley HS 748 is a medium-sized turboprop airliner originally designed and initially produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Avro. It was the last aircraft to be developed by Avro prior to its absorption by Hawker Siddeley. ...

Handley Page Jetstream The Handley Page HP.137 Jetstream is a small twin-turboprop airliner, with a pressurised fuselage. The aircraft was designed to meet the requirements of the United States commuter and regional airline market. The design was later improved and b ...

s and

de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarted ...

s. Among other routes, Air Illinois HS 748s flew nonstop to now closed

Meigs Field Merrill C. Meigs Field Airport (pronounced , formerly ) was a single-runway airport in Chicago that was in operation from December 1948 until March 2003 on Northerly Island, an artificial peninsula on Lake Michigan. The airport sat adjacent to ...

on the lakefront next to downtown Chicago.

Statistics

Carrier shares

Top destinations

Accidents & Incidents

*On December 20, 2007, a

Beechcraft Bonanza The Beechcraft Bonanza is an American general aviation aircraft introduced in 1947 by Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. The six-seater, single-engined aircraft is still being produced by Beechcraft and has been in continuous prod ...

crashed in Springfield while en route to SPI. The pilot reported a problem while flying the Instrument Landing System approach and deviated from the approach, flying around until crashing. The probable cause was found to be loss of control during an instrument approach due to spatial disorientation. *On January 6, 2011, a

Learjet 35A The Learjet Model 35 and Model 36 are a series of American multi-role business jets and military transport aircraft manufactured by Learjet. When used by the United States Air Force they carry the designation C-21A. The aircraft are powered by ...

crashed while landing at SPI. The crew reported the aircraft's master warning and stick shaker activated when the aircraft was on short final while flying an instrument approach procedure. The aircraft impacted left of the runway centerline before departing the right side of the runway. The two pilots received minor injuries, and the passengers were uninjured. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the pilot's decision to conduct an instrument approach in icing conditions without the anti-ice system activated, resulting in an inaadvertent aerodynamic stall due to in-flight accumulation of airframe icing. *On January 27, 2020, a twin-engine

Piper Aerostar The Piper Aerostar (formerly Ted Smith Aerostar) is an American twin-engined propeller-driven executive or light transport aircraft, designed by Ted R. Smith. It was originally built by Ted Smith Aircraft Company, which after 1978 became part o ...

aircraft crashed outside SPI after takeoff en route for Huntsville, Alabama. Officials reported at the time that the aircraft was having trouble with its instruments. Former Springfield mayor Frank Edwards and then-current Sangamon County

Coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

Cinda Edwards were among those killed in the crash.

References

External links

*
Aerial image as of 14 April 1998
from

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

The National Map ''The National Map'' is a collaborative effort of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and other federal, state, and local agencies to improve and deliver topographic information for the United States. The purpose of the effort is to prov ...

'' * *
{{Sangamon County, Illinois Airports in Illinois Buildings and structures in Sangamon County, Illinois Springfield, Illinois Monuments and memorials to Abraham Lincoln in the United States