Destin–Fort Walton Beach Airport is an airport located within

Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso, Florida, Valparaiso in Okaloosa County, Florida, Okaloosa County. The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test ...

, adjacent to the city of Valparaiso and near the cities of Destin and Fort Walton Beach, in

Okaloosa County, Florida Okaloosa County is a county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, extending from the Gulf of Mexico to the Alabama state line. As of the 2020 census, the population was 211,668. Its county seat is Crestview. Okaloo ...

, United States. The airport was previously named Northwest Florida Regional Airport until February 17, 2015, and Okaloosa Regional Airport until September 2008. The airport is just under 16 miles away from Destin and takes approximately 25 minutes to get to Destin. Only commercial air traffic is allowed. Non-commercial operations by general aviation and business aircraft must use nearby Destin Executive Airport.

History

In 1957, The Okaloosa County Air Terminal opened on Eglin Air Force Base in building 89 with 3 personnel (Airport Manager, Security and Admin Support). Southern Airways was the only passenger airline, with

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper ...

s direct to Atlanta via several stops. Passengers entered the base through the East Gate near Valparaiso, thus the airport code of VPS. Southern would later upgrade their service into the airport with 40-passenger Martin 404 propliners before initiating the first scheduled passenger jet flights at VPS. In 1967, Southern Airways introduced Douglas DC-9-10 jetliner service into VPSm thus becoming the first airline to operate jets into the airport. According to the September 3, 1968 Southern Airways system timetable, the airline was operating daily nonstop

DC-9-10 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast, narrow-body aircraft, single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced as the Douglas DC-9 prior to August 1967, after which point the company had me ...

jet service to Atlanta and New Orleans as well as direct, no change of plane DC-9 jet flights twice a day to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport ( ) – colloquially known as LaGuardia or simply LGA – is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, situated on the North Shore (Long Island), northwestern shore of Long Island, bord ...

and

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Dulles Airport via intermediate stops in Dothan, AL and Columbus, GA. The new James E. Plew Terminal Building of the Okaloosa Air Terminal, on State Road 85, opened in mid-February 1975, with dedication on 22 February. Representative Bob Sikes and Southern Airways President Frank Hulse were some of the speakers. The 32,000 sq ft (3,000 m2) facility cost $1.7 million. Federal grants totaled $472,000, state $80,000, Okaloosa County bond sale $1.1 million, and Southern Airways $190,000. First year enplaned passengers totaled 97,000 with Southern Airways as the sole airline serving VPS with 12 departing flights daily. In 1977, South Central Air Transport (SCAT), a commuter air carrier, was serving the airport with flights to New Orleans, LA, Mobile, AL, Montgomery, AL and Panama City, FL flown with Handley Page Jetstream propjets. On July 1, 1979 Southern Airways merged with North Central Airlines to form Republic Airlines. In July 1979, Republic flew Douglas DC-9-10 and

McDonnell Douglas 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 as the Douglas DC-9 prior to August 1967, after which point the company had merged with McDonnell A ...

jets nonstop from VPS to Atlanta, GA; Dothan, AL; Mobile, AL; New Orleans, LA; Orlando, FL and Tallahassee, FL. Republic also operated direct

DC-9 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast, single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced as the Douglas DC-9 prior to August 1967, after which point the company had merged with McDonnell A ...

jet service to Baton Rouge, LA; Chicago, IL (

O'Hare Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the primary international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Loop business district. The airport is operated by the ...

), Fort Lauderdale, FL; Memphis, TN; Monroe, LA; New York (

) and Washington D.C. ( Dulles Airport). Prior to the merger Southern flew all of these nonstop and direct DC-9 routes as well and also operated direct DC-9 jet service to Birmingham, AL; Miami, FL and Nashville, TN. At the beginning of the 1980s, only Republic Airlines was operating nonstop service between VPS and Atlanta. Republic was operating

, DC-9-30 and

DC-9-50 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast, single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced as the Douglas DC-9 prior to August 1967, after which point the company had merged with McDonnell ...

jets on the route. As the decade progressed,

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, operating nine hubs, with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being its ...

and

Eastern Air Lines Eastern Air Lines (also colloquially known as Eastern) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade ...

both added nonstop service between the airport and Atlanta via their respective regional airline

code sharing A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...

partners,

Delta Connection Delta Connection is a brand name under which Delta Air Lines has air service agreements with domestic regional air carriers that feed traffic to their network by serving passengers primarily in small and medium-sized cities in the domestic mark ...

and Eastern Metro Express, both of which operated turboprop aircraft into VPS. The Delta Connection service was flown by Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) operating de Havilland Canada DHC-7 Dash 7 and Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia turboprops. The Eastern Metro Express service was flown by

Metro Airlines Metro Airlines, originally Houston Metro Airlines, was a commuter airline that was originally headquartered in Houston, Texas, United States. Metro subsequently moved its headquarters to north Texas. The airline had an operational base located o ...

operating

British Aerospace British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft manufacturer, aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer that was formed in 1977. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. ...

