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Lakeland Linder International Airport is a public
airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...
five miles southwest of Lakeland, in
Polk County, Florida Polk County is located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. The county population was 725,046, as of the 2020 census. Its county seat is Bartow, and its largest city is Lakeland. Polk County comprises the Lakeland–Winter H ...
. 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 ...
(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 it as a national reliever facility for
Tampa International Airport Tampa International Airport is an international airport west of Downtown Tampa, in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. The airport is publicly owned by Hillsborough County Aviation Authority (HCAA)., effective December 30, 2021. T ...
. The airport has a Class 1 Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) Part 139 operating certificate allowing passenger airline flights. Annually, around March–April, the airport hosts the
Sun 'n Fun Sun ’n Fun Aerospace Expo (officially styled SUN 'n FUN) is a nonprofit organization in Lakeland, Florida dedicated to the promotion of aviation education. It is best known for the annual week-long fly-in and airshow at Lakeland Linder Int ...
Aerospace Expo, a six-day
fly-in A fly-in is a pre-arranged gathering of aircraft, pilots and passengers for recreational and social purposes. Fly-ins may be formally or informally organised, members of the public may or may not be invited, the gathering may be at an airport ...
,
airshow An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground. The largest air show ...
and aviation convention. It is the second largest such event in the United States after the
Experimental Aircraft Association The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) is an international organization of aviation enthusiasts based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States. Since its inception, it has grown internationally with over 200,000 members and nearly 1,000 chapt ...
's (EAA) annual "AirVenture" event each summer at
Wittman Regional Airport Wittman Regional Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located two nautical miles (4  km) south of the central business district of Oshkosh, a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States. A large portion at the south en ...
(OSH) in
Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, of which it is the county seat. The city had a population of 66,816 in 2020, making it the ninth-largest city in Wisconsin. It is also adjacent to the Town of Oshkosh. History Oshkosh was ...
. The airport is home to the southeast regional air cargo hub for
Amazon Air Amazon Air, operating under the callsign Prime Air, is a cargo airline operating exclusively to transport Amazon packages. In 2017, it changed its name from Amazon Prime Air to Amazon Air to differentiate themselves from their autonomous drone ...
, which started operations at the airport in July 2020.


History

: ''For the original Lakeland Municipal Airport, see Lodwick Field'' In 1940 the Lakeland City Commission passed a resolution to replace the city's Lakeland Municipal Airport, which was built in 1933 and early 1934. The new airport, tentatively named Lakeland Municipal Airport No. 2, was named Drane Field in honor of Herbert J. Drane, one of Lakeland's outstanding citizens. The city had barely begun work on the new airport when, with the war already raging in Europe, it leased the facility to the War Department. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers improved the three existing runways and built a training facility for bombers and fighters. The new base, initially a sub-base of MacDill Field in Tampa, was named Lakeland Army Air Field, but was still known as Drane Field. Thousands of
U.S. 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 ...
pilots, navigators, bombardiers and flight crew received part of their advanced flight training at Lakeland during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, primarily in the
B-26 Marauder The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland, and Omaha, Nebraska, by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in t ...
. After the war ended, the Army Airfield was left unused due to the size of the facility far exceeding the needs of the city as well as the costs involved of converting it to civil use. By the 1950s, Lakeland Municipal Airport (renamed Al Lodwick Field in 1948) was dwindling due to the closure of Lodwick Aircraft, the airport's primary tenant. With the closure of Lodwick Aircraft, the city decided to phase out Lodwick Field as a municipal airport in the summer of 1957 and concentrate its resources on Drane Field in south Lakeland. Drane Field had deteriorated and languished underutilized for many years following the departure of the U.S. Army Air Forces in 1945. After several years of new construction and conversion to a civil airport, it was rededicated as Lakeland Municipal Airport in 1960 with Don Emerson as its first director. In the 1970s the facility was renamed Lakeland Regional Airport; in the late 1980s it was again renamed as Lakeland Linder Regional Airport for local businessman Paul Scott Linder. Linder had founded Lakeland-based Linder Industrial Machinery, a multimillion-dollar heavy construction machinery company, in 1953. The Chairman of the Lakeland Economic Development Council, Linder was also director of the Florida Council of 100, the
Florida Chamber of Commerce The Florida Chamber of Commerce is an organization devoted to the advocacy of private businesses in the state of Florida. This Chamber originated in 1912, and included its first continuing group in 1916, the ''Florida Tick Eradication Committee''.h ...
and the Florida Council of Economic Education. He was named Florida's Free Enterpriser of the Year in 1988, received a Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Florida, and was named 1989 Florida Entrepreneur of the Year. Paul Scott Linder died on November 11, 1990. In November 2017 Lakeland Linder International Airport opened their first U.S. Customs and Border Protection General Aviation Facility allowing international aircraft with 20 passengers or fewer to land at the field with an approved overflight permit. In 2020 the airport had 115,628 aircraft operations, averaging 317 per day: 97%
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 ...
, 2% military, 1%
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) ...
, and <1% airline. In December 2020, 279 aircraft were based at the airport: 161 single-engine, 35 multi-engine, 42 jet, 9
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 attribu ...
, and 1 glider.


