Gulfport–Biloxi International Airport is a joint civil–military public-use airport three

nautical mile A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude. Today ...

s (6 km) northeast of the central business district of Gulfport, a city in

Harrison County, Mississippi Harrison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 208,621, making it the second-most populous county in Mississippi. Its county seats are Biloxi and Gulfport. The county is named af ...

, United States. It is owned by the Gulfport–Biloxi Regional Airport Authority and serves the Gulf Coast area. This airport is included in the

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 2011–2015, which categorized it as a ''primary commercial service'' airport (more than 10,000 enplanements per year). As per

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 ...

records, the airport had 487,907 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 ...

2008; 411,978 enplanements in 2009; and 325,437 emplacements in 2014. Despite its title, all regularly scheduled commercial passenger flights at the airport are domestic flights only.

History

The airport was originally built in 1942 by the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

as a training base for

Air Corps Flying Training Command Air Training Command (ATC) is a former United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command designation. It was headquartered at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, but was initially formed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. It was re-designated as A ...

. Gulfport Army Airfield opened on July 7, and the Eastern Technical Training Command conducted technical training and basic training unit transferred to

Third Air Force The Third Air Force (Air Forces Europe) (3 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA). Its headquarters is Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It is responsible for all U.S. air forces in E ...

on March 31, 1944 with joint use by Technical Training Command for marine training of Emergency Rescue School (3d Air Rescue Group) at Keesler Army Airfield. With the end of the war and the drawdown of the military, Gulfport AAF was placed into reserve status on January 31, 1946. Gulfport Field was declared excess by the Air Force and conveyed by the

War Assets Administration The War Assets Administration (WAA) was created to dispose of United States government-owned surplus material and property from World War II. The WAA was established in the Office for Emergency Management, effective March 25, 1946, by Executive Ord ...

to the City of Gulfport in 1949 for use as a civil airport. The city negotiated airline service contracts with

Southern Airways Southern Airways was a regional airline (known at the time as a "local-service air carrier" as designated by the federal Civil Aeronautics Board) in the United States, from its founding by Frank Hulse in 1949 until 1979, when it merged with No ...

and later National Airlines to provide passenger and cargo service beginning in the early 1950s. Due to the large expansion of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

as a result of the

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, a new lease was obtained for military use of the airport, and Gulfport Air Force Base was opened as a joint-use civil–military facility. Gulfport AFB was closed as an active Air Force installation and its military facilities were transferred to the

Mississippi Air National Guard The Mississippi Air National Guard (MS ANG), commonly known as the Mississippi Air Guard, is the aerial militia of the State of Mississippi, United States of America. It is, along with the Mississippi Army National Guard, an element of the Missis ...

, with the airport remaining a joint-use airport and

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 ...

base. Although no military aircraft are permanently assigned, the base serves as the home of the Gulfport Combat Readiness Training Center. Through the late 1970s,

continued as the primary airline, followed by successors Republic Airlines and Northwest Airlines into the 1990s.

Facilities and aircraft

Gulfport–Biloxi International Airport covers an area of 1,400 acres (567 hectare, ha) at an elevation of 28 feet (9 m) above mean sea level. It has two runways: 14/32 is 9,002 by 150 feet (2,744 x 46 m) with an asphalt and concrete surface; 18/36 is 4,935 by 150 feet (1,504 x 46 m) with an asphalt surface. For the 12-month period ending January 31, 2018, the airport had 48,868 aircraft operations, an average of 134 per day: 52% military aviation, military, 26% general aviation, 8% air taxi, and 14% airline, scheduled commercial. At that time, there were 29 aircraft based at this airport: 23 single-aircraft engine, engine, 1 jet aircraft, jet, 1 multi-engine, 3 helicopter, and 1 military aircraft, military.

Cargo facility

A cargo facility is at Gulfport–Biloxi International Airport. It includes of chiller space; of cargo sorting and distribution space; and of office space. Airside access from the runway system has been designed with safety and efficiency in mind. The ramp can facilitate two MD11s, DC10s or B747s. The area is also expandable with reserved for air cargo on airport property.

Airlines and destinations

Statistics

Hurricane Katrina

The airport was closed for repairs following severe damage by Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. On August 30, 2005, the airfield reopened to first responder flights, and on September 8 it reopened for commercial flights. The airport underwent an extensive renovation that was completed in 2007.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport Airports in Mississippi Buildings and structures in Gulfport, Mississippi Gulfport–Biloxi metropolitan area Airports established in 1942 1942 establishments in Mississippi