BAe Jetstream 31 and de Havilland Canada DHC-8-100 Dash 8 turboprops. Air New Orleans, a commuter airline, also served VPS during the 1980s with commuter aircraft such as the Beechcraft C99 turboprop and Piper prop aircraft. Destinations served by Air New Orleans from VPS included Birmingham, AL; Mobile, AL; New Orleans, LA; Orlando, FL; Panama City, FL; Pensacola, FL and Tampa, FL. On October 1, 1986,

Northwest Airlines Northwest Airlines (often abbreviated as NWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 until it Delta Air Lines–Northwest Airlines merger, merged with Delta Air Lines in 2010. The merger made Delta the largest airline ...

completed its merger with Republic Airlines. Northwest flew only one route from VPS: nonstop to Memphis, a Northwest hub which was also a former Republic and Southern Airways hub. By September 1987 Northwest had four non-stops a day to Memphis with stretched

and

s. Later Northwest would reduce its schedule from VPS to three daily DC-9s nonstop to Memphis. No other airline flew jets into VPS until Valujet/Airtran appeared in the 1990s.

AirTran Airways AirTran Airways was a low-cost airline in the United States that operated from 1993 until it was acquired by Southwest Airlines May 2, 2011. Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, AirTran Airways was established in 1993 as Conquest Sun Airlines b ...

was serving the airport with jet service in 1998. According to the August 1, 1998 AirTran system timetable, two nonstop flights a day were operated to Atlanta with direct, one stop service once a day to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Dulles Airport. AirTran operated

jetliners into VPS. However, by the end of 2001, AirTran had ceased all service into the airport after commencing service to Pensacola. The current Northwest Florida Regional Airport opened its doors in November 2004 following an expansion with more parking, a larger aircraft parking apron, a second parallel taxiway, landscaping and a new passenger terminal.

completed its merger with

on January 31, 2010. Delta then scaled back the Northwest hub operation in Memphis, and service between VPS and MEM was discontinued in favor of nonstop flights to Delta's hub in Atlanta. In 2011,

Vision Airlines Vision Airlines, formerly Vision Air, was an airline that had its operations headquartered in North Las Vegas, Nevada. The airline also operated charter flights for their tour services in northern Arizona and Nevada including the Grand Canyon, Ma ...

began a small scheduled passenger hub operation at VPS with flights to Asheville, NC; Atlanta, GA; Baton Rouge, LA; Columbia, SC; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Fort Myers, FL; Greenville/Spartanburg, SC; Huntsville, AL; Knoxville, TN; Lafayette, LA; Las Vegas, NV; Little Rock, AR; Louisville, KY; Sanford/Orlando, FL; Savannah, GA; Shreveport, LA; St. Louis, MO; and St. Petersburg, FL. Vision flew

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the t ...

jetliners and Dornier 328 turboprops. Vision later ended all flights at the airport and shut down its VPS hub. Northwest Florida Regional Airport changed its name to Destin–Fort Walton Beach Airport on a 3–2 vote on February 17, 2015. In March 2016, GLO Airlines began less than daily, seasonal service from VPS to Little Rock (LIT) and New Orleans (MSY) using 30-seat Saab 340B turboprop aircraft. GLO has since ceased all flights and is no longer in business. A couple months later,

Allegiant Air Allegiant Air is an American ultra low-cost carrier, ultra-low cost airline headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. The airline focuses on serving leisure traffic from small and medium-sized cities which it considers to be underserved, using an ult ...

began scheduled service to VPS from Cincinnati (CVG), Ft Lauderdale (FLL), Oklahoma City (OKC), Knoxville (TYS), Memphis (MEM) and St Louis/Belleville (BLV) flying

Airbus A319 The Airbus A319 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin-engine jet airliners manufactured by Airbus. The A319 carries 124 to 156 passengers and has a maximum range of . Final ass ...

, A320, and

McDonnell Douglas MD-80 The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gener ...

mainline jet aircraft. The Destin–Fort Walton Beach Airport became a

focus city An airline hub or hub airport is an airport used by one or more airlines to concentrate passenger traffic and flight operations. Hubs serve as transfer (or stop-over) points to help get passengers to their final destination. It is part of the ...

for the airline at this time. In September 2016, Contour Airlines began flying less than daily, seasonal service from Bowling Green, KY (BWG) to VPS using 30-seat

BAe Jetstream 41 turboprop aircraft. These flights ended in 2018 due to low demand.

announced a major expansion at VPS in January 2017 with a new base of operations to be located on the airport with a total of eighteen (18) domestic destinations to be served nonstop on seasonal basis with mainline jet aircraft by June 2017 with most of the planned new service to begin in May 2017.

Silver Airways Silver Airways was a regional airline in the United States with its headquarters in Hollywood, Florida, near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Fort Lauderdale. It was founded in 2011 with assets from the former Gulfstream International Airlines, and la ...

began daily service to Orlando, FL (MCO) from VPS in May 2019 using a 34-seat

Saab 340 The Saab 340 is a Swedish twin-engine turboprop aircraft designed and initially produced by Saab AB and Fairchild Aircraft. It is designed to seat 30–36 passengers and, as of July 2018, there were 240 operational aircraft used by 34 differen ...

turboprop aircraft. Silver stopped serving VPS in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines Co., or simply Southwest, is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States that formerly operated on a low-cost carrier model. It is headquartered in the Love Field, Dallas, Love Field neighborhood ...

began service to VPS with flights to Dallas-Love (DAL), Nashville (BNA), Baltimore/Washington (BWI) and Chicago/Midway (MDW) in May 2021.