Commercial air service

With the impending closure of Lodwick Field,
National Airlines (1934–1980) National Airlines was an American airline that operated from 1934 to 1980. For most of its existence the company was headquartered at Miami International Airport, Florida. At its height, National Airlines had a network of "Coast-to-Coast-to-Coa ...
moved their Lodestars to Drane Field in 1947; the airline left the airport in 1962. During the 1960s and into the early 1970s, prior to
airline deregulation Airline deregulation is the process of removing government-imposed entry and price restrictions on airlines affecting, in particular, the carriers permitted to serve specific routes. In the United States, the term usually applies to the Airline Der ...
, airline service was provided by
Allegheny Commuter Allegheny, Alleghany or Allegany may refer to: Places Geologic and geographic features * Allegheny River, in Pennsylvania and New York * Allegheny Mountains, part of the Appalachian Mountain Range in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Vir ...
and the former Sun Airlines. Allegheny Commuter arrived in Lakeland on February 22, 1979. This was after The Deregulation Act of 1978. Chautauqua Airlines of Jamestown, NY provided the service under the Allegheny Commuter affiliation with USAir. The service provided 5 roundtrips a day to Orlando (MCO), using 15-passenger Beech 99s. Due to low demand, the flights ended September 15, 1980. From 2006 to 2008 the airport had limited air service under FAR Part 135 (AirTaxi) provided by
DayJet DayJet was an American commercial aviation operation that provided on-demand jet travel using Eclipse 500 very light jets. Founded by Ed Iacobucci, the former leader of the IBM-Microsoft Joint OS/2 development team IBM executive and the foun ...
utilizing
Eclipse 500 The Eclipse 500 (model EA500) is a very light jet (VLJ) originally produced by Eclipse Aviation of Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. The company was founded in 1998 to develop the 1997 Williams V-Jet II demonstrator. The prototype firs ...
very light jet A very light jet (VLJ), entry-level jet or personal jet, previously known as a microjet, is a category of small business jets seating four to eight people. VLJs are considered the lightest business jets and are approved for single-pilot operati ...
(VLJ) aircraft. DayJet also maintained a "DayPort" facility in the airport's main terminal building. DayJet ceased operations in September 2008 and subsequently declared bankruptcy. Scheduled airline flights returned to the airport in June 2011, when Direct Air flying Boeing 737s began service to Myrtle Beach, SC; Niagara Falls, NY, and Springfield, IL. Service ended on March 13, 2012, when Direct Air unexpectedly announced an end to operations. Direct Air was then subject to Chapter 7 liquidation on April 12, 2012. On July 23, 2020,
Amazon Air Amazon Air, operating under the callsign Prime Air, is a cargo airline operating exclusively to transport Amazon packages. In 2017, it changed its name from Amazon Prime Air to Amazon Air to differentiate themselves from their autonomous drone ...
commenced operations following the opening of a brand new 285,000 square foot cargo processing facility. Its flights at Lakeland Linder International are operated by
Air Transport International Air Transport International, Inc. is an airline based in Wilmington, Ohio, United States. It operates worldwide cargo charters and combi charters for the express package industry and freight forwarders, as well as for the United States Department ...
and
Sun Country Airlines Sun Country Airlines is an American Low-cost carrier, ultra-low-cost passenger airline, passenger and cargo airline, and the List of largest airlines in North America, eleventh largest in the US by passengers carried. Based at Minneapolis–Sai ...
.


