Leonard M. Thompson International Airport, formerly known as The Marsh Harbour International Airport , is an airport serving

Marsh Harbour Marsh Harbour is a town in Abaco Islands, Bahamas, with a population of 6,283 as of 2012. The settlement lies on a peninsula just off the Great Abaco Highway, which runs south through Great Abaco to Cherokee Point and Little Harbour. North of to ...

, a town in the

Abaco Islands Abaco is a variant Italian form of the Biblical name "Habakkuk" (but normally Abacùc or Abacucco). Abaco may refer to: People *Evaristo Felice Dall'Abaco (1675–1742), Italian composer and violinist *Joseph Abaco (1710–1805), Belgian compose ...

The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

. Leonard M. Thompson International Airport is the second busiest airport in the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

and the second largest international gateway into the country only after

Lynden Pindling International Airport Lynden Pindling International Airport , formerly known as Nassau International Airport, is the largest airport in the Bahamas and the largest international gateway into the country. It is a major hub for Bahamasair, Western Air, and Pineapple ...

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

is a major tourist attraction. The airport offers scheduled passenger flights to

and several destinations in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

as well as regional jet flights nonstop to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

and

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

in the U.S. In 2007 a new runway was built to allow larger, regional jets to operate from Marsh Harbour. A new airport terminal was opened on 27 May 2014.

Facilities

The airport has an elevation of above

mean sea level There are several kinds of mean in mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. ...

. It has one runway, designated 09/27, that has an

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 a ...

surface measuring . In 2006 the old runway was converted into a taxiway after runway has opened. The new Leonard M. Thompson International Airport terminal opened on 27 May 2014 after three years of construction. The new terminal incorporates architectural elements that reflect culture of The Bahamas. The new 51,000-square-foot terminal has 22 counter positions, a new luggage scanning system, pilot briefing room, two restaurants, one lounge, shops, and a public parking area. Marsh Harbour International Airport was renamed the Leonard M. Thompson International Airport on May 25, 2016. Thompson was a prominent son of

Hope Town Hope Town is one of the districts of the Bahamas, districts of the Bahamas, on the Abaco Islands, Abaco islands as well as a small village on Elbow Cay, located in Abaco. The area had a population of 458 in 2010. Golf carts are the main mode of ...

who flew bombers for the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Accidents and incidents

*On 25 August 2001, American singer/actress

Aaliyah Aaliyah Dana Haughton (; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer and actress. She has been credited for helping to redefine contemporary R&B, pop and hip hop, earning her the nicknames the "Princess of R&B" and " ...

and eight crew members of a group that had participated in the filming of her " Rock the Boat" music video, were killed soon after their plane took off from Marsh Harbour Airport. The plane was overloaded by 700 pounds (320 kg), according to its certification. *On 13 June 2013, a SkyBahamas Airlines

Saab 340B 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 different o ...

aircraft suffered substantial damage when it departed off the side of the runway while landing in heavy rain. There were no serious injuries or deaths among the 24 passengers and crew.

References

External links

* *
Bimini Island Air
Also operates charters from any airport in Florida {{DEFAULTSORT:Leonard M. Thompson International Airport Airports in the Bahamas Abaco Islands