General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport is a civil/military public airport five miles west of Peoria, in Peoria County, Illinois, United States. It is on the northwest edge of Bartonville, near Bellevue. It is owned by the Metropolitan Airport Authority of Peoria, which often refers to it as Peoria International Airport. It was formerly the Greater Peoria Regional Airport. The Federal Aviation Administration (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 2017–2021

categorized Categorization is the ability and activity of recognizing shared features or similarities between the elements of the experience of the world (such as objects, events, or ideas), organizing and classifying experience by associating them to a ...

it as a non-hub primary commercial service facility. Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 312,378 passenger boardings (enplanements) in

calendar year Generally speaking, a calendar year begins on the New Year's Day of the given calendar system and ends on the day before the following New Year's Day, and thus consists of a whole number of days. A year can also be measured by starting on any o ...

2017 and 328,769 in 2018. It is the fourth-busiest of the 12 commercial airports in Illinois.

History

On May 19, 1932, the citizens of Peoria voted to have an airport. On 195 acres (0.8 km²), American Airways (now American Airlines) and Chicago and Southern Airlines brought in airmail and passenger service on four shale-surfaced runways. The land was purchased by 261 Peoria businessmen who formed the Peoria Airport, Inc. It was turned over to the Peoria Park District in 1937, then to the newly formed Metropolitan Airport Authority of Peoria in 1950. American Airlines and Chicago and Southern started flights to Peoria in 1945; C&S pulled out in 1949-50 and American left in 1962, then returned for a couple years starting in 1991. TWA served Peoria 1947 to 1960 and 1983 to 1991; Continental 1977 to 1983, United 1984 to 1995, Republic/Northwest 1986 to 1988, and Ozark from 1950 until it merged into TWA. Peoria's first jets were Ozark DC9s in 1966. A curious artifact of airline regulation: Peoria had never had nonstop flights beyond Chicago, but in 1969 Ozark was allowed a nonstop to New York La Guardia. On April 25, 2007, the Greater Peoria Airport Authority announced a new nine-gate terminal will be built and the old terminal demolished. On October 10, 2008, the airport was renamed "General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport" during a groundbreaking ceremony attended by

Ross Perot Henry Ross Perot (; June 27, 1930 – July 9, 2019) was an American business magnate, billionaire, politician and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of Electronic Data Systems and Perot Systems. He ran an inde ...

, a friend of the late

Wayne A. Downing Wayne Allan Downing (May 10, 1940 – July 18, 2007) was a four-star United States Army general born in Peoria, Illinois. He graduated from the United States Military Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1962 and held a Master of Busine ...

. The new terminal, designed by

Reynolds, Smith & Hills RS&H, Inc. (RS&H) is an American facilities and infrastructure consulting firm in the United States. The privately held architectural, engineering, planning, and environmental services corporation is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, where ...

of Jacksonville, Florida and the Dewberry architecture firm of Peoria, and built by Turner Construction, opened on April 27, 2011. As of August 24, 2012, the airport was in negotiations for international flights using a temporary customs facility. In 2016, the Ray Lahood International Arrivals Terminal was completed, with more gates, TSA services, and a US Customs Port of Entry facility. In December 2020, Delta Air Lines pulled all its flights from Peoria.

Facilities

Peoria International Airport covers 3,800 acres (1,538 ha) at an elevation of 661 feet (201 m). It has two runways: 13/31 is 10,104 by 150 feet (3,080 x 46 m) concrete; 4/22 is 8,004 by 150 feet (2,440 x 46 m) concrete. In 2021 the airport had an average 123 operations per day: 54% general aviation, 20% military, 14% commercial, and 11% air taxi. In June 2018, 69 aircraft were based at this airport: 40 single-engine, 8 jet, 14 military, 3 helicopter, and 4 multi-engine.

Military

The airport is co-located with the Peoria Air National Guard Base, home to the

182d Airlift Wing The 182d Airlift Wing (182 AW) is a unit of the Illinois Air National Guard, stationed at Peoria Air National Guard Base, Peoria, Illinois. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command. ...

(182 AW) of the

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 uni ...

. This

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...

unit is operationally-gained by the

Air Mobility Command Air Mobility Command (AMC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the U.S. Air Force. It is headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, east of St. Louis, Missouri. Air Mobility Command was established on 1 June 1992, and was formed from elements ...

(AMC) and consists of Lockheed C-130H Hercules aircraft. The airport is also home to the Illinois Army National Guard's Army Aviation Support Facility No. 3 and 1st Battalion, 106th Aviation Regiment, currently operating the Boeing CH-47 "Chinook" helicopter.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

Statistics

Airline market share

Accidents and incidents

*On October 21, 1971, Chicago & Southern Airlines Flight 804, an ATECO Westwind II, crashed 2 miles west of PIA after striking power lines in limited visibility and low clouds, killing all 14 passengers and two crew. The cause was found to be the pilot knowingly descending below the minimum descent altitude before being visual with the runway.

Notes

References

External links

General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport
– official website
Peoria Air Guard
– official website
Aerial image as of April 1998
from USGS '' The National Map'' * * * Airport diagram fo
1956

{{Aviation in Illinois Peoria Transportation buildings and structures in Peoria County, Illinois