Cargo airlines


Federal government, corporate and business aviation

The airport hosts 84 businesses and organizations that employ over 3,494 people. Through the combination of aircraft operations and local businesses, the airport has an economic impact of over $1.5 billion (in 2021). For the last three years, there was an average of $77 million in capital projects per year, accounting for 596 jobs. The
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditi ...
′s (NOAA)
Aircraft Operations Center The Aircraft Operations Center (AOC) is the main base for the approximately nine aircraft of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States government. It is the home of the NOAA Hurricane Hunters. The NOAA Aircraft O ...
(AOC) relocated to Lakeland from
MacDill Air Force Base MacDill Air Force Base (MacDill AFB) is an active United States Air Force installation located 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida. The "host wing" for MacDill AFB is the 6th Air Refueling Wing (6 ARW), assig ...
in June 2017. NOAA AOC is the headquarters for all nine research aircraft operated by NOAA, including their world-famous
NOAA Hurricane Hunters The NOAA Hurricane Hunters are a group of aircraft used for hurricane reconnaissance by the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). They fly through hurricanes to help forecasters and scientists gather operational an ...
(
WP-3D Orion The Lockheed WP-3D Orion is a highly modified P-3 Orion used by the Aircraft Operations Center division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Only two of these aircraft exist, each incorporating numerous features for t ...
aircraft). In addition, a defense contractor,
Draken International Draken International, LLC is an American provider of tactical fighter aircraft for contract air services including military and defense industry customers. The firm is based at the Lakeland Linder International Airport in Lakeland, Florida and also ...
, is headquartered at the airport. Draken provides training support to the US Military with their fleet of privately owned tactical aircraft, which includes
Douglas A-4 Skyhawk The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a single-seat subsonic carrier-capable light attack aircraft developed for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps in the early 1950s. The delta-winged, single turbojet engined Skyhawk was designed a ...
,
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nickn ...
,
Aermacchi MB-339 The Aermacchi MB-339 is a military jet trainer and light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Italian aviation company Aermacchi. The MB-339 was developed during the 1970s in response to an Italian Air Force requirement that sought a rep ...
,
Aero L-39 Albatros The Aero L-39 Albatros is a high-performance jet trainer designed and produced in Czechoslovakia by Aero Vodochody. It is the most widely used jet trainer in the world; in addition to performing basic and advanced pilot training, it has also flo ...
, and
Dassault Mirage F1 The Dassault Mirage F1 is a French fighter and attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was developed as a successor to the popular Mirage III family. During the 1960s, Dassault commenced development of what would ...
, the
Atlas Cheetah The Atlas Cheetah is a South African fighter aircraft designed and produced by the aviation company Atlas Aircraft Corporation (later Denel Aeronautics). It was developed at the behest of, and principally operated by, the South African Air F ...
, and the Aero L-159 Alca aircraft.Draken International, Florida Trend magazine, July 2013 One of the airport's fixed base operators, Sheltair Aviation, services private and general aviation aircraft. The company also recently entered a partnership with
Sun 'n Fun Sun ’n Fun Aerospace Expo (officially styled SUN 'n FUN) is a nonprofit organization in Lakeland, Florida dedicated to the promotion of aviation education. It is best known for the annual week-long fly-in and airshow at Lakeland Linder Int ...
with a percentage of their fuel sales supporting aviation education. The airport will soon receive its newest and second fixed base operator, Aero Center Lakeland. The facility will include new hangars for maintenance and storage (a 10,000 sq ft and 15,000 sq ft hangar), a 50,000-gallon fuel farm (5,000 sq ft), and a general aviation terminal (11,000 sq ft) along with a 120,000 sq ft ramp. The airport's newest tenant,
Amazon Air Amazon Air, operating under the callsign Prime Air, is a cargo airline operating exclusively to transport Amazon packages. In 2017, it changed its name from Amazon Prime Air to Amazon Air to differentiate themselves from their autonomous drone ...
, completed construction of their southeast regional air cargo hub in July 2020. Initially, Amazon Air leased 47 acres of a 110-acre parcel and will soon be expanding onto the adjacent parcel. Aircraft currently serving Amazon Air include the
Boeing 737 Next Generation The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a narrow-body aircraft powered by two jet engines and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third generation derivative of the Boeing ...
and the
Boeing 767 The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified o ...
.