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

announced in March 2022 that they would cease all flights into VPS, citing long-term unsustainability. Later that year, Concourse C expansion opens for exclusive use by Allegiant Air, flying to 35 destinations. In February 2024,

Avelo Airlines Avelo Airlines, Inc. () is an American ultra-low cost airline headquartered in Houston, Texas. It previously operated charter flights as ''Casino Express Airlines'' and ''Xtra Airways'' before transitioning to scheduled operations and rebrandi ...

announces service to Tweed-New Haven Airport (HVN) in Connecticut, starting on May 17, 2024.

Facilities

Destin–Fort Walton Beach Airport and Eglin AFB covers 6,500 acres (2,630 ha) and share two

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

s: 12/30 is

asphalt Asphalt most often refers to: * Bitumen, also known as "liquid asphalt cement" or simply "asphalt", a viscous form of petroleum mainly used as a binder in asphalt concrete * Asphalt concrete, a mixture of bitumen with coarse and fine aggregates, u ...

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

and 02/20 is asphalt.

Terminal

The airport has a passenger terminal with five second-level gates with passenger jet ways and three ground-level commuter gates with passenger jet ways. The two-level terminal opened in November 2004. The old terminal building was demolished soon after. The terminal has areas for ticketing and baggage claim and upper and lower courses with gates. The first level has Gates A1, A2, and A3 and waiting areas and a concession area. The second-level concourse has Gates B1, B2, B3, B4, B5 and B6. B3 is rarely used due to a lack of flights during the slow season. B5 is rarely used due to a lack of a jetway. Passengers have to descend a narrow stairwell and isn't very conducive to safe and speedy boarding of the aircraft. The second-level concourse also has a restaurant and concession areas. The terminal was designed to allow future expansion. Concourse C, completed in 2022 for Allegiant Air's exclusive use, is located to the west of the main terminal. The $11.4 million-dollar, 26,000 square foot expansion includes 5 new ground-level gates, along with multiple food and beverage options. However, passengers will still have to check in, as well as collect baggage, at the main terminal.

Ground transportation

Access to the terminal is off of State Road 85. Parking facilities are to the left, the terminal or loop is straight ahead and rental car return is to the right. The airport loop road has two pass-through lanes on the left and three arrival-departure lanes in front of the terminal. The loop road is a two-lane asphalt roadway about ¾ mile long. Short-term and long-term parking facilities are available. The parking facilities were improved in the early 2000s (decade) as part of the new terminal expansion. These were designed with the Transportation Security Administration's "300-foot rule" in mind, and satisfy the distance between parked vehicles and the terminal building.

Airlines and destinations

Statistics

Top destinations

Airline market share

Annual traffic

Incidents at or near VPS

*On November 13, 1969, a

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

North American Sabreliner on final approach crashed into the water of Apalachicola Bay in foggy weather 4 km from Valparaiso-Eglin AFB (VPS). The aircraft was fitted with radiological test equipment for Project " Have Doughnut". Both occupants survived, but the aircraft was destroyed and written off. *On January 1, 1994, a Piper PA-46 Malibu crashed while on approach to the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport. It was found that the pilot failed to maintain adequate airspeed, leading to an inadvertent stall with inadequate altitude for recovery. *On March 2, 2003, a Mooney M20M experienced an in-flight fire shortly after takeoff from the Destin-Ft Walton Beach Airport. The pilot successfully returned to the airport despite thick black smoke in the cockpit. The probable cause of the mishap was found to be an inadequate annual/100-hour inspection of the engine by the mechanic for his failure to properly secure the tailpipe assembly to the turbocharger resulting in separation of the tailpipe and subsequent in-flight fire. *On October 3, 2005, a

Piper PA-46 The Piper M-Class (PA-46; formerly called the Malibu, Malibu Mirage, Malibu Meridian, and Matrix) is a family of American light aircraft manufactured by Piper Aircraft of Vero Beach, Florida. The aircraft are powered by single engines and have ...

Malibu Mirage veered off the runway during the landing roll at the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the inadequate design of the engine mount which led to cracking of the mount resulting in a loss of directional control and collapse of the nose landing gear. A contributing factor was the failure of maintenance personnel to comply with a service bulletin to inspect the engine mount for cracks.

References

External links

Destin - Fort Walton Beach Airport
official site
Eglin Air Force Base
official site
Northwest Florida Regional Airport Shuttle Service.
, Ground Transportation to VPS * *
Northwest Florida Regional Airport Shuttle Service.
Ground Transportation Shuttles {{DEFAULTSORT:Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport Airports in Florida Transportation buildings and structures in Okaloosa County, Florida 1957 establishments in Florida Aviation in Florida