Military

From the 1970s until 2001, the airfield was a joint civil-military facility when it hosted Army Aviation Support Facility #2 of the Florida Army National Guard, operating since-retired
UH-1 Huey The Bell UH-1 Iroquois (nicknamed "Huey") is a utility military helicopter designed and produced by the American aerospace company Bell Helicopter. It is the first member of the prolific Huey family, as well as the first turbine-powered helico ...
helicopters, followed by the locally based
UH-60 The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility military helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted the S-70 design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System ( ...
L Blackhawk helicopters of Detachment D, 171st Aviation Battalion (TA). This unit was later redesignated Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 171st Aviation Regiment (Co B/1-171 AVN), augmented by Detachment 1, Hotel Company, 1st Battalion, 171st Aviation Regiment Det 1-H Co/1-171 AVN) flying two
C-23 Sherpa The Short C-23 Sherpa is a small military transport aircraft built by Short Brothers. It was designed to operate from unpaved runways and make short takeoff and landings (STOL). It features a large squared fuselage with a full-width rear car ...
aircraft. The establishment of these units and aircraft in Lakeland was due primarily to the efforts of former U.S. Senator and later Governor of Florida,
Lawton Chiles Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. (April 3, 1930 – December 12, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 41st governor of Florida from 1991 until his death in 1998. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a United State ...
(D-FL), a Lakeland native. In 2001, the Florida Army National Guard aviation units relocated to a new facility at Brooksville-Tampa Bay Regional Airport in Brooksville, Florida. Despite the military's departure from Lakeland Linder International Airport, Florida Army National Guard aircraft, as well as Air Force aircraft from MacDill AFB, Coast Guard aircraft from CGAS Clearwater, Army Reserve aircraft from the Army Aviation Support Facility at St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport, U.S. Navy aircraft from Pensacola, and other transient military aircraft throughout the United States continue to use the airfield for practice approaches, landings, and takeoffs. The airport's principal fixed-base operator (FBO) also continues to provide DoD contract jet fuel services for transient military aircraft.


Education

LAL is host to Central Florida Aerospace Academy, a public high school with over 250 students. The academy, part of the Polk County Public Schools, maintains four tracks that students can follow throughout their high school career, including A&P, Aerospace, Avionics, and Engineering. LAL also hosts the Lakeland Aero-Club, which is the largest high school flying club in the nation. The club builds and restores vintage aircraft, promotes flight training to its members, and flies to Oshkosh, Wisconsin "Airventure" annually in all antique airplanes providing members with cross-country flight training. In addition, the airport hosts two colleges (Polk State College) and
Southeastern University (Florida) Southeastern University is a Private school, private Christianity, Christian university in Lakeland, Florida. It was established in 1935 in New Brockton, Alabama, as Southeastern Bible Institute, relocated to Lakeland in 1946, and became a liber ...
, as well as a career college (Travis Technical College). Polk State has over 240 students between their four-degree programs (Aerospace Administration, Aerospace Sciences, Aviation Maintenance Administration, and Professional Pilot Science). PSC is the only public college offering bachelor's degrees in Aerospace in the state of Florida. Southeastern University offers an accelerated and affordable flight training program while attending classes. Travis Technical College allows students to obtain their A&P license after high school.


Facilities

The airport encompasses 1,710 acres (692 ha) at an
elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § ...
of 142 feet (43 m). It has two
asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...
runways: 10/28 is 8,500 by 150 feet (2,590 x 46 m) and 5/23 is 5,005 by 150 feet (1,526 x 46 m). It has one turf runway: 8/26, which is 2,205 by 60 feet (672 x 18 m) and requires prior permission to use. Over the years the airport has seen a number of layout modifications. An original northwest–southeast runway was converted to a taxiway to permit construction of the Publix supermarket chain's corporate aircraft facility on the northwest end, while Runway 10/28 was lengthened to in the late 1950s and then to in the late 1990s. Runway 10/28, its associated taxiway system, and the current airport terminal ramp area can accommodate up to Boeing 747 and 777 aircraft. The Lakeland
VORTAC Very high frequency omnirange station (VOR) is a type of short-range radio navigation system for aircraft, enabling aircraft with a receiving unit to determine its position and stay on course by receiving radio signals transmitted by a network ...
is on the airfield and runways 10/28 and 5/23 have high-intensity runway lighting (HIRL) and P4L precision approach path indicator (PAPI) systems. Runway 10 is equipped with a Category II/III
Instrument Landing System In aviation, the instrument landing system (ILS) is a precision radio navigation system that provides short-range guidance to aircraft to allow them to approach a runway at night or in bad weather. In its original form, it allows an aircraft to ...
(ILS), and High Intensity Approach Light System with Sequenced Flashers ( ALSF-2). In addition, runways 5/23 and 28 have published non-precision approaches. The airport has been a tower-controlled airport since the 1970s and the FAA operates a Level I air traffic control tower under the FAA Contract Tower Program. The FAA also installed an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) ground station at the airport. Emergency services are provided by the Lakeland Fire Department, which maintains a 24-hour staffed station on the airfield with a specialized crash truck and crew providing aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) capability. The airport maintains ARFF Index B and is capable of meeting Index C with prior notice. The main terminal building contains the airport administrative offices, passenger processing area, passenger waiting areas, and a restaurant. A Hilton Hotels Corporation
Hilton Garden Inn Hilton Garden Inn is an American chain of mid-priced, limited or focused service hotels owned by Hilton Worldwide. As of December 31, 2019, it has 862 properties with 126,086 rooms in 49 countries and territories, including 81 that are manage ...
is located adjacent to the terminal. A Staybridge Suites extended stay hotel became the second hotel at the Lakeland Airport, which opened in December 2017 and sits on 2.18 acres next to the Hilton Garden Inn. This new lodging accommodates the expansion of nearby corporate parks, distribution centers, and the increasing capacity of the airport facilities. The restaurant, Waco Kitchen, which is based out of Battle Creek, Michigan is considered “farm to table,” meaning that the ingredients served are locally sourced. With a growing demand from international operators the airport began planning and design of a new U.S. Customs and Border Protection General Aviation Facility (User Fee Facility) in 2015. With the opening of its customs office in 2017, LAL is now capable of accepting an array of international flights.


See also

*
List of airports in Florida This is a list of airports in Florida (a U.S. state), grouped by type and sorted by location. It contains all public-use and military airports in the state. Some private-use and former airports may be included where notable, such airports that wer ...
* South Lakeland Airport


References


External links

*
Lakeland Linder International Airport Master Plan Update
- Lakeland Airport
Sky King Gets Lakeland Move Under Way
- The Ledger (April 30, 2010) * brochure fro
CFASPP

Aerial image as of January 1999
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, ...
''
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 ...
'' * *
Hallback's Bar & Grill

PilotMall.com

Airportag.com
* {{Florida airports Airports in Polk County, Florida Airports established in 1942 Buildings and structures in Lakeland, Florida 1942 establishments in Florida